Emily Maynard, the widowed fiancee of NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick, is a contestant on season 15 of the ABC reality show, The Bachelor. Maynard is an events planner for a children's hospital and the mother of Josephine Riddick "Ricki" Hendrick, born after her father's death in a plane crash.http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelor/bachelorette-announcement/ThemeGallery/647743 Maynard learned of her pregnancy just days after the tragic death. http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Ricky_Hendrick

The 24-year-old contestant is originally from Morgantown, West Virginia and currently resides in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.http://starcasm.net/archives/77164/emily_bachelor_2011_full_ She has been previously rumored as dating NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt, Jr.http://nascarfans.wetpaint.com/page/Wives+%26+Girlfriends In her interview for her ABC bio page, Maynard revealed she has two tattoos, one on her wrist and one behind her ear.http://starcasm.net/archives/77164/emily_bachelor_2011_full_

Emily Maynard was engaged to marry NASCAR driver and owner Ricky Hendrick in 2004 when a Hendrick Motorsports team plane crashed on the way to Martinsville Speedway killing him and eight others. Emily Maynard found out she was pregnant after the crash. Emily Maynard and Ricky Hendrick's daughter was born June 29, 2005 and was named Josephine Riddick "Ricki" Hendrick after her late father.http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Ricky_Hendrick

Emily Maynard and Ricky Hendrick met in Key West. FL where both families had summer homes. After Hendrick's death Maynard chose to remain in the Charlotte area.http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/waiting_on_a_miracle.html During the 2006 race season, Emily Maynard podcasted for The Speed Channel in a series called Emily on the Scene. She was available to answer questions for fans about NASCAR cities.http://drinkthis.typepad.com/answer_this/2006/02/ask_miss_emily_.html

When Emily Maynard appeared on The Bachelor, she was one of thirty bachelorettes seeking to win the heart of season 15 bachelor, Brad Womack. The reality show placed the women in a house together over a period of time, eliminating one or more of them from the competition each week. The possible candidates for selection by the bachelor, vy for a rose each week and ultimately for the chance to win his heart.http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelor/about-the-show Season 15 premiered on January 3, 2011.http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelor/index

Each week Emily Maynard will continue to pursue Brad Womack in hopes of receiving a rose at the week's ceremony. An account of Maynard's week-by-week involvement with Womack and the other bachelorettes follows.

• Week 1 - January 3, 2011: Emily Maynard was one of the featured bachelorettes interviewed before the ladies met Brad Womack. Ms. Maynard shared the story of her relationship with Ricky Hendrick, a NASCAR driver who died in a plane crash. Maynard and Hendrick were engaged at the time of his death. She learned she was pregnant after his death. When Emily Maynard initially met Brad Womack, he commented on her southern accent. Later in one-on-one time, Maynard told Womack she is a coalminer's daughter. She shared her mother's advice that it is "better to be home alone than to be home wishing you were alone." Maynard received a rose at the evening's ceremony making her one of the twenty bachelorettes continuing to week two.http://abc.go.com/watch/the-bachelor/SH559030/VD55103868/week-1-part-2

• Week 2 - January 10, 2011: In the second episode of season 15, Emily Maynard had her first date with Brad Womack along with 14 other bachelorettes. Maynard was a part of filming of public service announcements for the Red Cross. She took part in a scene playing the role of the maid, in a cat fight with another woman over the character played by Brad Womack. Later in the episode, Maynard took the time to call her young daughter and mentioned Womack was not yet aware she had a child. During the cocktail party before the rose ceremony, she had time for a one-on-one chat with Womack where she tells him she is a bit more private than others and it takes her longer to open up. Womack commented that he loses his words when he is around her and would give her all the time she needed. Ali Fedotowsky and her selected bachelor from the previous season of The Bachelorette made an appearance on the episode and helped brad Womack decide which ladies were sincere in their quest for his heart. The couple recommended their rose of the evening go to Emily Maynard securing her return for week three.http://abc.go.com/watch/the-bachelor/SH559030/VD55105532/week-2-part-2
• Week 3 - January 17, 2011: During the third episode, Emily Maynard was selected by Brad Womack for a one-on-one date.  Before the date occurred Emily shared the story of the loss of her fiancee with other ladies who did not participate in the group date. She told them she was not sure she would be able to tell Brad about the circumstances of her loss and wondered how he would react to her having a daughter.  When the couple left for their date, they boarded a plane to their destination.  Emily talked about fear in flying since she often thinks about Ricky Hendrick getting on the plane and never landing.  She managed to hide her fear to get through the flight. However, as the date proceeded, Brad felt she was distant and she struggled with how to tell him her story. In the end, she shared the story of the plane crash, finding out she was pregnant, and about her daughter.  Brad was understanding and asked about Ricki and tells Emily he really liked her and wanted to know more about her and her daughter. As the episode ended, clips of the two flying kites and roasting marshmallows were seen. Emily received a rose during her date confirming her continuation in the season.
• Week 4 - January 24, 2011: Emily Maynard was included in the group date in the fourth episode. She visited a group therapy session with eight other ladies and Brad Womack. The session was with Dr. Drew. The ladies shared information about themselves and answered questions for Brad.  At the final cocktail party before the rose ceremony, Brad pulled Emily aside for a private picnic. Emily Maynard received a rose from Brad Womack at the evening's ceremony. At the end of the week four episode, a trailer showing footage from the week five episode was shown. Week five will include a visit to a race track.  The clip created a media stir over ABC using the Ricky Hendricks death to create publicity for the show. During the time between the footage airing and the week five episode being aired both Chris Harrison, show host, and Emily Maynard issued statements asking viewers to see the show before forming their opinions. Maynard's statement said the filming helped her to gain closure.
• Week 5 - January 31, 2011: The episode which aired for week 5 was controversial in the media because of its location.  The group date took place in Las Vegas at the NASCAR track.  ABC's sensitivity was questioned considering the situation with Emily Maynard and her deceased fiancee. During the week preceding the episode, both the network and Maynard asked viewers to see the show before making judgement and Maynard said the event helped her to find closure.  As far as the date was concerned, Brad Womack noticed Emily pulling away from the crown and being sad while at the track. He took a moment to speak with her and was told the race which ended Ricky Hendricks driving career was on the track they were visiting. He crashed and was not able to continue racing after that day but was still involved in NASCAR as an owner.  Emily tells Brad she didn't think about it all coming back to her when she arrived but it did impact her.  Later she did drive the race car and ran the first two laps for Hendricks but the rest for her self and for moving on to the future. Emily received the group date rose from Brad.

These Mahalo topic pages contain more specific information on each of the ladies of season 15.

1. Alli Travis
2. Ashley Hebert
3. Ashley Spivey
4. Britt Billmaier
5. Britnee
6. Chantal O'Brien
7. Cristy
8. Jackie Gordon
9. Jessica
10. Jill Ruskowski
11. Keltie Colleen
12. Kim Coon
13. Lacey Garbelman
14. Lauren Moore
15. Lindsay Hill
16. Lisa Morrisey
17. Lisa P.
18. Madison Garton
19. Marissa May
20. Meghan Merritt
21. Melissa Schreiber
22. Michelle Money
23. Raichel Goodyear
24. Rebecca
25. Renee Halpin
26. Sarah L.
27. Sarah Powell
28. Shawntel Newton
29. Stacey Queripel