Saturday
Kenny Hendrick toughs it out in native California to finish NASCAR Nationwide Series race
Press ReleaseFONTANA, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2009) – Kenny Hendrick came to his hometrack of Auto Club Speedway with high hopes of having a great finish.
Growing up 15 miles away in Chino, California; Hendrick wanted to have a good showing for family and friends who were in attendance for the Stater Bros 300. After some rough spots in practice, Hendrick qualified the No. 42 Smith Ironworks/Real Deal Holyfield Dodge in 32nd place.
From the drop of the green, Hendrick experienced the same vibration that had been haunting him and Crew Chief Tim Weiss. And, to top it off, there were drive train problems and miscues on pit road that prevented the team from showing what they are truly capable in a race.
Once they did make some necessary adjustments, the car responded resulting in Hendrick going from 36th place on lap 30 to 30th on lap 90. From there, he would avoid wrecks and kept driving hard to finish 26th; four laps down.
Kenny Hendrick, driver
You bounced back from running 36th at one point: “Once we got to that first caution, we were able to make some necessary adjustments and get those straightened out. When we actually go to go racing, the No. 42 Smith Ironworks/Real Deal Holyfield Dodge ran well and we had some great lap times. Toward the end we just keep doing the right things to pick up speed. Hey, even though a 26th-place isn’t great, it’s better than not finishing like we did last week in Daytona.
On the progress of the newly-formed team: “This is the first-full race we’ve had as a team and we’re still learning. We have a lot of work to do on pit stops, preparation and just getting everything and everyone working together. We had the same vibration from the day we unloaded. So, we’re going to have to go over it when we get to Brendan Gaughan’s place in Vegas to work on the cars. Tim Weiss (Crew Chief) and I were talking before the race and knew we were going to have a tough day.”
What did you learn today: “The good news is we have a foundation of what we need to work on for the next few weeks. We have some drive train and chassis issues we need to work on fixing, too. We’re happy we finished the race and know what needs to be done to get better.
“They say Las Vegas is all about luck. Well, we’re going there hoping some comes are away and we’ll do our part to help that along by working off our foundation.”
Packman Public Relations, Press Release
Article Tags: Nationwide Series, Press Release
