Catchfence

MOORESVILLE, NC (Tues, March 31, 2009) – Kenny Hendrick and the rest of the No. 42 unsponsored Dodge team made good use of their time off from the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule last week. Now, they just hope their efforts show up on the 1.5-mile oval of Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Hendrick, who currently sits 26th in points, did well at the last 1.5-mile track he visited finishing 12th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season. It was a career best for him in 33 starts; and for the four-race old team put together just before Daytona.

During the off-week, crew chief Tim Weiss and team put Chassis No. 652 through some tests and tweaks to get ready for Texas. This is the same car they used so successfully in Las Vegas.

Kenny Hendrick, driver

What do you like about racing at Texas: “It is a big, fast track where you can really put the hammer down coming out of turns 2 and 4. The fronstretch has that dog leg that slows you down just enough that you have to gauge your entrance into turn 1 just right. The banking keeps the speeds up and gives you great momentum coming out of turns 2 and 4 – as long as you get in to them just right.

“We had a good run at Las Vegas with this car and the crew did a great job of getting us ready for Texas. One of my goals was to become a better qualifier this year and it felt really good to start 10th at Bristol two weeks ago. It was a career best for me and I’m hoping to keep improving on that each week.”

How are you and Tim Weiss (crew chief) working together: “Man, I can’t even begin to tell you about how great that guy is to work with every week. He continues to impress me with his knowledge of race cars and how intelligent he is about set-ups. Each time we get better and have better results on the track, you can thank Tim Weiss. I keep giving him the info of what the car is doing and he keeps coming up with the right answer. Seriously, I am very fortunate to have someone like him to work with each week.”

Tim Weiss, crew chief: “We took the car to a pull down machine during the off-week and were able to work on getting the front end just right for a track like Texas. The off-week actually gave us time to fine tune some things on the car and become more familiar with what is needed to get better. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out in Texas when we get on the track.”

In search of partnerships: Like many in the garage area, the No. 42 Dodge is looking for partnership this year. Eddie Smith, principle owner, put his company of Smith Ironworks on the car for the first two races. Evander Holyfield, champion boxer, is involved with the team as a marketing partner.

Car info: The team is using Chassis No. 652, purchased from Chip Ganassi Racing and last used by Hendrick at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he finished 12th.

Hendrick at TMS: This will be the Chino, Calif. natives first NNS start at the track. He attempted to make the race last year for Stanton Barrett, but failed to qualify. He has two NCWTS starts with a best finish of 19th in 1997.

Hendrick to date: In four starts this year he has a best finish of 12th at LVMS and start of 19th at Bristol; is currently 26th in driver’s points trailing 20th by just 33 markers.

Tune in for the win: Things are a little different at TMS with all practice and qualifying on Thursday and racing on Saturday. The first practice is Noon to 1:30 p.m. (ET) with Happy Hour right after from 2 to 3 p.m. Qualifying is 7 p.m. on SPEED TV. The series has off on Friday but returns for race action at 3 p.m. on Saturday with all 200 laps on ESPN2, PRN Radio and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio Ch. 128.

- Smith Ganassi Racing w/ “Real Deal” Holyfield Press Release