Hendrick to Make First Nashville Appearance

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (June 7, 2002) -- While the NASCAR Busch Series will be making its second stop at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway this season for the Inside Traxx 300, Ricky Hendrick will roll onto the 1.333-mile track for the first time when the event takes the green flag on Saturday. "I didn't get to run in the first Nashville race," said the driver of the No. 5 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet Monte Carlo. "I was out with an injury from a wreck in Las Vegas and had to watch Ron Hornaday run our car instead. “The other drivers in the series were at Nashville in April, which may give them an advantage, especially considering this will be my first time there in a Busch Series car. Then again, I ran at Nashville last year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, so the track isn't completely foreign to me. As a driver, you can't think about things like that. “This Hendrick Motorsports team goes to every race planning to run well,” he continued. “I'm planning on doing just that at Nashville." Hendrick's NCTS experience at Nashville last year produced a ninth-place qualifying effort and an 11th-place finish in the event. With crew chief Lance McGrew again making the calls from pit road, Team GMAC should be able to take advantage of the experience gained a year ago on the tough Nashville concrete oval. "Ricky always gives it everything he's got out there on the racetrack," said McGrew. "He's really good at figuring things out, something we'll need to do in a hurry during the practice sessions before qualifying and the race. “You can be sure we'll do our best to give him a car to get him running up front." In the Pepsi 300 NBS event at Nashville in April, Hornaday had to settle for a 25th-place finish. This time, Hendrick will be looking for much more. "We feel really well prepared for this race," said Hendrick. "The April race was the first time Hornaday raced on the new Nashville track and we struggled a little. I have experience at Nashville and I think Lance has figured out some of the things that went wrong for us in that race. You can be sure we'll be looking to get a top-10 finish." Hendrick is also hoping a little Nashville luck will rub off in this weekend's Inside Traxx 300. In 2000, the Charlotte, N.C., native posted a career-best fifth-place finish in the Music City 300 at the old Nashville Speedway USA track at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. "You can't really compare the old Nashville track with the new one, " said Hendrick. "With almost three quarters of a mile difference between them, the only similarity is the name. I wish the two tracks were more alike because I had my best Busch Series finish at the other track. Maybe we'll get a little luck from the old track this time around. “I really like the speedways and you can be sure we will be ready to race on Saturday night." Hendrick and Team GMAC roll off under the lights at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, June 8 at 7 p.m. EDT. The event will be the 15th of 34 NASCAR Busch Series races this season and will be telecast live on FX and broadcast as it happens on MRN Radio.