Hendrick Earns Top-20 Finish at RIR

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 10, 2002) -- Ricky Hendrick made up 22 positions from his starting spot of 39th to finish 17th in the Funai 200 NASCAR Busch Series event at Richmond (Va.) International Speedway on Friday. “We finished 15th in the spring and 17th tonight,” said Hendrick, driver of the No. 5 GMAC Chevrolet. “I think we were lucky then and we raced really hard tonight to get what we got. “I feel like we lost a lot of positions out there tonight because people weren’t using their heads. People were racing two and three wide all night and it was a tough race. Richmond is like a bigger Bristol. There is a lot of beating, banging and hard racing.” Hendrick remains 26th in the Busch Series driver standings after missing multiple events earlier in the season thanks to a shoulder injury suffered at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. Driving the No. 24 NetZero Chevy, Jack Sprague started in the 24th position, finishing 33rd after getting together with Ashton Lewis on Lap 126, sending the driver and his Monte Carlo behind the wall. The Spring Lake, Mich., native returned to the race track on Lap 200 after Team NetZero made wholesale repairs to the No. 24. “The car I had tonight was seriously one of the best I've had,” said Sprague, a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion. “It was awesome at Darlington last week and we all thought, even with the terrible qualifying run, that we'd have a good race. “I'm trying hard to stay calm about what happened with Ashton tonight. We ended up with a destroyed car, but the NetZero team did a hell of a job getting the repairs done and me back on the track. There was so much going on -- tools flying and everyone running around. It's like my crew chief Dennis Connor said on the radio after the race -- they all did a great job and looked extremely professional and organized. I'm proud to have them on my side.” Sprague dropped one spot to fourth in points, 398 behind leader Greg Biffle. The Busch Series will next visit Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sept. 21 for the MBNA All-American Heroes 200. Scheduled for a 1 p.m. (ET) start, the race will be broadcast live on TNT and MRN Radio.