With the economy sagging, Lance Snack Food pulled out of its sponsorship with the [#63 team, sold much to Ken Alexander, supposedly has the #80 now] Hensley Racing’s BGN team. Without a sponsor the Hensley Racing team decided not to field a car in 2002. Owner Jeff Hensley decided to take his time and figure out what his next move would be. Now Hensley Racing is courting sponsors, which Hensley was unwilling to name at this point, and planning on running several races at the end of the year with more substantial funding than ever before. “We put everything on hold and took a look at what we had,” Hensley said. “We plan on running 10-12 races at the end of the season. This gives us a chance to get some other things working. The last couple of years we’ve been severely underfunded and this gives us a chance to get our stuff back like it needs to be.” Hensley is looking forward to getting back into the swing of the BGN and hopes to be even more competitive than before with a new sponsor. “I wasn’t really enjoying myself the last couple of years,” Hensley said. “Being used to so much success for so long and then struggling the last couple of years. I’m pretty competitive.” In the mean time, Hensley has taken a position at Arrington Racing. He’s a jack-of-all-trades for the engine builder and believes working for Joey Arrington is the bet move he could have made. “Working at Joey’s has been a great opportunity to learn a lot,” Hensley said. “It’s allowed me to get back in the right attitude. It’s been a blessing for me. (I do) whatever needs to be done. Racing is about the only thing I know. I do everything, assemble engines, research and development, work with the dynos. It’s been an experience and its really rejuvenated me.” The future seems to be bright for Hensley and his team and as the economy returns to prosperity so will the Hensley racing crew. “We’ve working on some things now,” Hensley said. “We have some potential sponsors we’re talking to every day, I can’t really go into detail about that. But as the economic picture brightens up I think we’ll pick up where we left off.”(Martinsville Bulletin)(4-8-2002)
