Jimmy Hensley

Jimmy Hensley
Hensley in 1996
Born	(1945-10-11) October 11, 1945 (age 76) Horsepasture, Virginia[1]
Awards	1985, 1987 Busch Series Most Popular Driver 1992 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year 1996 Craftsman Truck Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
98 races run over 18 years
Best finish	28th (1992)
First race	1972 Virginia 500 (Martinsville)
Last race	1995 UAW-GM Quality 500 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 15 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
255 races run over 14 years
Best finish	2nd (1985, , 1990)
First race	1982 Dogwood 500 (Martinsville)
Last race	1995 Detroit Gasket 200 (Michigan)
First win	1985 Mountain Dew 400 (Hickory)
Last win	1991 (Rougemont)
Wins Top tens Poles 9 129 15
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
146 races run over 7 years
Best finish	6th (1998)
First race	1995 Pizza Plus 150 (Bristol)
Last race	2001 Auto Club 200 (Fontana)
First win	1998 Federated Auto Parts 250 (Nashville)
Last win	1999 NAPA 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 64 4
Statistics current as of March 6, 2012.

James Hensley (born October 11, 1945) is a former NASCAR driver. With a career spanning 27 seasons in all three of NASCAR's elite divisions, Hensley may be best remembered for his Rookie of the Year award won in 1992, his 15th season in the series, and for his nine career Busch Series wins. He spent most of his career working as an oil truck driver in addition to racing.^[2] He was best known as being a substitute driver for many teams.

Early career[]

Hensley's NASCAR career began in 1972, driving for famous owner Junie Donlavey in the No. 90 Ford. Both of his starts that season came at Martinsville Speedway, the track being just ten miles from Hensley's hometown of Ridgeway, VA. Though an engine failure in his first start relegated Hensley to a 33rd-place finish, he completed all but seven laps of the fall event, the Old Dominion 500, to finish fifth. This would end up being Hensley's best finish in his 98 career Winston Cup Series races.

Hensley competed again for Donlavey in the 1973 and 1974 Virginia 500 events, coming home in seventh and sixth places, respectively. For the 1974 Old Dominion 500, Hensley drove the No. 02 Chevrolet owned by Russell Large, finishing 19th. Beginning in 1975, Hensley drove the No. 63 Chevrolet for part-time owner Billy Moyer, competing in both Martinsville races each year until 1977 and registering a top ten each season. It would be last Cup race for several years.

Return to the series[]

In 1981, Hensley returned to the Winston Cup Series, driving in the fall Martinsville event for Cecil Gordon in the No. 24 Buick and bringing home a seventh-place result. Hensley raced in three events the next year—both Martinsville races, along with the September event at Richmond, in D. K. Ulrich's No. 40 Buick. That same year, Hensley also competed in the inaugural Busch Series season, competing in 11 events and recording four top five finishes. Hensley spent the 1983 season out of Cup and in the Busch Series, where in 29 starts, he registered 16 top ten finishes.

Busch Series[]

For the next eight seasons, Hensley competed on-and-off in the Winston Cup Series and raced full-time in the Busch ranks. Behind the wheel of the No. 00 Oldsmobile in 1985, Hensley came home second in points, just 29 points behind champion Jack Ingram, after a season with three wins at Hickory, South Boston, and IRP. Hensley again finished second in points in 1987 driving the No. 5 Advance Auto Parts Buick for Sam Ard, starting and finishing first in the season finale at Martinsville for his only win of the season. Just four races later, Hensley won again at Martinsville in the 1988 Miller Classic.

In 1989, Hensley drove 18 races in six different cars, recording a pole at Hickory in the No. 70 Dirt Devil Pontiac but finishing no better than sixth. In addition, he won his only career Winston Cup pole at Martinsville Speedway, filling in for Dale Earnhardt, who was unable to make it to the track at that time due to the effects of Hurricane Hugo. Earnhardt would drive the car at the race.^[3] The pole gave Hensley a berth in the 1990 Busch Clash, in which he started on the front row but fell back with mechanical issues.^[4] Hensley returned to victory lane the next season driving the No. 25 Crown Petroleum/Fast Fare Oldsmobile for Don Beverly, winning at Nazareth Speedway; he followed that up in 1991 with a career-high three victories, winning at Martinsville, Hickory, and Rougemont.

Return to the Cup Series[]

Hensley started the 1992 with the No. 25 Beverly Racing team, but they were unable to locate permanent sponsorship. They parted ways and Hensley moved to the Cup Series, driving the No. 66 TropArtic Ford Thunderbird for Cale Yarborough. Hensley ran in 22 races with four top-ten finishes with the group, and won Rookie of the Year honors at the age of 47, due to the other competitors that season running part-time schedules.

He began 1993 in the No. 52 NAPA/Hurley Limo Ford for Jimmy Means, running the first three races of the year. He then spent most of the season driving the No. 7 car in place of the deceased Alan Kulwicki per Kulwicki's will. After the team was bought by Geoff Bodine, he drove one race for Richard Petty before closing the season in the No. 4 Eastman Kodak/Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet.

Craftsman Truck Series participation[]

Beginning in 1995, Hensley began to compete in the newly formed Craftsman Truck Series, driving in his first two seasons for owner Grier Lackey. His first full season was in the No. 30 Mopar Performance Dodge Ram in 1996, where he had five top-fives and a pole position. In 1997, however, Hensley joined Petty Enterprises, piloting the No. 43 Cummins Dodge in the next three seasons. At age 52 in 1998, Hensley found victory lane at Nashville and finished sixth in the final points standings. The next year, he finished first at Martinsville, recording what would be the last win of his career. That year, he made his final run in the Busch Series, filling in for Wayne Grubb.

He was replaced at Petty, and signed with the No. 16 Team Rensi Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado group. With sponsorship coming from Lance Snacks, Mobile Max2, and eLink, he had eight top-ten finishes and finished thirteenth in points. He began 2001 without a ride, but ran a majority of the year filling in for Randy MacDonald in the No. 72 truck. Hensley retired after that season, and now works installing fire-service systems.^[5]

Motorsports career results[]

NASCAR[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series[]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1972	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford	RSD	DAY	RCH	ONT	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR 33	TAL	CLT	DOV	MCH	RSD	TWS	DAY	BRI	TRN	ATL	TAL	MCH	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR 5	NWS	CLT	CAR	TWS	99th	215.25	[6]
1973			Mercury	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR	MAR 7	TAL	NSV	CLT	DOV	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	BRI	ATL	TAL	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	CAR				103rd	-	[7]
1974			Ford	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	DAR	NWS	MAR 6	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	BRI	NSV	ATL	POC	TAL	MCH	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS						83rd	4.01	[8]
		02	Chevy																											MAR 19	CLT	CAR	ONT
1975		63	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR	MAR 7	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	DAR	DOV	NWS	MAR 27	CLT	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	ONT		97th	82	[9]
1976				RSD	DAY	CAR	RCH	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR	MAR 25	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR 7	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	ONT		68th	234	[10]
1977				RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	NWS	DAR	BRI	MAR 22	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV								61st	247	[11]
	Hensley Racing																											MAR 6	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	ONT
1981	Gordon Racing	24	Buick	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR 7	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD	NA	0	[12]
1982	Ulrich Racing	40	Buick	DAY	RCH	BRI	ATL	CAR	DAR	NWS	MAR 9	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 29	DOV	NWS	CLT	MAR 23	CAR	ATL	RSD		NA	0	[13]
1984	Langley Racing	64	Ford	DAY	RCH 22	CAR	ATL	BRI	NWS	DAR	MAR 20	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 22	DOV	MAR 22	CLT	NWS	CAR	ATL	RSD		NA	0	[14]
1986	Langley Racing	64	Ford	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR 23	TAL	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 16	DOV	MAR 18	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD			54th	318	[15]
1988	Arrington Racing	67	Ford	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR 24	TAL	CLT	DOV	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL			NA	0	[16]
1989	Richard Childress Racing	3	Chevy	DAY	CAR	ATL	RCH	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR QL†	CLT	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL			NA	-	[17]
1990		20	Olds	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 33	CAR 31	PHO	ATL			88th	70	[18]
1991		24	Pontiac	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR 10	NWS 11	CLT 20	CAR 14	PHO	ATL			41st	488	[19]
1992	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	66	Ford	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR 15	TAL 25	CLT 11	DOV 8	SON 30	POC 9	MCH 29	DAY 15	POC 14	TAL 31	GLN 26	MCH 29	BRI 7	DAR 15	RCH 17	DOV 13	MAR 17	NWS 25	CLT 18	CAR 18	PHO 21	ATL 8			28th	2410	[20]
1993	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Ford	DAY 40	CAR 25	RCH 34	ATL	DAR	BRI																										32nd	2001	[21]
	AK Racing	7	Ford							NWS 12	MAR 13	TAL 9	SON	CLT 15	DOV 22	POC 17	MCH 23	DAY 34	NHA 11	POC 39	TAL 28	GLN	MCH 15	BRI 6	DAR 23	RCH 21	DOV
	Petty Enterprises	44	Pontiac																									MAR 34	NWS	CLT	CAR
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Chevy																													PHO 32	ATL 25
1994	RaDiUs Motorsports	55	Ford	DAY 15	CAR 22	RCH 36	ATL 29	DAR 13	BRI DNQ	NWS DNQ	MAR 23	TAL 30	SON DNQ	CLT DNQ	DOV 17	POC 29	MCH 42	DAY 32	NHA 29	POC DNQ	TAL 30	IND 32	GLN 33	MCH DNQ	BRI DNQ	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS					41st	1394	[22]
		20	Ford																												CLT 40	CAR	PHO
	Charles Hardy Racing	44	Ford																															ATL 12
1995		32	Chevy	DAY	CAR 40	RCH DNQ	ATL 38	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON												BRI DNQ	DAR	RCH	DOV							44th	558	[23]
		95	Ford											CLT DNQ	DOV	POC	MCH
	Bill Davis Racing	22	Pontiac															DAY 30	NHA 41	POC 32	TAL DNQ	IND 32	GLN	MCH 22
	A.G. Dillard Motorsports	31	Chevy																										MAR DNQ	NWS 29	CLT 39	CAR	PHO	ATL
1996		32	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR DNQ	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL	NA	-	[24]
† - Qualified for Dale Earnhardt

Daytona 500[]

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1993	Jimmy Means Racing	Ford	38	40
1994	RaDiUs Motorsports	Ford	25	15

Busch Series[]

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NBSC	Pts	Ref
1982		63	Pontiac	DAY	RCH	BRI	MAR 7	DAR	HCY	SBO 3	2	17		DOV		CLT			13	CAR	4	SBO 7			IRP 4	BRI	HCY	RCH	MAR 18	CLT	10	MAR 23							14th	1520	[25]
1983				DAY	RCH 25	CAR	HCY	MAR 22		6	17	16	DOV	BRI 8	CLT	SBO 15	8							9		IRP 9	4	BRI 15	HCY 12		RCH 6		SBO 19	MAR 6	5		20	MAR 5	8th	3716	[26]
		55	Pontiac															9	24	6	3	7	23		8
	Chubby Arrington	29	Dodge																											DAR 22
	Whitaker Racing	7	Olds																													3
		39	Pontiac																																	CLT 33
1984		50	Mercury	DAY 33	RCH	CAR	HCY	MAR																															34th	646	[27]
	Gibson Racing	90	Pontiac						DAR 35		NSV		MLW	DOV	CLT	SBO
	Whitaker Racing	7	Olds																4			IRP 7	LGY	SBO 19	BRI	DAR	RCH
		48	Pontiac																										CLT 17	HCY	CAR
		88	Pontiac																													MAR 9
1985		00	Olds	DAY 6	CAR 8	HCY 1	BRI 11	MAR 20	DAR 5	SBO 1	9	DOV 19	CLT 5	2	HCY 4	4	IRP 1	SBO 2	LGY 10	HCY 5	MLW 3	BRI 5	DAR 4	RCH 8	3	12	CLT 10	7	CAR 6	MAR 3									2nd	4077	[28]
1986		63	Olds	DAY 18	CAR 12				DAR 19				DOV 14	CLT 17						12							DAR 12		DOV 8			CLT 19	CAR 6						8th	3914	[29]
			Pontiac			HCY 17		BRI 13									ROU 11	IRP 11	SBO 5		OXF 13	7	HCY 9	LGY 13		BRI 21
			Chevy				MAR 18			SBO 5	25	15			SBO 11	HCY 18									11			RCH 7		MAR 6	ROU 18			MAR 4*
1987	Sam Ard Racing	5	Buick	DAY 20	HCY 7	MAR 8	DAR 17	BRI 7	16	SBO 4	CLT 14	DOV 7	IRP 21	20	7	OXF 22	SBO 25	HCY 21	4	LGY 24	3	BRI 2	3	DAR 12	RCH 8	DOV 4	MAR 2	CLT 14	CAR 23	MAR 1*									2nd	3565	[30]
1988				DAY 17	HCY 7	CAR 10	MAR 1	DAR 12	BRI 11	22	NZH 5	SBO 14	NSV 6	CLT 18	DOV 24	ROU 7	2	LVL 3	MYB 15	OXF 28	SBO 12	HCY 2*	LNG 3	IRP 12	22	BRI 5	DAR 29	RCH 6	DOV 15	MAR 27	CLT 7	CAR 19	MAR 25						6th	3837	[31]
1989		62	Chevy	DAY 33	CAR																																		22nd	1785	[32]
		27	Pontiac			MAR 30
		89	Chevy				HCY 28
		58	Olds					DAR 40	BRI	NZH	SBO		NSV
		70	Buick											CLT 17	DOV 33	ROU 24	LVL 23	VOL	MYB 14	SBO 7	HCY 6	18	IRP 26	14	BRI 15	DAR	RCH 13	DOV	MAR 13	CLT	CAR
		55	Olds																													MAR 32
1990		25	Olds	DAY 4	RCH 17	CAR 10	MAR 4	HCY 11	DAR 5	BRI 6	9	4*	NZH 1	HCY 19	CLT 7	DOV 14	ROU 14	VOL 8	MYB 19		NHA 15	SBO 14	DUB 3	IRP 11	4	BRI 10	DAR 5	RCH 5	DOV 10	MAR 7	CLT 15		CAR 25	MAR 24					2nd	4172	[33]
		28																		18
		75																														NHA 12
1991		25	Olds	DAY 39	RCH 8*	CAR 10	MAR 1*	VOL 4	HCY 2*	DAR 6	BRI 23	16	21	NZH 9	CLT 4	DOV 7	ROU 2	HCY 1	MYB 11	GLN 21	13	NHA 32	SBO 9	DUB 7	IRP 17	1	BRI 5	DAR 31	RCH 14	DOV 25	CLT 3		CAR 38	MAR 10					5th	3916	[34]
		5																														NHA 37
1992		25		DAY 27	CAR 14	RCH 7	ATL	MAR 8	DAR	BRI 7	HCY 8		DUB	NZH 5	CLT	DOV	ROU	MYB	GLN	VOL	NHA 7	TAL	IRP		MCH	NHA	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	MAR	CAR	HCY					39th	1080	[35]
1993	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	DAR	BRI	HCY	ROU	MAR	NZH	CLT	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	TAL	IRP	MCH	NHA	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	ROU	CLT 42												69th	197	[36]
	Henderson Motorsports	75	Olds																									MAR 4	CAR	HCY	ATL
1994		20	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	MAR	DAR	HCY	BRI		NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	SBO	TAL	HCY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT 9	MAR									70th	214	[37]
		35	Chevy																												CAR 29
1995			Ford	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	NSV	DAR	BRI	HCY	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	TAL	SBO	IRP	MCH 35	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR	HOM										105th	58	[38]
1999		83	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	TEX	NSV	BRI	TAL	CAL	NHA	RCH	NZH	CLT	DOV	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB	PPR	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR DNQ	MEM	PHO DNQ	HOM				NA	-	[39]

Craftsman Truck Series[]

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	NCTC	Pts	Ref
1995		30	Dodge	PHO	TUS	SGS	MMR			I70	LVL	BRI 25	MLW	CNS	HPT	IRP		RCH	MAR	NWS 18	SON	MMR	PHO 30								55th	270	[40]
1996				HOM 26	PHO 27	POR 10	7	TUS 4	CNS 3	HPT 28	BRI 25	2*	MLW 4	LVL 3	I70 8	IRP 25	FLM 9	GLN 8	NSV 8	RCH 13	NHA 9	MAR 9	NWS 16	10	MMR 18	PHO 30	LVS 17				8th	3029	[41]
1997	Petty Enterprises	43	Dodge	WDW 6	TUS 8	HOM 13	PHO 14	POR 11	EVG 25	I70 2	NHA 23	TEX 12	BRI 8	NZH 25	MLW 8	LVL 3	CNS 8	HPT 7	IRP 3*	FLM 13	NSV 15	GLN 6	RCH 13	MAR 4	SON 6	MMR 9	CAL 34	PHO 19	LVS 15		8th	3385	[42]
1998				WDW 14	HOM 28	PHO 14	POR 12	EVG 19	24	GLN 31	TEX 33	BRI 9	MLW 2	NZH 6	CAL 20	5	IRP 14	NHA 6	5	NSV 1	HPT 3	LVL 7	RCH 16	MEM 3	GTY 6	MAR 2	SON 5	MMR 21	PHO 9	LVS 3	6th	3570	[43]
1999				HOM 29	PHO 7	EVG 21	MMR 5	MAR 1	MEM 30	5	I70 5*	BRI 12	TEX 8	23	GLN 23	MLW 12	NSV 3	NZH 9	MCH 3	NHA 9	IRP 30	GTY 10	HPT 14	RCH 15	LVS 7	LVL 3*	TEX 14	CAL 8			10th	3280	[44]
2000	Team Rensi Motorsports	16	Chevy	DAY 29	HOM 12	PHO 15	MMR 14	MAR 10	6	GTY 2	MEM 10	11	12	TEX 12	KEN 13	GLN 14	MLW 12	NHA 27	NZH 7	MCH 12	IRP 9	NSV 29	CIC 25	RCH 13	DOV 32	TEX 4	CAL 10				13th	2933	[45]
2001	MacDonald Motorsports	72	Chevy	DAY	HOM	MMR	MAR 25	GTY 13	DAR 33	14	DOV 26	TEX 32	MEM 15	MLW 26	KAN	KEN 13	NHA	IRP	NSH	CIC 25				TEX 14							20th	1708	[46]
			Dodge																		NZH 14	RCH 16	SBO 25		LVS 15	PHO 20	CAL 30

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	ATSC	Pts	Ref
		00	Olds		DAY			ATL		1					ISF	DSF	TOL	93rd	-	[47]

References[]

External links[]

• Jimmy Hensley driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Summary of career statistics
• Story of Hensley's 1989 Martinsville pole

Preceded by Bobby Hamilton

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year 1992

Succeeded by Jeff Gordon