Henderson named crew chief for Petty's No. 45

LEVEL CROSS, N.C. -- Veteran mechanic Bill Henderson has been named crew chief of the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge of NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Kyle Petty. Petty made the announcement Tuesday.

Henderson, 37, a native of Brookfield, Mass., now living in Mooresville, N.C., has been involved in NASCAR's highest levels of competition since 1999. Henderson joins Petty Enterprises from MBV Motorsports where he served as car chief for the #10 car of driver Scott Riggs.

"We believe that Bill's talents and capabilities will immediately help us on the track. He brings years of experience and new ideas to our teams. We believe that Bill has the knowledge and tools to take full advantage of our resources," said Petty, CEO of Petty Enterprises.

Henderson is familiar with the crew chief role. Henderson served as crew chief for the No. 12 FitzBradshaw NASCAR Busch Series team in 2003 for drivers Kerry Earnhardt and Tim Fedewa. Henderson also has past experience working at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, serving as the car chief for Jason Leffler.

"In the short time that I've been here I have been very impressed," said Henderson. "Petty Enterprises is very organized and one of the most professional organizations in Nextel Cup racing. I am excited to work for this Georgia-Pacific/Brawny team, not only for the rest of this season, but in the future as well."