Gary DeHart Signs on as General Mgr. and Crew Chief for #35 Amick NASCAR BGN Series Team

20 November 1997

CHARLOTTE, NC -- In a shocker of a story, it has been learned that Gary DeHart
will be moving to the #35 Amick Busch Grand National team effective December
1st

DeHart, crew chief behind the 1996 Winston Cup championship with driver Terry
Labonte, was reassigned within the Hendrick Motorsport organization late in
the 1997. The move was as a result of a stress induced incident following the
Martinsville race in September.

Since that move, to the chassis shop at Hendrick, DeHart has been courted by
some of the biggest names in the business - including the new Dale Earnhardt
Incorporated Winston Cup team. DeHart also was considering opening his own
chassis shop to supply rolling chassis to the NASCAR ranks.

The move was unexpected at the Hendrick shops. "When we went home Friday Gary
said that he'd see us Monday. Well, when we got the shop he was loading up his
tools." said a Hendrick employee. "It was a total shock for us. We wanted Gary
to stay. I also know a lot of folks wanted Gary to go to work for them."

One of those folks was Lyndon Amick. "We could only dream of getting someone
like Gary DeHart to join the team," said Amick. "We didn't think he'd
seriously consider joining us but we had nothing to lose by asking. We talked
a while back but things got serious last weekend."

Things sure were serious. After a meeting between DeHart and the Amick
organization DeHart decided on becoming the general manager and crew chief for
the sophomore BGN effort - dashing the hopes of the big buck suitors that
circled DeHart.

Lyndon Amick went on to say, "We've known Gary for a long time. We've asked
for advice from him for a number of years. We've always gotten along well and
then this opportunity came up. He was interested and he believed in what we
are doing. He said that this team was a breath of fresh air. I'm really
excited and I feel blessed to Gary on board with us."

DeHart will officially join the team on December 1st. But DeHart is already
making frequent trips to the shop lining things up for the 1998 season. "Gary
has been stopping by the shop all week and setting things up. He's also
started to get to know the crew so that we can hit the ground running,"
concluded Amick.

Mike Snow -- The Auto Channel