Ken, Matt and Alice Hensley, Tony and Kelly Smith and all the guys in the shop, welcome you to one of the oldest Mopar shops in the US. Forty some-odd years ago, Ken’s father opened the Dodge-Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in Maynardville, TN. Ken learned to drive on the dealership’s wrecker. In 1968, the Hensley’s bought the Dodge dealership in Morristown, TN. It was there, in the attic of Hensley Dodge, that Ken and Alice set up their first speed shop. Sent to Alaska by the US Army in 1970, Ken had his father ship all the speed parts to the far north. They (Ken and Alice) divided their tiny apartment in half, using the sofa as a divider. They sold Mopar parts to the locals. (There really is a drag race track in Alaska!) Matt was born in Fairbanks and hates cold weather to this day.

In the many years that followed, they continued to build engines, transmissions and rearends for restoration, street and full time racers in the southeast. Ken and Alice campaigned several race cars, including a 1963 Dodge 2-door post, a 1963 Dodge station wagon (which fell to Matt at age 15), a 1968 Dodge Dart (Alice’s), but most importantly a 1968 Factory Hemi Cuda (Ken’s first love). That was way back in the 70’s and 80’s and we went racing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Matt literally grew up at race tracks and car shows.

In November 1996, Mr. McCandless decided to retire. Matt had been working at Eagle Racing Engines for the past 5 years, Ken had been on the road as a manufacturer’s rep for 18 years…everyone was ready for a change. It seemed like an opportunity of a lifetime. A suitable building become available, and before we knew it…we were open for business full time.

It’s now almost 10 years later and our goal is still to provide excellent, friendly service to all the Mopar enthusiasts over the world. We feel we have accomplished a great deal during the past years thanks to you. The friends we have made are invaluable to us. Thanks to you, our customers, our friends, we are still here.

If you are new to HRE, please know that we have been in the same area over 25 years. We have worked very hard to build our reputation and it is extremely important to us. We hop you will give us a chance to become your Mopar shop.

-- Ken, Alice, Matt, Tony and Kelly

"I have been involved in Chrysler's race program since 1965. I raced Hemi cars from 1965-1974, drove for Sox & Martin from 70-74, driving their #2 4 speed Pro Stock car. In 1974,1 started McCandless Performance. I did a lot of the W2 small block test work for Chrysler. I ran McCandless Performance for 22 years and was very proud of what we accomplished. We were one of Chrysler's largest Direct Connection and Mopar Performance dealers. We also had a machine shop and a rearend shop.

After 22 years, Marie and I decided to sell out and retire. I did not want to just dump everything and quit. Ken and Alice Hensley came over from Knoxville and talked to me about buying a large part of the parts and machine shop equipment. After spending a couple of days with them, I felt very good about their ability to continue in the same direction we had been going. To help the Chrysler racers, treat them right and be honest with people. So many places you call have people on the phone who have never raced or built a motor or transmission.

The main reason I felt good about Ken and Alice was because they were hands on people. They started small and have grown a great deal in 4 years. The first thing they did was to hire Steve Jarrett, who had been with me since day one, 22 years. This was a very good move.

They have added to their machine shop by buying a Flowbench and have really learned to use it. Their son. Matt, now has one of the fastest SS/A 4 speed cars in the country. SS/A is the toughest class in the country. Matt and Bob Reed are the only ones I know of who do their own motors, build their own cars and maintain them by themselves.

I feel very good In saying that when you call the Hensley's, you talk to real hands on racers, not some sales person who drives a Datsun to work. These people are all Chrysler and want to help whoever calls them. Ken and I talk about 3 times a week. This keeps me up to date on new things and I am still able to help Ken and Steve. I have spent most of my life dealing with the Chrysler cars and I still enjoy being able to help the Chrysler car person race or street with their projects. I hope I will always be able to be involved with Chrysler cars and good people like the Hensleys and Steve Jarrett."

-- Herb McCandless