Star Yamaha has become the powerhouse 250 team in the paddock over the last few years. With championships adding up, more and more riders being added to the team, and team owner, and Bobby Ragan’s desire to dominate, they must have good people in place. Jensen Hendler took over the 250 Team Manager role for 2022 and was rewarded with a West Coast 250 Championship with Christian Craig. We sat down and talked to Jensen to hear where he got his start and what some of his roles are.
For the full interview, check out the YouTube video right here. If you're interested in the condensed written version, scroll down just a bit further.
Jamie Guida - Vital MX: You took the Star Yamaha 250 Team Manager role this season and before that you were at JMC Motorsports for years. How did you get into the industry? Was it always something you wanted to be a part of?
Jensen Hendler - Star Racing Yamaha 250 Team Manager: Yeah, of course. Obviously, really young, I rode dirt bikes. By the time I was about to graduate from high school, I realized that racing dirt bikes probably wasn't going to be where I was going to make my money. So, I got a job at a local bike shop and worked there for about a year. I realized I really love this and I love dirt bikes and it's what I'm really passionate about. Which I feel like is extremely important in anything you do in life. And so I really feel like I've never even had a job. So that part's kind of cool. I worked at a bike shop for about a year, and then I went to MMI. After that I went back to work at this dealership. I did that for a few years, and I was making about as much money as you could make as a mechanic working at a dealership. And I was young, still probably 22 and was like, man, this ain't it, you know. Someday I want to have a family. I started a shop on my own and I did that for quite a while. I was friends with Brad Hoffman who is basically the principal of Star Racing. He oversees both teams. I called Brad, and he was looking for someone at the time and we moved to California. I worked for them in 2012. Mechanic's wages were not that good back then. I was making, you know, peanuts in comparison to what California requires and trying to raise a daughter and have a wife. I just couldn't afford to do it anymore. We moved back home to Washington, and I went to see the guys at JMC. The owner was there and after talking he wanted me to come to work.
Vital MX: You stayed at JMC and worked with the team until this season, correct?
Jensen: We built the team over five years and did pretty well. My primary role on the team was crew chief on the weekends. But during the week I would build all the engines, do all the mapping, all that stuff. And then, you know, on the weekend I would basically make sure everything happened at the races. We did that and we had some success. It was fun. But you know, towards the end before I left, it was like, man, why are we doing this? To run a program like that, it's a half a million dollars a year. And you know, the end goal is to sell bikes and sell engine jobs and make money. That's the end goal for business is make money. So, you know, to spend a half a million dollars a year when COVID hit and the industry got so hot, I mean, things were selling themselves like, you know, bikes were selling for over retail. The parts department was selling parts like crazy, services months out. They decided to maybe take a step back from racing. And that wasn't where my heart was. My heart is not in the service department. I don't get jacked up to go work on a manure covered farm quad. That's just not what I do.
Vital MX: How does the Star Yamaha opportunity come up?
Jensen: I like cool things and obviously being an engine guy, I'm really jacked on that stuff. And you know, what better team to go to work for than the team that has arguably the fastest 250F on the planet. I made a few phone calls and Derek Dwyer was still at the team when I reached out. I talked to him a little bit at Loretta's and then after that we spoke a bit. He offered for me to come work for Christian Craig. I committed to that. And then Derek ended up leaving the team prior to me coming there. I called Bobby Reagan and I told him I’d like the Crew Chief role more than I would being a rider mechanic. He said, “why don't you come to Hangtown and we'll sit down and talk about it?”. Me and my son jumped in the truck and went to Hangtown. He told me they had been operating without a crew chief and he just wanted me to be a rider mechanic. And I thought, well, at least I’d get my foot in the door. I picked Justin Cooper as my rider. I committed to that and went home and told the wife, “Hey, we're moving to Florida”. And she was all in. It was actually really cool.
Vital MX: What changed for you to get the Team Manager role instead?
Jensen: Two weeks prior to me leaving, Brad Hoffman had called me and told me Seth had left and that they were looking for a team manager. We spoke a little bit about it, and he asked if I knew anyone? He called me a couple days later and said he really would like me to be the team manager. I said,” Wow, that sounds gnarly”. It's a massive commitment. It's a huge role. And I'd never done that on a team to this caliber before. I had some concerns, of course. He said not to worry about all that stuff. Jeremy Coker would help me. He would help me. So, I committed to it and here we are. And it's been an awesome thing and I really, really, really enjoy it. And it's fun. I mean, at times it's like having nine kids, but yeah, it’s great!
Vital MX: When you get this promotion to team manager, there's probably some things that were unexpected. I assume you're responsible for ordering parts and you’ve got to know how many chains to order and how much race fuel you're going to use.
Jensen: Yeah, it's funny that you say that because that was probably the biggest eye opener. I was putting together Supercross stuff. I kind of figured out, all right, I know I need about this many chains and whatever. But outdoors they change the chain, the chain sliders, the chain guide and the chain rollers every single race. If you've got five guys racing 12 rounds, that's 60 chains just to go racing. 60 chain sliders, 60 chain guides, 60 chain rollers. That's just to go racing. That's not including if somebody makes a midday gearing change and you've got to cut a new chain. The quantity of parts that we order is insane. Absolutely insane. I would say outdoors we will use at least a hundred chains. And there's hundreds of clutches. It seems like every week big, huge boxes show up with hundreds of fiber plates and hundreds of metal plates. It just depends on the rider. Some guys could smoke a clutch every time they see the track. Some guys might go all day on a clutch like Christian.
Vital MX: Do you miss the mechanical side? Working on the engines and testing?
Jensen: I do spend a little bit of time with the engine department on development stuff. That piques my interest obviously coming from an engine background. Yeah, that's probably my biggest enjoyment. Just spending time with those guys. And it's somewhat rewarding when they come up to me and they say, “Hey, we have this idea, what do you think?”. They come to me for input and that that makes me feel good that they think I'm knowledgeable enough.
Vital MX: How do you deal with a situation such as a rider wanting to try something that is not a sponsored part?
Jensen: The first question would be, is it visible? If it is visible and it's not a sponsor part, then it may not be an option, Will we try it and test it? Yes. Let’s say it's a triple clamp, right? And he wants to try brand Y, triple clamp. And we're sponsored by Neken. We would test it and if it's better, then we would go to Neken and say, “Hey, we tested some stuff and we think it's better. What can we do to make our / your product better?”. And they will accommodate us for that item as fast as they possibly can. Then we would test until we get a part that we can race on, you know?
Vital MX: You have a lot of young riders on the team and lots of expectations? Bobby can be somewhat demanding. He expects the best out of everybody. And these kids are young, man. They're not necessarily totally mature mentally. How do you help with that process? How do you deal with them?
Jensen: We have meetings and, Bobby is cut and dry. I mean, if you are, I don't want to say being a pussy, but if you're out there being a pussy, yeah, Bobby Reagan is going to tell you that. And you've got to be able to take it. I mediate with them a bit and help. But they better get some tough skin because Bobby's not going to tone it down. Nor am I. As far as the rookie kids, luckily, they've been with us long enough and they know. He's been aggressive enough to tell a rider that, “Hey, you're not racing tonight”.
Vital MX: You’re married and have a couple kids. How do you relax and try to step away from the racing when you are home?
Jensen: Yeah. Unfortunately, it's racing. My kids love to race. They both race. My daughter, she was on a 65, and my son races a Honda CRF150R. I need to get my daughter an 85. They just love to race and ride. They've ridden at the farm a couple of times, and they love it. My son, he took up baseball this year. This spring he just said, “Dad, I'd really like to play baseball”. He’d never even picked up a baseball bat or a baseball glove, ever. We got him into baseball, and luckily, he has a really, good coach. They went undefeated in spring, and then he got picked for the all-star team.
Vital MX: Wow, good for him. Thanks for the time!
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