Archive for category: Justin Henderson

Justin Henderson scored a disappointing 23rd-place finish at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night after a mechanical issue ended what appeared to be  a promising night behind the wheel of the Mike Sandvig Motorsports No 7 410 Sprint Car.

“Luckily I saved the car from getting into the wall, but overall, a tough night for our team,” said Henderson. “Sometimes I feel like we’d have no luck at all if not for bad luck. So overall it’s not much to write about.”

Henderson began the evening by timing in 5th quickest out of 32 cars in attendance with a fastest lap of 15.837 seconds during qualifying. He then advanced one position in a heat race to finish fourth and secured a spot in the night’s feature event.

“Qualifying well makes  everything easier and it seems we turned the corner there,” said Henderson. “We were not great in the heat race and just managed to hold on to get her in the show, so we’re still working on that part of things.”

Following a fortunate re-draw, Henderson lined up from the 5th starting position for the feature. However, his night practically ended before it ever started when he came to a stop against the outside guardrail on lap two with a broken tie-rod bolt. As a result, he was  credited with finishing in the 23rd position.

“We didn’t really start too well, so there’s not much we can take from that experience,” he said. “I’d have liked to maybe learn a few things from the changes we made, but that’s the way things go sometimes.”

While the finish was frustrating, Henderson was able to find encouragement in the early speed the car had on track.

“We turned the corner a little bit and we’re kind of trial and error until we get it right,” he said. “I feel like we’re getting back on track as a team, and we had some speed. So, we’ll just take the positives we can from it and just keep moving forward.”

Next up for the duo will be another Saturday of racing at Knoxville Raceway, followed by a return to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday. 

Henderson currently sits on top of the point standings at Huset’s, where he holds a 12-point advantage in search of his second consecutive track championship at the Brandon, S.D Speedway.

“We’re leading the points at Huset’s and It’s always a good time when you enter as the points leader, ” said Henderson. “The crazy thing is that I don’t know that we have really scratched the surface in how good we are as a team this season yet.

“We’re really grinding away at this deal and we’re working hard to be ready come Nationals time. I feel like the best is yet to come for this team and I’m looking forward to clicking off a few wins hopefully in the near future.”

WEEKEND RESULTS

July 9 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 23 (5).

SEASON STATS

24 races, 0 wins, 7 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 15 top 15’s, 15 top 20’s

UP NEXT

Saturday, July 16th, at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa., Sunday, July 17th, at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Heartland Kitchen Solutions

Heartland Kitchen Solutions is a Pepperidge Farm route that services the Des Moines, Iowa, area large and small stores. Owned by race fan Curt Plough, who is a retired U.S Army First Sergeant, the business provides exceptional cookies, crackers, breads and more that carry a 75-year tradition of feeding families.

“Mike and Justin are kind of a low budget team and I always enjoy being a part of the underdog mentality,” Plough said. “They kind of remind me of myself and I’m happy to help take them over the hump with our support.”

Sandvig would also like to thank Powersports.com, Morton Buildings, GRP Motorsports, Eszlinger Electric, Maxim Racing Inc, DeBerg Flooring, Kyle Johnson Trucking, R2 Enterprise, GRP Motorsports, Team Enterprise Metal Fabrication and Powder Coating, Rider Racing Engines, Winters Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, BK Racing TI Components, SBS FK Shocks, Wings Unlimited, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, and Simpson Race Products for their continued support.

Justin Henderson scored a weekend best eighth-place finish as part of a doubleheader at Knoxville Raceway last Saturday night. The top ten finish was a welcomed sight after a lap one wreck resulted in a 24th place finish during the first feature event of the night.

Plans to compete during the weekend at Huset’s Speedway fell through after a rainstorm hit the Speedway on Sunday and postponed the event.

“I really thought we had a car capable of winning in the first one and we probably would have been on the podium in feature two if not for that wreck,” said Henderson. “We didn’t get to do near as much racing as we’d hoped this weekend, but to be able to bring home a top ten in a banged up car lessons the sting a little bit.”

Henderson kicked off the night at Knoxville by timing in ninth quickest out of 35 cars in attendance in time trials with a fastest lap of 15.280 seconds. He then advanced two positions in a heat race to finish in second and earned a spot in the feature re-draw as a result.

After a lengthy rain delay at the track, Henderson lined up from the outside second row for the A-main and was feeling confident about his chances of ending up in victory lane. However, any thoughts of scoring his first win of the 2022 racing season came to a screeching halt in turn’s three and four on the opening circuit. 

While running in the third position, the second place driver got turned around in front of him and left him with nowhere to go. He made heavy contact with the spinning car and ended up getting into the outside guardrail as a result. The team surveyed the damage and opted to get the car ready for the make-up feature instead of heading back out with a damaged racecar. As a result, he was credited with finishing 24th.

“When he started spinning, I wanted to get around him quickly to be able to keep going and I thought he was actually going to save it,” he said. “I just barely caught him and when it backed into the fence the car was in pretty rough shape. Right away our main focus was to be ready for the second feature and not lose too many points sitting in the trailer.”

The team made repairs to the car and Henderson was able to line up for the make-up feature event from the seventh position. As a result of the damage sustained in the first feature event, Henderson struggled with the handling of the car and he managed to bring the car home in one piece with an eighth-place finish. The top ten finish was the ninth of the season for Henderson aboard the Sandvig Motorsports No. 7.

“We got the car in good enough shape to get back on track, but it was a monster to handle,” said Henderson. “I fell back to 14th actually, but I tried something really unorthodox to make the car feel half decent and we actually managed to get going and ended up eighth.”

Next up for Henderson and Sandvig will be a pair of $10,000-to-win World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car starts on Friday and Saturday at Knoxville before they turn their attention to defending their points lead on Sunday at Huset’s Speedway.

With the added money on the line and the uptick in competition with the Outlaws in town, Henderson is hoping the speed they have had all season to start the night at Knoxville will pay off when it counts.

“We’re excited to compete with the Outlaws and we’ll be doing it with a new car after last weekend’s wreck,” said Henderson. “I hate to lose a car that we have had so much success in, but this one is good too and we’re ready to let her rip. We’ve been fast all season to start the night at Knoxville and the way the Outlaw format works you’ve got to be fast right off the trailer and I’m hopeful we can break through with a win or a podium and forget about last weekend.”

WEEKEND RESULTS

June 4 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 24 (3)

June 4 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: NA; Heat race: NA; Feature: 8 (7)

SEASON STATS

12 races, 0 wins, 6 top 5s, 9 top 10s, 10 top 15S, 10 top 20S

UP NEXT 

Friday and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars. Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Powersports.com

Whether you’re looking for your home away from home or adrenaline on two wheels, Powersports.com has the RV, ATV, Boat or Motorcycle for your next great escape. Just like life on the trails, it’s time to take control of your powersports buying, selling and ownership experience in a whole new way. Done bigger, better and bolder, www.Powersports.com utilizes their 22 years of experience to make a power-sports platform that not only is crafted to help you seamlessly find your next fun toy, but to also create a community of thrill-seeking individuals as well.

“I’ve known the owner of Powersports.com since high school and they are great people,” said Henderson. “They help both Mike’s team and my personal 360 team and their involvement allows us to be competitive and race a lot. If you are in the market for anything on four wheels or a boat, www.powersports.com is your go to website.”

Sandvig would also like to thank Morton Buildings, GRP Motorsports, Eszlinger Electric, Heartland Kitchen Solutions, DeBerg Flooring, R2 Enterprise, GRP Motorsports, Team Enterprise Metal Fabrication and Powder Coating, Rider Racing Engines, Winters Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, BK Racing TI Components, SBS FK Shocks, Wings Unlimited, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Maxim Racing Inc. and Simpson Race Products for their continued support.

Justin Henderson highlighted a two-race weekend behind the wheel of the Mike Sandvig Motorsports No. 7 410 Sprint Car with a third-place finish on Sunday at Huset’s Speedway. He also scored a 22nd-place finish on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway following late-race mechanical issues that spoiled what appeared to be a promising night.

“We’ve got a ton of speed at Knoxville, and it shows every time we are there, but we can’t have nights like Saturday if we want to win a championship,” said Henderson. “Overall, it was a good weekend and I’m happy with the way the car feels. We’re going to find victory lane sooner than later.”

Henderson kicked off the weekend on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway where he qualified seventh quickest among 34 cars in attendance with a fastest lap of 16.318 seconds. He then advanced one position in a heat race to finish fourth and locked himself directly into the night’s A-main event.

“We’re continuously fast to start the night and we’re putting ourselves in a good position to be competitive,” he said. “That’s what you need to be successful and it’s nice to know you don’t need to worry too much about getting into shows.”

Lining up from the outside-third row starting spot for the feature, Henderson quickly advanced to the fourth position on lap two. After a multi-lap battle for the position with fifth-place driver Austin McCarl, he settled into fourth over the first half of the event. Following a restart with eight laps to go, he slipped back to fifth, but with two laps remaining he was able to advance back to fourth. Entering turn one on the following circuit, he broke a steering arm and was unable to control the car, so he came to a stop against the outside guardrail. He would not rejoin the field and as a result he was credited with finishing in 22nd.

“I don’t think we had anything for the top two guys on the track, so we were running right around where we were supposed to be in terms of speed,” said Henderson. “Unfortunately, we broke the steering arm there on the last lap and I lost brakes and couldn’t control the car at all. It stinks to see a top five go away there with only three turns remaining, but overall, we know that we had a pretty good car and aren’t far off in terms of competing for wins.”

The team next headed to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday, where Henderson qualified eighth quickest out of 26 cars in attendance with a fastest lap of 11.065 seconds before finishing where he started – second – in a heat race, He earned a spot in the re-draw as a result and drew the No. 6 pill to claim an outside-third row starting spot for the feature.

On a track that took rubber near the halfway point of the feature, Henderson was unable to mount any real charge to the front of the field. However, he was able to capitalize in key moments to advance three positions throughout the duration of the A-main to earn a third-place finish and a spot on the podium. The top five finish was the team’s third of the season in six total starts.

“It was really hard to get up speed early in the night as it was pretty slick,” he said. ” I found the rubber pretty quick in the feature and I stayed there most the race. I was able to pick up a few spots, but by then everyone was just locked to the bottom going as fast as we could go. Everybody is racing on equal terms, so I can’t really complain about the night, and I’ll take the third.”

Next up for Henderson and Sandvig will be another weekend doubleheader at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday and Huset’s Speedway on Sunday. Following last weekend’s disappointment at Knoxville, Henderson sits third in the track point standings. Meanwhile at Huset’s, Henderson sits in second in the standings and trails first by a mere 12 points.

Henderson also plans to compete for $3000 on Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota in his own MAX Motorsports No. 83 360 Sprint Car and again at Knoxville on Saturday. If he can sweep the weekend in the 360 division, there is an added $3000 bonus on the line as well.

“This is a big weekend for us, and I look forward to it every year,” said Henderson. “Anytime I can get extra laps in my car it can only benefit me in Mike’s car. In recent season’s we have been really fast in the 360 division, so I’m hoping that we can pick up a few wins and some extra money this weekend and hopefully that will rub off on the 410 sprint car side of things too.”

WEEKEND RESULTS

May 15 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 22 (5)

May 16 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, D.D – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 3 (6)

SEASON STATS

6 races, 0 wins, 3 top 5s, 4 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 5 top 20s

UP NEXT

Saturday, May 22nd, at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa and Sunday, May 23rd, at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Eszlinger Electric

Eszlinger Electric, founded in 1984, provides residential electrical services in the Sioux Falls, S.D. area. They offer free estimates, accept credit cards and are a licensed, bonded and insured company. To find out more information, call 605-271-8488 or 605-941-5087.

“Eszlinger Electric has been a great friend of the team and we’re grateful for their support for the past three seasons,” Team Owner Mike Sandvig said. “We could not do this without supporters like them and I’m glad to have them apart of our team.”

Sandvig would also like to thank www.powersports.com, Morton Buildings, GRP Motorsports, Heartland Kitchen Solutions, DeBerg Flooring, R2 Enterprise, GRP Motorsports, Team Enterprise Metal Fabrication and Powder Coating, Winters Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, BK Racing TI Components, SBS FK Shocks, Wings Unlimited, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Rider Racing Engines, Maxim Racing Inc. and Simpson Race Products for their continued support.