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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

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“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 picked up a pair of top five finishes behind the wheel of the Mike Sandvig Motorsports No. 7 410 Sprint Car last weekend. Henderson finished fourth at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa on Saturday and fifth at Huset’s Speedway on Sunday.

Henderson also competed in two nights of racing behind the wheel of his family owned MAX Motorsports No. 83 360 Sprint Car where he finished seventh on Friday at Jackson Motorplex and 23rd at Knoxville as part of a Saturday night doubleheader.

“It wasn’t a bad weekend by any means and it shows we are consistent,” said Henderson. “In terms of our region of sprint car racing, we are a top car and we continue to knock off top fives on a regular basis.”

Henderson kicked off the weekend on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway where he qualified second quickest among 31 cars in attendance with a fastest lap of 15.265 seconds. He then advanced three positions in a heat race to finish third and locked himself directly into the night’s A-main event.

“We’ve got a really good car to start the night at Knoxville and that’s something to be happy about,” he said. “I know I’m always saying it, but the beginning of the night can make or break you and luckily it’s been good to us at Knoxville.”

Starting from the inside-second row of the A-main event, Henderson fell back to fourth on the opening lap. Following a yellow flag with 16 laps remaining, Henderson inherited the third position and he remained in the spot for the next 10 laps. With five laps to go, Henderson got bottled up behind a lap car while engaged in a three-wide battle for the runner-up position. The bobble caused him to fall to fourth, where he’d take the checkered flag at the conclusion of the event.

“If not for the lapped car there when we caught second it was going to be a wild three-wide battle in the turn,” said Henderson.” It was a lot of fun out there and anytime you can go toe to toe with Brian Brown and the McCarl’s at Knoxville you know you have a good car. We just need to put 20 laps together and we’ll be talking about wins instead of top fives.”

The team next headed to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday, where Henderson qualified fifth quickest out of 25 cars in attendance with a fastest lap of 11.137 seconds before advancing one position in a heat race to finish second. He earned a spot in the re-draw as a result and drew the No. 7 pill to claim an inside-fourth row starting spot for the feature.

In a race that went non-stop for 25 laps, Henderson was able to rally forward two positions to score a fifth-place finish. The top five was the team’s fifth in eight starts this season.

“It was really hard to pass as the track developed a lip early and was fast up top,” he said, “The bottom was ok early, but once it went away, we pretty much just had to ride around and hope for something to happen.”

Next up for Henderson and Sandvig will be a Memorial Day weekend tripleheader. They’ll start out at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, before joining the Northern Outlaw Sprint Association at Huset’s Speedway on Sunday and Monday for two nights. Henderson sits third in the track point standings at Knoxville and first at Huset’s entering the weekend.

“I think we are in for a really good weekend and we get an extra show to make some good money,” said Henderson. “For me this sport is all about momentum and I think it’s time we start a nice little streak and pick up some wins.”

While the Memorial Day weekend brings about an extra night of racing and the opportunity to make some good money, Henderson is also grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the men and women who have and are serving our country.

“I’m really grateful for those who have given their lives to allow us to live freely as American citizens and there’s never enough chances to say thank you to them,” said Henderson.” Not only those who we have lost, but those still serving today. To serve and fight like that takes a different breed of person. I wouldn’t be talking about racing on the weekends without those men and women and hopefully we can grab a win in their honor.”

WEEKEND RESULTS

May 21 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 3 (6); Feature: 4 (3).

May 22 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, D.D – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (3); Feature: 5 (7).

SEASON STATS

8 races, 0 wins, 5 top fives, 6 top 10s, 7 top 15, 7 top 20

UP NEXT

Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa and Sunday and Monday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Rider Racing Engines

Rider Racing Engines has been building high performance engines in Central Pennsylvania for more than 20 years. No matter whether you’re a street stock or a World of Outlaws sprint car, Rider Racing Engines can put you in victory lane. For more information visit www.RiderRacingEngines.com.

“We can’t do this without great partners and Rider Racing Engines certainly give us speed night in and night out,” said Henderson. “I always feel reassured knowing we have Rider power under the hood and I’m thankful for all they do for me and Mike.”

Sandvig would also like to thank www.powersports.com, Morton Buildings, GRP Motorsports, Eszlinger Electric, 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, Maxim Racing Inc. and Simpson Race Products for their continued support.