6/15/2021
Inside Line Promotions
Henderson and Sandvig Continue to String Together Top Fives at Huset’s Speedway
(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (June 15, 2021) – Justin Henderson highlighted a three-race weekend by guiding the Mike Sandvig Racing No. 7 to a third-place finish on Sunday at Huset’s Speedway.
The podium performance followed a frustrating two nights of racing at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where Henderson narrowly missed the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series feature on Friday and finished 20th on Saturday.
“We weren’t great, but we weren’t horrible honestly,” he said. “The results were not what we hoped for at Knoxville, but honestly if a few things had fallen our way we’d be talking about an entirely different weekend in terms of results.”
Henderson kicked off Night 1 of the Brownells Big Gun Bash by qualifying 12th quickest in a time trial flight with a lap of 15.668 seconds. He finished sixth in a heat race and as a result had to run the Last Chance Showdown. A fifth-place finish was only one position shy of transferring into the main event.
“We were kind of a victim of circumstance as the guy in front of me didn’t take off right away and it really cost us in the heat,” he said. “We kind of got stuck in a spot during the B Main and I just didn’t make some good decisions behind the wheel. With a field like they have with the Outlaws, you’ve got to be sharp and on top of your game and I just wasn't really.”
The team returned to ‘The Sprint Car Capital of the World’ on Saturday and timed in 11th quickest in a time trial flight with a lap of 16.868 seconds. Henderson locked into the A Main by finishing fifth in a heat race. He lined up on the outside of the ninth row and fell back as far as 22nd before rebounding to pass two cars to finish 20th for his 16th top-20 outing of the season.
“We were okay Saturday night and got into the feature, but that was about as good as it got,” he said. “We picked up a vibration in the feature and the car wasn’t not drivable, but it was definitely a challenge. I just kind of held on to get what I could and we ended up 20th.”
Henderson closed out the weekend on Sunday at Huset’s Speedway, where he timed in eighth quickest in time trials with a lap of 10.881 seconds. He then won a heat race from the second starting position to earn a spot in the feature redraw. Henderson pulled the No. 3 to start the Northern Outlaw Sprint Association A Main third. With the feature running non-stop and the leader setting a very quick pace, Henderson was unable to make up any ground and finished where he started.
“We haven't been great in qualifying late, but man we were fast in the heat race and the car felt great,” he said. “We battled for too many laps trying to hold on to third and we had a shot at second, but overall, we were probably a third-place car.”
Next up for Henderson and Sandvig will be a regular weekly show at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday before a trip to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday for the Chuck Zitterich Tribute paying $6,000 to win. The race on Sunday serves as the official kickoff of THE SHOWDOWN and is a precursor to the World of Outlaws visit to the track on June 21-22 for the inaugural Huset’s 50 presented by BillionAuto.com. That event pays $30,000 to win the finale that could potentially lead to a $100,000 bonus if a driver can win it and next weekend’s AGCO Jackson Nationals finale at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn.
Henderson leads all regular competitors at Huset’s Speedway this season with five top-five finishes, including a pair of wins. He’s hoping to parlay that success into a big weekend at the South Dakota oval and a shot at some big money next week.
“Ever since that wreck we have been a little off in time trials, but I feel like we keep getting closer to where we need to be to be winning again,” he said. “This is when the season really starts picking up and I think we’ve got to be one of the favorites when it comes to Huset’s. I’m looking forward to the challenge and if everything plays out like we hope we’ll be coming home with a lot of money and some wins.”
QUICK RESULTS –
June 11 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 6 (6); B-main: 5 (5).
June 12 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 11; Heat race: 5 (6); Feature: 20 (18).
June 13 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (3).
SEASON STATS –
19 races, 2 wins, 8 top fives, 10 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 17 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa; and Sunday through Tuesday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., for THE SHOWDOWN featuring the Chuck Zitterich Tribute and the Huset’s 50 presented by BillionAuto.com with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Henderson_racin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/90850346221/
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 racing a street stock or a World of Outlaws sprint car, Rider Racing Engines can put you in Victory Lane. For more information, visit http://www.RiderRacingEngines.com.
“We can’t do this without great partners and they certainly make us fast night in and night out,” Henderson said. “I always feel reassured knowing we have Rider power under the hood and I’m thankful for their help.”
Sandvig would also like to thank Morton Buildings, Powersports.com, Eszlinger Electric, Mamma’s Pizza of Wellsville, Emory Transmission, Heartland Kitchen Solutions DeBerg Flooring, R2 Enterprise, GRP Motorsports, Winters Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, BK Racing TI Components, SBS FK Shocks, Wings Unlimited, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Triple X Race Co., Boji Custom Metal Works and Simpson Race Products for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
