(Photo by Leister Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (April 20, 2021) – Justin Henderson wheeled the Mike Sandvig Racing No. 7 to a 15th-place finish during the Pella Motors/Kraig Ford Season opener at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night.
The result gives the team its third top-15 finish in three races to begin the 2021 racing season.
“We learned a lot about the car and we were having a pretty good night, but ultimately we still have room to grow,” Henderson said. “We thought we knew what to do going into the night, but ultimately found a couple things not to do that will help us going forward.”
Henderson kicked off the evening by laying down a quickest lap of 16.118 seconds in time trials, which was good enough for 16th out of 37 cars in attendance. He followed that up by locking himself directly into the feature by finishing fourth in a heat race.
Henderson, who started the feature 18th, advanced as high as 10th. However, he got shuffled back during two late restarts and settled for 15th at the finish line.
“We were actually moving forward pretty good and honestly I just made a bunch of poor decisions on those last few restarts,” he said. “Every time I decided to make a move there at the end it seemed like it was the wrong move. I just need to be better as a driver and we’ll be in good shape going forward.”
Henderson believes they were able to learn a lot about the car and the experience racing against multiple World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series invaders will benefit them long-term in their quest for a Knoxville Raceway championship.
“It's not too often that you look at a 15th-place finish as the precursor to a championship season, but I think we learned a ton about this car and the motors are running as good as they ever have,” he said. “There were some really good cars in attendance and we passed quite a few cars that didn’t get back by us. We’ve got a really strong team and once my instincts get caught up behind the wheel and we shake off the rust from the offseason I think we’re in for a very successful season.”
The team will again tackle Knoxville Raceway this Saturday.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 17 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 16; Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 15 (18).
SEASON STATS –
3 races, 0 wins, 0 top five, 0 top 10s, 3 top 15s, 3 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
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 Eszlinger Electric Mamma’s Pizza of Wellsville, Morton Buildings, Emory Transmission, DeBerg Flooring, R2 Enterprise, GRP Motorsports, Winters Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, BK Racing TI Components, SBS FK Shocks, Wings Unlimited, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Heartland Kitchen Solutions, 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.
- Shawn Miller on Apr 20, 2021
- Article Date: 4/20/2021 by Inside Line Promotions