(Photo by Leister Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 3, 2021) – Justin Henderson capitalized on a fast Mike Sandvig owned race car and a pair of timely restarts to bring home a second-place finish Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway.
“We had a really good night as we had an unfortunate deal happen that one of our crew guys got hurt and I really wanted to win for him,” he said. “We definitely had a better car than we have had the last few weeks and I was happy with our performance.”
Henderson kicked off the evening by laying down a lap of 15.785 seconds in time trials, which was good enough for fourth quickest out of 21 cars in attendance. He then advanced three positions in a heat race to finish second and secure a spot into the night’s A Main inversion.
“We are getting closer and closer with this car and it’s been hard for us to find a good balance,” he said. “We’re making small steps forward and now I need to get better with my driving style so we can capitalize on our gains.”
Henderson lined up on the outside of the third row for the feature and by Lap 4 he was inside the top five. He utilized a restart on Lap 8 to move forward two positions to third and gained the runner-up position a few laps later after another restart. The final caution of the feature flew with three laps remaining and allowed Henderson a shot at the leader, but he was unable to mount a charge and settled for second as the checkered flag was waved.
The performance was the best of the season for Henderson aboard the Sandvig machine and spring boarded the team to fourth in the Knoxville Raceway championship standings. They trail third by only three markers and are 73 points back from the leader after three events.
“I made some good moves on restarts, but our car was getting better and better as the race went on,” Henderson said. “We ran our fastest lap of the race with only a few laps to go, but I missed my line there late two laps in a row and if I’d just hit it maybe once I think I had something for him at the end. Ultimately, I was searching around trying to make up ground and if I maybe just stayed in line we’d have been a little closer there at the end.”
Up next for Henderson and Sandvig will be a return to Knoxville Raceway this Saturday before a visit to Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., on Sunday for the Mother’s Day Opener. Henderson is looking forward to building on the speed the team has at Knoxville Raceway this season and he is hopeful that translates to Huset’s Speedway as well. Henderson and Sandvig plan to be regulars at Huset’s Speedway for the 2021 season on top of their weekly Knoxville Raceway schedule.
“We’re really gaining on things at Knoxville so I feel really confident heading in there to where we should be right in the thick of things and contending for a win,” he said. “In terms of Huset’s, we’re going to run every event they have this season and last year we were really good right away and even set fast time with the Outlaws. I feel like we’ve built a program up to where we can compete with the very best in the country and it’ll be nice to do that twice a week for most of the year. I’m excited to get out there.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 1 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 2 (6).
SEASON STATS –
5 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 5 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, and Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Henderson_racin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/90850346221/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – GRP Motorsports
GRP Motorsports, owned and managed by sprint car racing super fan Greg Parent, supports cars, drivers and racing events throughout the Midwest.
“Greg has been a longtime supporter of mine in my own deal for years and he’s coming on board to help with Mike’s deal as well,” Henderson said. “He’s done a lot for the sport and my career and that will make it even more special when Mike and I get that first win having him along for the ride.”
Sandvig would also like to thank Eszlinger Electric, Mamma’s Pizza of Wellsville, Morton Buildings, Emory Transmission, DeBerg Flooring, R2 Enterprise, Heartland Kitchen Solutions, Winters Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, BK Racing TI Components, SBS FK Shocks, Wings Unlimited, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Rider Racing Engines, 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 May 03, 2021
- Article Date: 5/3/2021 by Inside Line Promotions