(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (July 28, 2021) – Justin Henderson picked up a pair of top-five finishes behind the wheel of the Mike Sandvig Racing No. 7 during two nights of racing last weekend at Knoxville Raceway and Huset’s Speedway.
The top-five outings wrapped up another successful weekend of racing after Henderson earned a win in his family owned No. 83 sprint car a week ago Tuesday at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa.
“We didn’t do well qualifying both nights and that’s a department where you have to be good in at these races,” he said. “Coming off a few weeks of winning you want to maintain that standard and I guess we were due for something different. I can’t be upset with top-five finishes, but history says we can do better and that's what we want to do weekly.”
The team entered last weekend on a four-race winning streak. The action began on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where Henderson timed in ninth quickest among 24 drivers during qualifying with a lap of 16.192 seconds. He then won a heat race from the fourth starting spot to lock into the A Main.
Henderson lined up fifth for the feature and by Lap 6 he’d advanced to third. He ultimately slipped back one position to finish fourth for his fifth top-five finish of the season at ‘The Sprint Car Capital of the World.’ Henderson continues to hold the points lead by 17 points with three points races remaining on the 2021 schedule.
“Where we went out in time trials affected us as after our laps it seemed everyone went to the bottom and that’s where the track ended up being fastest,” he said. “We managed to win our heat, but overall, it was just a night where I can’t really explain it other than to say it wasn’t our night.”
Henderson and Sandvig headed to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday. Henderson laid down a lap of 11.450 seconds in qualifying, which was eighth quickest out of 23 drivers. Henderson won a heat race to make the feature redraw, which ended up with him pulling the No. 7 to start on the inside of the fourth row in the main event.
He cracked the top five around the halfway mark of the 25-lap feature, but with the leader setting an extremely quick pace Henderson struggled to make up much ground and he settled for fifth. The top five was his ninth of the season at the track and he holds a 22-point advantage in the standings.
“Sunday was probably the worst we’ve been at Huset’s this year and I was trying to do some different things to make up ground,” he said. “I had a chance at third and I kind of dove in there really hard and it ended up costing us a spot and we ended up fifth instead.”
Next up for the team will be another two-race weekend. They’ll head to Knoxville Raceway on Saturday to compete for $7,000 with the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions before traveling to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday for the $10,000-to-win Bull Haulers Brawl presented by Folkens Brothers Trucking.
“The money is definitely in the back of our mind and it’s two tracks we clearly know very well,” Henderson said. “We want to run well for the points deal, but you also want to win races and get rewarded that way. So, the goal is to just go in with the same mindset we have all season and try to take care of business.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 24 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 4 (5).
July 25 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 5 (7).
SEASON STATS –
32 races, 6 wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s, 24 top 15s, 29 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, with the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions 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 – Morton Buildings
Morton Buildings builds the finest, pole barns, equestrian buildings, steel buildings and more. For more information, visit http://www.MortonBuildings.com.
“We’ve had a relationship with Morton Buildings for more than four years and they’ve really grown in the racing scene,” Sandvig said. “We’re thrilled to have such a reputable sponsor as part of our team.”
Sandvig would also like to thank Mamma’s Pizza of Wellsville, Emory Transmission, Eszlinger Electric, DeBerg Flooring, R2 Enterprise, GRP Motorsports, Winters Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, BK Racing TI Components, SBS FK Shocks, Wings Unlimited, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Rider Racing Engines, 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 Jul 28, 2021
- Article Date: 7/28/2021 by Inside Line Promotions