Inside Line Promotions
BRANDON, S.D. (July 14, 2021) – Justin Henderson continued his winning ways behind the wheel of the Mike Sandvig owned No. 7 Sunday night for his third win of the season at Huset’s Speedway and fourth overall.
“It’s too bad we didn’t get to race Knoxville as well as our car is as good as it’s ever been and I’m very confident every time we hit the track,” Henderson said. “To be winning like we are and running up front, it’s makes it easy to smile and have fun at the track each week.”
Henderson was scheduled to compete on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, but persistent rain showers cancelled the evening’s Corn Belt Clash. The team turned its focus to Sunday’s jaunt with the Buffalo Wild Wings Northern Outlaw Sprint Association and made the five-hour trip north to Huset’s Speedway.
Henderson, who sat second in the track standings entering the night, showed speed early by timing in quickest overall among 25 drivers with a lap of 10.793 seconds. He then advanced two positions in a heat race to finish second.
“We obviously were fast out the gate as we got quick time and it put us in a good spot to begin the night,” he said. “We were able to pass some cars in the heat and when things click like that you know you’ve got a shot to win come feature-time.”
Henderson earned the second starting spot for the A Main thanks to the feature redraw and he rocketed off the outside front row, using the high side to take the lead on the opening circuit. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing as he was suffering from a bent radius rod and nearly crashed as he tagged the wall in turn one trying to avoid a sideways car on Lap 10.
“We hit a rut on like Lap 4 and that bent the radius rod to a point that the wheels were pretty much pointed in the wrong direction and I was fighting it pretty good just to keep the car straight,” he said. “I really had to keep the car wound up on the top to be able to drive the thing the way it needed and it took everything I had to miss that car. And the contact certainly didn’t help the car drive any easier.”
Henderson was able to regroup, but lost the lead briefly on Lap 16 in traffic. He powered back into the lead one lap later on the outside and never looked back during the final nine circuits as he took the checkered flag by 0.435 of a second for his second NOSA Series triumph of the season. The win also moved him back into the lead in the Huset’s Speedway standings.
“I wasn’t trying to slow down, but I had to be careful with the race car given the circumstances with the damage,” he said. “When you are up front and kind of babying the car you don’t really know how fast you need to be going to stay out front. They caught up to me and once I saw that I knew I had to get going. From there out I just went as hard as the car would let me and we were lucky enough to get another win.”
Next up for Henderson and Sandvig will be a two-race weekend as they’ll return to Knoxville Raceway on Saturday for Van Wall Equipment Night during the Marion County Fair and Huset’s Speedway on Sunday night. While Henderson and Sandvig are focused on championships at both tracks and being consistent, their recent speed and boost in confidence has them looking forward to the 60th annual Knoxville Nationals next month.
“As long we don’t beat ourselves we’re going to be pretty good this weekend and going forward,” he said. “We’ve got a few weekends left before the Knoxville Nationals and we’re just focused on doing our job each weekend and continuing to get faster as we go. However, you work all season to get to a point where you are competitive and have a shot come Knoxville Nationals time and I think we’re at a point to where we can start dreaming a little bit and preparing for that, too.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 11 – Huset’s Raceway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 1 (2).
SEASON STATS –
28 races, 4 wins, 11 top fives, 15 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 25 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 – Eszlinger Electric
Eszlinger Electric, founded in 1984, provides residential electrical services in the Sioux Falls, S.D. area. They offer free estimates, accept credit cards and are a licensed, bonded and insured company. For more information, call 605-271-8488 or 605-941-5087.
“Eszlinger Electric has been a great friend of the team and we’re grateful for their support for the past two seasons,” Team Owner Mike Sandvig said. “We could not do this without supporters like them and I’m glad to have them apart of our team.”
Sandvig would also like to thank Powersports.com, Morton Buildings, 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, Rider Racing Engines, Triple X Race Co., Boji Custom Metal Works and Simpson Race Products for their continued support.