From Must See Racing
GRAND BLANC, Mich. (Jan. 11, 2026) – In its now-traditional gala fashion, Must See Racing recognized its top drivers and teams from the 2025 season during the sanctioning body’s Night of Champions celebration Saturday night at the Fairfield Inn & Suites of Grand Blanc.
The entire evening was streamed live to a worldwide audience for the first time thanks to Racing America, the official live broadcast partner of Must See Racing.
Chief among the banquet’s honored guests were Must See Racing Perfit Sprint Car Series champion Joe Liguori and Must See Racing Midwest Lights crate sprint car titlist J.J. Henes, both of whom were recognized for their third series crowns.
Though he didn’t reach victory lane in 2025, Liguori’s consistency was unmatched, as he raced to a 119-point advantage in the final standings and clinched the title with a race to spare prior to the finale at Montgomery (Ala.) Motor Speedway in October.
“Usually I’m a lot better at this [speaking] because I’m fired up, but nothing bad has happened yet!” quipped Liguori in the opening to his title acceptance speech. “Us Italians, we have attitudes.
“We’re a small team and it’s hard to do what we do sometimes, but we just kept pushing along all year last year,” Liguori added. “We wanted to get back to the winner’s circle – that’s the one box we didn’t check in 2025 – but getting the big trophy isn’t a bad way to end the year either. Things will look a little different this coming season, driving for PCS [Racing] instead of in the family car, but we aren’t going anywhere … you’ll have to deal with this guy all the same.
“Must See Racing has an outstanding platform and it’s an honor to stand on it and represent the series as a champion again. We’ve got three of these things now, so the chase is on to try and catch [five-time series titlist Jimmy] McCune at the top.”
Henes continued his reign at the pinnacle of the Midwest Lights crate sprint car division, making it back-to-back titles and a trio overall in a bittersweet celebration for that field of competitors.
The 2025 season marked the final year of competition for the Midwest Lights as part of Must See Racing, which will transition its focus solely to the 410ci sprint cars of its national tour for 2026.
It’s a change that Henes noted in his championship acceptance speech as he nodded to the appreciation he’s had for being able to race on the Must See Racing platform since his inaugural title-winning season in 2020.
“Without Jim and Nancy putting in so much effort to even have the series, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of the cool things we’ve done in the past six years,” pointed out Henes, who ends the Midwest Lights’ tenure as its winningest driver, best qualifier, and most-decorated champion.
“To be at every race since the beginning, to win the first championship and now the last one, it’s been a lot of fun with a lot of good competition and a lot of people that you can really have fun racing right next to and knowing that they’re going to take care of you on the racetrack,” he added. “Just a pleasure to be here and represent this division … and excited about what’s next for our family and our team.”
Henes will turn his primary focus toward dirt sprint car racing and asphalt supermodified action in 2026.
Among the other Must See Racing national honorees Saturday was Theresa Statham, the leader of the Statham Construction No. 36 squadron, who received Car Owner of the Year honors for the first time.
Though she and husband Ken were unable to attend Saturday’s banquet in person, Statham issued a statement that was read during the live banquet broadcast, giving her deep appreciation to MSR founders Jim and Nancy Hanks for giving the Florida-based team a “first-class” arena to race in.
“We’re extremely grateful for this incredible honor and would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to those who voted to recognize us,” Statham wrote. “We’re truly touched and appreciate all that Must See Racing does in the sprint car community.”
Four-time season winner Bobby Santos III was named Driver of the Year for the first time after posting an average finish of 1.2 across his five series starts in 2025.
“This whole bunch [with MSR] is awesome wherever we show up to compete,” said Santos. “Appreciate the mutual respect from everyone involved and it’s a lot of fun to run with the competition that we get to over here. We really enjoy it – not just winning, but having to work hard to keep improving.”
Ken Mingus brought Crew Chief of the Year honors to the family-owned Mingus Racing team in an emotional reveal led by his son and driver, Kevin Mingus, who finished top three in the point standings for a second year in a row after a fierce battle with Canadian Aaron Willison down the stretch.
Though he couldn’t make the trip from New England to Michigan, Alby Ovitt was named Rookie of the Year for the national Must See Racing series as the division’s top first-year competitor.
Additional Midwest Lights award recipients included Brandon Lemmerman (Rookie of the Year) and Justin Weese (Crew Chief of the Year), while Jon Henes was named Car Owner of the Year once again.
J.J. Henes and Charlie Baur were honored as co-Drivers of the Year on the Midwest Lights side of the aisle, something Baur – who received the award for the first time – wasn’t expecting.
“I think the hardest thing for me, at least, is that this [Midwest Lights] chapter has to come to an end right after we really clicked on so many things throughout the year that put our pavement program where we’ve wanted it to get to,” said Baur. “I can’t thank Jim and Nancy enough, though, for giving us somewhere to race that has given us such great competition and so many good memories that we’ll always cherish as a family and a team.
“We might be switching primarily to dirt [sprint car] racing for 2026, but we’re keeping our pavement options open … and who knows, you guys might not be done seeing us yet!”
A complete replay of the 2025 Must See Racing banquet can be viewed on RacingAmerica.TV.
With the 2025 season officially in the books, Must See Racing will kick off its 2026 points campaign for the Must See Racing Perfit Sprint Car Series at South Carolina’s Anderson Motor Speedway on Friday, May 8.
For more news and information on Must See Racing, visit www.mustseeracing.com.
Must See Racing National Awards
Sportsmanship Award: J.J. Dutton
Most Improved Driver: Tommy Nichols
Fast Qualifier of the Year: Aaron Willison
Hard Charger of the Year: Jimmy McCune
Crew Chief of the Year: Ken Mingus
Car Owner of the Year: Theresa Statham
Driver of the Year: Bobby Santos III
Must See Racing Midwest Lights Awards
Sportsmanship Award: Keegan Weese
Most Improved Driver: Charlie Baur
Fast Qualifier of the Year: J.J. Henes
Hard Charger of the Year: Andrew Bogusz
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Lemmerman
Crew Chief of the Year: Justin Weese
Car Owner of the Year: Jon Henes
Driver of the Year: J.J. Henes/Charlie Baur (co-recipients)