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Henes Caps Third MSR Midwest Lights Title In Winning Fashion At Owosso

J.J. Henes won both Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights features Sunday at Owosso Speedway to finish off his third championship season and second in a row. (KR Poole Photography)

From Jacob Seelman, Must See Racing Trackside PR

OVID, Mich. (Aug. 31, 2025) – J.J. Henes capped off his third career Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights championship in style Sunday afternoon at Owosso Speedway.

Henes swept the final set of Twin 20s in his familiar, orange-trimmed No. 36JR, collecting both wins to push his season total to a series-best five on the year.

He wasn’t always the most dominant driver on speed each week, but Henes was the most consistent driver across the board, with his 14th and 15th career Midwest Lights victories putting a bow on a stretch of back-to-back title celebrations for his family-owned race team.

Sunday’s effort made Henes the first driver all season to sweep a pair of Midwest Lights Twin 20s on the same day, and his third championship makes the LaGrange, Ohio, native the most decorated driver in series history.

“This is always the way you want to end a season,” Henes said with a beaming smile in victory lane. “It’s way easier to go into the offseason on top than on the bottom or below the peak [of the mountain], and it’s so hard to sweep in this twin feature format because of the second [race] inversion.

“Luckily, we did that here and now it’s about trying to carry this momentum into next year.”

The first 20-lapper went green to checkered without interruption, allowing outside polesitter and early pace-setter Keegan Weese to jump to the lead at the initial start before reaching traffic by quarter distance.

As he did, the handling of Weese’s car was slightly upset in the turbulent air, allowing fourth-starting Henes – who had risen to second at that point – to soar around Weese off turn two on the sixth lap as Weese was slightly held up by the slower car of Christian Franks.

Once he took the lead, Henes was unstoppable as he drove away to a 3.958-second victory, just the start of his perfect finale afternoon.

After Weese had beaten him twice before at Owosso this season, Henes was determined not to let his teammate celebrate over him for a third time.

“Keegan has been putting a whooping on me every time we come here. He beat me on a restart with two to go [in June] and then Saturday I just couldn’t get by him,” Henes reflected. “I wasn’t going to let him run away from me this time and we got the job done.”

Finishing a distant second, Weese could only smile and shake his head when asked if he could have done anything different to keep the titleholder behind him.

“It was a blast racing J.J. when we could; he was a rocket the whole entire day in the daylight,” Weese said. “I was trying my hardest to keep up with him and he was just gone. Nothing I could do. We were a tad loose, and you can’t give him an inch because he’s just so good in these cars.”

Polesitter Brandon Lemmerman completed an all-Ohio podium in race one, after Charlie Baur faded from third on the final lap with a right-rear tire issue.

Brandon Tregembo was fourth ahead of Andrew Bogusz, with Baur ending up sixth and Parker Corbin seventh as the final cars on the lead lap in the first stanza.

The back half of the action saw Henes mount a charge through the field from seventh on the grid, after an inversion of the lead-lap finishers from the first main event.

Henes got to second by lap five, giving chase to and closing in on Lemmerman for the lead before getting to the inside exiting turn four and nipping the lead by .003 seconds at the flagstand.

Moments later, Lemmerman’s car dropped a piece of debris, forcing a caution flag and sending him to the work area for quick repairs. He was able to return for the restart two laps before halfway.

Henes got a perfect launch when green-flag racing resumed, pulling away as Weese worked forward on the restart from fourth into a battle for second with Bogusz down the stretch.

Weese made the pass for runner-up honors with seven to go, but by that point, Henes was a half track ahead and long gone on his way to his second trophy of the afternoon.

“Starting on the inside is usually tough here, because you normally get pinned down there and don’t have anywhere to go. Luckily, I was able to maneuver around a few cars early,” added Henes, who was also the hard charger in both features to boot. “I got lucky with [Charlie] Baur and [Brandon] Tregembo racing and got by the two of them. Was just able to keep passing cars from there.

“What a day. What a season.”

Behind Henes and Weese, Bogusz completed the podium, followed by Baur, Lemmerman, Tregembo, and Corbin among the lead-lap finishers in the season finale.

Henes will be honored for his third Midwest Lights crown during Must See Racing’s annual Night of Champions, traditionally scheduled for mid-January following the winter off-season.

RESULTS: Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights; Owosso Speedway; Ovid, Mich.; Aug. 31, 2025

Qualifying (group format, best of two laps): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-13.485; 2. Charlie Baur, 23, CB1-13.697; 3. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-13.726; 4. Brandon Lemmerman, 64, Henes-13.877; 5. Brandon Tregembo, 1, Drive One-14.237; 6. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Fast Company-14.344; 7. Parker Corbin, 77, Corbin-15.102; 8. Christian Franks, 1D, Drive One-16.425; 9. Rick Wichtner, 11, Drive One-NT.

A-Feature #1 (20 laps, starting position in brackets): 1. 36JR-J.J. Henes [4], 2. 37-Keegan Weese [2], 3. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [1], 4. 1-Brandon Tregembo [5], 5. 17-Andrew Bogusz [6], 6. 23-Charlie Baur [3], 7. 77-Parker Corbin [7], 8. 11-Rick Wichtner [9], 9. Christian Franks [8]. [4:43.606]

Lap Leader(s): Keegan Weese 1-5, J.J. Henes 6-20.

Hard Charger: #36JR – J.J. Henes (+3)

A-Feature #2 (20 laps, starting position in brackets): 1. 36JR-J.J. Henes [7], 2. 37-Keegan Weese [5], 3. 17-Andrew Bogusz [2], 4. 23-Charlie Baur [6], 5. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [4], 6. 1-Brandon Tregembo [3], 7. 77-Parker Corbin [1], 8. 11-Rick Wichtner [8], 9. 1D-Christian Franks [9]. [NT]

Lap Leader(s): Parker Corbin Grid, Andrew Bogusz 1-2, Brandon Lemmerman 3-7, J.J. Henes 8-20.

Hard Charger: #36JR – J.J. Henes (+6)

-30-

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Baur Gets Owosso MSR Lights Redemption; Weese Tops Nightcap

Charlie Baur (left) and Keegan Weese (right) split Saturday’s Twin 20s for the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights at Owosso Speedway. (KR Poole Photos)

OVID, Mich. – Charlie Baur wanted redemption in the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights return to Owosso Speedway, and he got it in spades on Saturday evening.

Though Baur had to share the spotlight with Keegan Weese, the 19-year-old’s win in the first of two Twin 20s for the Midwest Lights at ‘The Big O’ was the emotional story of the night.

After being passed late in the June Midwest Lights stop at the three-eighths-mile oval and being denied a breakthrough win at that point, Baur roared back to easily win the opening act of the weekend.

Baur led wire-to-wire in the first main event, pulling to the lead on the second try at the initial start from the outside of the front row. From there, he quickly opened up a straightaway advantage.

With series point leader J.J. Henes chasing, Baur mastered lap traffic to perfection through the first three quarters of the race, comfortably maintaining a gap of more than three seconds over Henes.

A caution with four laps left – when Henes’ teammate Keegan Weese spun in turn four – bunched the field up and could have changed the narrative, but Baur wasn’t about to let the race get away from him.

He nailed the jump on the green flag not once, but twice, when the stalled car of Parker Corbin on the frontstretch forced a retry of the lap-17 restart.

Though Henes had a peek to the inside in turn one on the final dash, Baur shut the door with a brilliant run off turn two, pulling away from there to a .966-second victory.

It marked the third checkered flag of his Midwest Lights career, all coming this season, but Baur said this one at Owosso “just means more.”

“This feels so amazing,” said Baur in victory lane. “To win in front of what I call my home crowd – I grew up 45 minutes down the road from here – it’s everything to get one at this track … especially after we should have won here in June and got passed by J.J. inside of two to go.

“I wasn’t going to let another one get away like that,” he added. “It was almost the same race, the way it played out, with us getting the lead early and then having that late caution flag. It’s redemption, it really is.”

Runner-up Henes did all he could to wrestle the top spot away down the stretch, to no avail.

“I tried the bottom on the first [re]start and it didn’t work, and when it got called back, I just felt like I had to try something different,” he noted.

Polesitter Brandon Tregembo passed Andrew Bogusz on the outside during the final restart to claim third, with Bogusz crossing fourth and Weese rebounding from his late spin for fifth place.

The nightcap was a caution-free dance through lap traffic, with outside pole man Weese jumping to the point on the start but having to fend off advance after advance from his charging teammate Henes.

Each time Henes tried to look low in turn one, Weese would use stellar drive off turn two to maintain.

His coup de grace, however, was a daring three-wide move through slower lap traffic just past the midpoint to extend his margin for good.

The soaring arc through the marbles in turns three and four allowed Weese to pull seven car lengths clear as Henes got knotted up on the low side of the three-eighths-mile oval.

From there, it was smooth sailing for the 14-year-old en route to his third Midwest Lights win of the season.

“This feeling [winning] never gets old. Oh my God, what a race!” Weese exclaimed after a jubilant wing dance atop his car. “The first couple of laps was so intense, knowing that J.J. was right there, and I had to play some strong defense because he kept peeking the nose again and again.

“Lap traffic over there coming out of [turn] four was scary, but we made it happen somehow,” he added. “I have no clue how it stuck up there. I just went in on a prayer … and somehow came out the other side without hitting the outside wall.”

All Henes could do after the race was marvel at his young teammate, considering the setup tweaks on the No. 37 before race two came from the two-time champion’s notebook.

“I guess I should have taken him the other direction,” Henes joked. “I might’ve gotten by him that way. (laughter) I had nothing for the kid; he did an absolutely stellar job. I knew my best chance was to stay on his bumper and hopefully pressure him into a mistake, but he never blinked and traffic went in his favor.”

Bogusz filled the final spot on the race two podium, ahead of Baur, who battled traffic after the invert and could only get to fourth at the finish. Brandon Tregembo crossed in fifth place.

The Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights return to Owosso Speedway Sunday afternoon to complete their 2025 season with another set of twin 20-lap features.

As long as he starts both races, J.J. Henes will clinch his record third Midwest Lights championship.

Every lap of the Mid-Michigan Pavement Sprint Car Nationals grand finale – headlined by a $10,000-to-win main event for the national Must See Racing 410 sprint cars – will be broadcast live on Racing America starting at 4 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights; Owosso Speedway; Ovid, Mich.; Aug. 30, 2025

Qualifying (group format, best of three laps): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-13.635; 2. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-13.825; 3. Charlie Baur, 23, CB1-13.857; 4. Brandon Lemmerman, 64, Henes-14.075; 5. Brandon Tregembo, 1, Drive One-14.363; 6. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Fast Company-14.550; 7. Parker Corbin, 77, Corbin-15.011; 8. Rick Wichtner, 11, Drive One-15.591; 9. Christian Franks, 1D, Drive One-17.963.

Maxima A-Feature #1 (20 laps): 1. 23-Charlie Baur [2], 2. 36JR-J.J. Henes [4], 3. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [1], 4. 17-Andrew Bogusz [6], 5. 37-Keegan Weese [3], 6. 1-Brandon Tregembo [5], 7. 11-Rick Wichtner [8], 8. 1D-Christian Franks [9], 9. 77-Parker Corbin [7].

Lap Leader(s): Charlie Baur 1-20.

Hard Charger: #36JR – J.J. Henes (+2)

Maxima A-Feature #2 (20 laps, starting position in brackets): 1. 37-Keegan Weese [2], 2. 36JR-J.J. Henes [4], 3. 17-Andrew Bogusz [3], 4. 23-Charlie Baur [5], 5. 1-Brandon Tregembo [1], 6. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [6], 7. 77-Parker Corbin [9], 8. 11-Rick Wichtner [7], 9. 1D-Christian Franks [8]. [4:51.417]

Lap Leader(s): Keegan Weese 1-20.

Hard Charger: #36JR – J.J. Henes (+2)

-30-

 

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Keegan Weese (37) celebrates his Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights feature victory at Lorain Raceway Park Friday. (KR Poole Photos)

SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio (Aug. 15, 2025) – In what could be the closing act for the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights at Lorain Raceway Park, a pair of young rising stars made the night count.

Teenagers Keegan Weese and Charlie Baur each drove to victories Friday night at the three-eighths-mile oval, splitting the pair of 20-lap crate sprint car features held as part of the track’s Trident Nationals weekend.

One of the longtime facilities on the Midwest Lights calendar and the original home of the crate sprint car division in Ohio, LRP is up for sale by its current owners and operators, the Maggio family.

On the racetrack, Weese soared his Blaster Products-sponsored No. 37 from the outside pole into the lead on the initial start of the first 20-lapper, and the 15-year-old hotshoe never looked back after that.

In a caution-free, wire-to-wire performance, Weese led all 20 laps for the second victory of his sophomore season with Must See Racing.

Considering Weese grew up just down the road from LRP, it made the win even more special.

“I knew on the start that I just had to get out and run with the clean air, because all the guys in the Midwest Lights series are really fast and if you let them get to you, they’re going to take advantage of it,” said Weese.

“It’s awesome to win here in front of all my family and friends,” he added. “This track is one of my absolute favorites and I’m so glad everyone got to come watch and support us close to home.”

Two-time and defending series champion J.J. Henes had one look at the lead with two laps left, but Weese slammed the door shut, leaving his teammate to settle for the runner-up honors.

Baur filled out the podium in race one to set himself up for even bigger things in the back half.

The nightcap inverted the full field and put Weese starting out back in his attempt to sweep the night.

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Charlie Baur (23) in victory lane after the second Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights feature Friday at Lorain Raceway Park. (KR Poole Photos)

Up front, it was Andrew Bogusz who got the jump at the green flag from the outside pole, much like Weese did in the first race. As Weese tried to work his way through traffic, he spun in turn two before a lap could be completed, forcing a full restart.

Bogusz again got the jump to go to the point, with fellow Michigan native Baur following him into second place and going on the attack quickly.

A lap-two caution for the stalled car of polesitter Parker Corbin set up a double-file dash, with Bogusz leading off the restart before Baur battled past to take control on lap four.

Moments later, a power steering failure again brought Corbin to a halt, this time putting her out of the event for the night.

It gave the field one more chance at Baur, but the Fenton, Mich., native withstood the pressure and held off a charging J.J. Henes down the stretch – notching his second career Midwest Lights victory as well.

“This is really rewarding,” said Baur. “Lorain has been my Achilles heel for a few years now; in 2023 when I got pushed into the wall here, I’d have been fine if we’d never come back, but after this one … I kind of like the place now! We’ve worked super hard to get our program better here.

“We had a good day; to unload and go quickest in both practices and second in qualifying really gave me the confidence that we had something strong to work with,” he continued. “The first race with Keegan getting out in clean air, we didn’t really have anything for him, but we worked hard through the break and the car was really good down low.

“When I hooked the bottom to get by [Bogusz], I was a little surprised with how good we were down there, but it turned out well for us and our take-off speed was key. Once we got the jump on J.J. at the last restart, I figured we’d have a good shot to hold on, and it all worked out.”

Henes finished second and Weese rallied back to third, in a reversal of the race-one podium finishers.

The Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights season concludes with two days of action Aug. 30-31 at Michigan’s Owosso Speedway. Henes and Weese both won at the track back on June 21.

For more information, visit www.mustseeracing.com.

RESULTS: Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights; Lorain Raceway Park; South Amherst, Ohio; Aug. 15, 2025

Qualifying (group format): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-13.239; 2. Charlie Baur, 23, CB1-13.532; 3. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-13.599; 4. Brandon Lemmerman, 64, Henes-13.614; 5. Parker Corbin, 77, Corbin-14.971; 6. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Fast Company-15.821.

Feature #1 (20 laps, starting position in brackets): 1. 37-Keegan Weese [2], 2. 36JR-J.J. Henes [4], 3. 23-Charlie Baur [3], 4. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [1], 5. 17-Andrew Bogusz [6], 6. 77-Parker Corbin [5].

Lap Leader(s): Keegan Weese 1-20.

Hard Charger: 36JR-J.J. Henes (+2)

Feature #2 (20 laps, starting position in brackets): 1. 23-Charlie Baur [4], 2. 36JR-J.J. Henes [5], 3. 37-Keegan Weese [6], 4. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [3], 5. 17-Andrew Bogusz [2], 6. 77-Parker Corbin [1].

Lap Leader(s): Andrew Bogusz 1-3, Charlie Baur 4-20.

Hard Charger: 23-Charlie Baur (+3)

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Henes & Lemmerman Pick Up Midwest Lights Wins During Bob Frey Classic

Jacob Sleeman Photo

SANDUSKY, Ohio (July 23, 2025) – The all-time Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights winner and a true sprint car rookie split the laurels Wednesday night during the Bob Frey Classic at Sandusky Speedway.

Two-time and defending Midwest Lights champion J.J. Henes topped the first of Sandusky’s Twin 20s at the half-mile paved oval, while well-known modified racer Brandon Lemmerman won the nightcap in just his fourth-ever sprint car start.

After setting the fastest time (x seconds/x mph) in group qualifying, Henes started sixth in the first 20-lapper but wasted little time in working his way to the front.

The LaGrange, Ohio, native made the winning pass on lap five, driving inside polesitter Brandon Tregembo in turns three and four after Tregembo took the lead from Joe Liguori on the initial start.

Henes then held the field at bay on two subsequent restarts – one after Liguori slowed with a broken right-rear shock on lap nine and a second when Keegan Weese spun in turn two on lap 11 – to capture his record-extending 13th career Midwest Lights feature victory.

Henes took the checkered flag .466 seconds ahead of Charlie Baur, who roared from fifth to second with three to go, but ran out of time to catch Henes for the win.

“We had one get away from us earlier in the year at Owosso [Speedway], where I just had a bad restart, so that was in the back of my mind a little bit,” Henes admitted. “You never like to see a restart when you’re in the lead, so I’m just glad I was still able to come out on top.

“Winning during Hy-Miler is a big deal, with my family being so much in supermodified [history],” he added. “This was the race we always looked forward to each year, where we could get together and hang out with everyone. It’s not the Hy-Miler [Nationals] itself, but it still counts to me.”

Behind Henes and Baur, Andrew Bogusz completed the podium for the first feature, followed by Lemmerman and Keegan Weese.

The second feature saw the top five finishers from race one inverted on the starting grid, with Lemmerman rolling to the lead past polesitter Weese on the initial start and quickly building a lead of more than two seconds.

With a caution-free run that took just x minutes and x seconds to complete, Lemmerman continued to extend the margin and ultimately took the checkered flag in front by 2.633 seconds for his first sprint car victory of any kind.

Making the moment more special was the fact that track owner Kevin Jaycox is Lemmerman’s brother-in-law, creating a big family celebration in victory lane during the facility’s biggest racing week of the year.

“I have no clue how we pulled that off,” a jubilant Lemmerman said. “It’s amazing to be just my fourth race in a sprint car and to have a trophy in the trailer. I just drove it into turn one as far as I could and didn’t lift until I had no choice. Thankfully, it stuck and I was able to roll away after that.

“This is so big for me, for my family … we’ve all been involved in racing for so long … and going into this week, I said to everyone, ‘I just want to win a race during Hy-Miler week. I don’t care what it’s in – even a heat race win, I’d have been happy with – but to do it in the sprint car is unbelievable. It’s so special.”

Weese chased Lemmerman all the way and ultimately finished runner-up, with Bogusz, Henes, and Baur filling out the top-five finishers.

Henes further extended his point lead Wednesday night as he pursues a record third Midwest Lights championship in the familiar No. 36JR sprinter.

The Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights season continues Friday night, Aug. 15 at Lorain (Ohio) County Speedway during the track’s Trident Nationals event.

For more information, visit www.mustseeracing.com.

RESULTS: Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights; Sandusky (Ohio) Speedway; July 23, 2025

Qualifying (group format, best of three laps): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-16.187; 2. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-16.598; 3. Joe Liguori, 51s, Sexton-16.686; 4. Charlie Baur, 23, CB1-16.790; 5. Brandon Lemmerman, 64, Henes-16.889; 6. Brandon Tregembo, 1, Drive 1-16.967; 7. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Fast Company-17.250; 8. Parker Corbin, 77, Corbin-17.979.

Maxima Racing Oils A-Feature #1 (20 laps): 1. 36JR-J.J. Henes [6], 2. 23-Charlie Baur [3], 3. 17-Andrew Bogusz [7], 4. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [2], 5. 37-Keegan Weese [5], 6. 1-Brandon Tregembo [1], 7. 51s-Joe Liguori [4], 8. 77-Parker Corbin [8].

Lap Leader(s): Brandon Tregembo 1-4, J.J. Henes 5-20.

Hard Charger: J.J. Henes (+5)

Maxima Racing Oils A-Feature #2 (20 laps): 1. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [2], 2. 37-Keegan Weese [1], 3. 17-Andrew Bogusz [3], 4. 36JR-J.J. Henes [5], 5. 23-Charlie Baur [4], 6. 51s-Joe Liguori [7], 7. 1-Brandon Tregembo [6], 8. 77-Parker Corbin [8].

Lap Leader(s): Brandon Lemmerman 1-20.

Hard Charger: 64-Brandon Lemmerman (+1)

– 30 –

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Michigan Connection; Bogusz & Baur Split MSR Midwest Lights Twins At Kalamazoo

Photos by KR Poole Photography

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (July 4, 2025) – Charlie Baur and Andrew Bogusz each took home trophies from Kalamazoo Speedway on a Fourth of July Friday night, splitting the spoils of twin features for the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights.

In the first feature, Baur put the demons of his two missed opportunities at Owosso Speedway two weeks earlier behind him, taking control on the initial start from the outside pole and managing his American Racer tires to perfection.

The 19-year-old from Fenton, Mich., led the 20-lapper from start to finish in a caution-free opening act for his long-awaited first career Midwest Lights victory in his 25th series start.

After twin features at Owosso saw Baur passed on a late restart and then suffering a blown tire in the nightcap, it was evident by his emotion in victory lane that redemption was sweet indeed.

“We needed this so badly, for me, for our team, for our sponsors … this is everything we’ve been working toward,” Baur said in victory lane. “We put on a show at Owosso and didn’t come away with anything to show for it, so tonight was about finishing the deal. We’ve been hustling around traveling for so long now and come so close, so to finally win one of these things is huge.

“It’s been a different game for us recently; we’ve never had to manage the tires as much as we have this season, so it’s a skill I’ve definitely had to work on,” he added. “I always like to run on the edge, so saving has been a bit difficult for me … but I’m just grateful to finally have this moment, and hopefully it can be the first of many.

“We finally got the monkey off our back!”

Henes chased Baur for nearly the entirety of the first main, until a tire issue in the closing stages saw him lose second place to three-time Kalamazoo track champion Lucas Krick on the final lap.

Krick came home a career-best second, with Henes filling out the podium ahead of Bogusz and Keegan Weese.

A five-car invert for the second main event – shortened to 15 laps due to multiple tire issues from the first race – put Baur back in the third row and his longtime friend and rival Andrew Bogusz in the same outside front-row starting spot that Baur won from previously.

Bogusz put together a mirror performance, jumping to the lead on the opening circuit and never looking back for his second Midwest Lights win of the season and the seventh of his career.

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It marked a strong bounce back for the Shelby Township, Mich., teenager after what he called “a weekend to forget” last time out at Owosso.

“It feels absolutely great to be back in victory lane,” said Bogusz afterward. “I love coming to this place; it’s where I got my first Lights win and with the multi-groove racing … there’s just always a show for the fans here.

“I knew J.J. was coming at the end. I could hear him behind me,” Bogusz added. “I just had to play a bit of defense and keep clicking [laps] off.”

Henes was closing on Bogusz in an attempt to steal the second act away, but simply ran out of time.

“I just needed a couple more laps,” Henes lamented. “The sun went away and we got a lot faster.”

Weese completed the podium for the second feature, followed by Baur, who could only muster fourth after his win earlier in the evening. Krick was the final driver in the top five at the checkered flag.

Henes was the fast qualifier after a lap of 12.229 seconds in group time trials to open the program.

The Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights season continues Saturday night, July 19 at Midvale Speedway, the tour’s debut at the Ohio speedplant.

For more information on Must See Racing, visit www.mustseeracing.com.

RESULTS: Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights; Kalamazoo (Mich.) Speedway; July 4, 2025

Maxima Racing Oils Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-12.229; 2. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Bogusz-12.406; 3. Charlie Baur, 23, Baur-12.485; 4. Lucas Krick, 9, USA Earthworks-12.659; 5. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-12.755; 6. Brandon Lemmerman, 64, Henes-12.967; 7. Matt Double, 14X, USA Earthworks-13.929.

A-Feature #1 (20 laps): 1. 23-Charlie Baur [2], 2. 9-Lucas Krick [1], 3. 36JR-J.J. Henes [3], 4. 17-Andrew Bogusz [7], 5. 37-Keegan Weese [4], 6. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [5], 7. 14X-Matt Double [6].

Lap Leader(s): Charlie Baur 1-20.

Hard Charger: 17-Andrew Bogusz (+3)

A-Feature #2 (20 laps): 1. 17-Andrew Bogusz [2], 2. 36JR-J.J. Henes [3], 3. 37-Keegan Weese [1], 4. 23-Charlie Baur [5], 5. 9-Lucas Krick [4], 6. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [6], 7. 14X-Matt Double [7].

Lap Leader(s): Andrew Bogusz 1-15.

Hard Charger: 17-Andrew Bogusz (+1)

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J.J. Henes en route to victory in the first Must See Racing Midwest Lights feature at Owosso Speedway. (David Sink photo)

OVID, Mich. (June 21, 2025) – Saturday night’s twin Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights features at Owosso Speedway showcased the contrast of the series’ all-time wins leader and one of its rising stars.

J.J. Henes and 14-year-old Keegan Weese split the victory spoils at the three-eighths-mile oval, with both races featuring late passes for the lead and enough plot twists to write a small novel about.

In the first feature, hometown favorite Charlie Baur led the majority of the 20-lapper, but suffered a major tire vibration throughout the second half that diminished his speed as the run wore on.

Finally, a turn-two spin by Weese set up a restart with four to go, with Henes going for broke on the outside lane against Baur and making the winning pass in turn three with a lap and a half left.

It marked Henes’ record-extending 12th career Midwest Lights feature win and his second in four races this season. He was also fighting a similar vibration to Baur’s down the closing stretch.

“The tire gave up about lap three,” said Henes, whose victory came despite a stop in the work area under the final caution. “It was shaking so bad that it broke the rear radius rod bolt and that’s what we had to get fixed.

“Rolling off fourth on that last restart, I was hoping to just get a spot or two … but then I realized we might have a shot to win, and I just sent it.”

Baur hung on for second in the opening stanza, .489 seconds in arrears, with Weese rallying from his spin to complete the race-one podium.

Keegan Weese in victory lane after the Must See Racing Midwest Lights nightcap at Owosso Speedway. (David Sink photo)

A right-front axle failure on lap two put series hotshoe Andrew Bogusz out of action early in the first race, but he was able to make repairs and return for the second act.

After an inversion of the top five finishers for the 15-lap nightcap – shortened due to tire wear concerns – Parker Corbin started from pole and led her first-ever lap in Midwest Lights competition before Henes stormed to the front on the second circuit.

Henes led the lion’s share, out front until lap 13 despite Baur’s best efforts to chase him down, but Baur’s sideways slides through the corners in a desperate attempt to find speed eventually bit him late.

The mayhem began when Rick Wichtner broke a rear gear and left fluid strewn in turns one and two, necessitating a red flag stoppage for extensive cleanup.

Then, after the leaders had resumed and taken the white flag, Baur was running second when his right-rear tire finally gave out. It failed explosively in turn two and left debris strewn down the backstretch.

When Baur slowed to a stop on the backstretch, it forced a caution and a single-file, green-white-checkered restart, with Henes out front and Weese right on his bumper and motivated to try and pounce.

After a strong restart and gaining momentum, Weese pitched his car inside of Henes in turn one, pulling even exiting the second corner and with the preferred inside lane for the opposite end of the racetrack.

Weese then dove deep into turn three to complete the race-winning pass and never looked back, closing out his first Midwest Lights victory in just his ninth feature start and second season of sprint car racing.

“Man, I just held my foot to the floor,” said Weese of the final restart. “I knew J.J. was gonna be hard to beat, and I just drove it down in there and hoped for the best. I wanted this bad.

“It’s huge. Winning in these cars means the world to me. I don’t even really have the words to describe it right now; I can’t believe it.”

Henes, who has served as a quasi-teammate and mentor to Weese, was second and had nothing but praise to offer his young protégé after narrowly losing out on a sweep of the night.

“I wouldn’t call myself the greatest teacher; I try my best to tell him what he should be doing … but he’s learning so quickly. Every race he’s gotten better, especially this year,” Henes said of Weese. “If there’s anyone I’m OK with losing to, it’s him. He outdrove me on that last restart and I’ll admit that.”

Bogusz completed the podium with a last-lap pass for third place, while Baur ended up sixth after replacing his right-rear tire and returning for the final two laps.

Henes remains the Midwest Lights point leader with an average finish thus far of 1.5 through four races.

The Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights season continues Friday night, June 27 at Corrigan Oil Speedway (formerly Spartan Speedway) in Mason, Mich., with Twin 25s at the quarter-mile oval.

For more information on Must See Racing, including the latest news and results, visit www.mustseeracing.com.

The results:

Qualifying (group format): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-13.740; 2. Charlie Baur, 23, Baur-14.018; 3. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Fast Company-14.104; 4. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-14.335; 5. Brandon Tregembo, 1, Drive One-14.593; 6. Parker Corbin, 77, Corbin-15.183 7. Rick Wichtner, 11, Drive One-16.143.

A Feature #1 (20 laps): 1. 36-J.J. Henes [5]; 2. 23-Charlie Baur [4]; 3. 37-Keegan Weese [2]; 4. 1-Brandon Tregembo [1]; 5. 77-Parker Corbin [6]; 6. 17-Andrew Bogusz [3]; 7. 11-Rick Wichtner [7].

Lap Leader(s): Brandon Tregembo 1, Charlie Baur 2-18, J.J. Henes 19-20.

Hard Charger: 36JR-J.J. Henes (+4)

A Feature #2 (15 laps): 1. 37-Keegan Weese [2]; 2. 36-J.J. Henes [4]; 3. 17-Andrew Bogusz [6]; 4. 1-Brandon Tregembo [1]; 5. 77-Parker Corbin [5]; 6. 23-Charlie Baur [3]; 7. 11-Richard Wichtner [7].

Lap Leader(s): Parker Corbin 1, J.J. Henes 2-13, Keegan Weese 14-15.

Hard Charger: 17-Andrew Bogusz (+3)

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Andrew Bogusz won the first Must See Racing Midwest Lights Twin 20 Saturday at Lorain Raceway Park. (KR Poole Photos)

SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio (June 7, 2025) – Andrew Bogusz and J.J. Henes opened the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights season by splitting Saturday night’s Twin 20s held at Lorain Raceway Park.

Bogusz started on the outside pole in race one after a six-car invert from qualifying and led from start to finish, holding off a concerted late charge from Henes, who advanced from the rear of the field to finish second after having to visit the work area prior to the warm-up laps.

In earning his sixth career Midwest Lights victory, Bogusz took the checkered flag a slim .336-second margin ahead of Henes, with Charlie Baur completing the podium in third place.

“Track position was extremely important, as it is in any race, but particularly with these cars … if you can get out in clean air and make the most of it, you’ll have more downforce on your car and be able to make speed,” Bogusz explained. “It wasn’t easy to aero-block J.J. once I knew he was on my bumper, but it was about defending to where I could get him to use his stuff up a bit more.”

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Andrew Bogusz (17) battles J.J. Henes (36) Saturday at Lorain Raceway Park. (KR Poole Photos)

Henes tipped that “it’s just so tough to chase down someone who has open track ahead of him” after the first feature, but he didn’t let that hold him back in the nightcap.

The two-time and defending series champion came from fourth to first in just nine laps during race two, passing outside polesitter and early leader Charlie Schultz to take control for good.

From there, Henes set sail en route to his 11th career Midwest Lights feature win, extending his own series record in the process. Schultz was second and teenager Keegan Weese finished third for his first podium finish in a full-size sprint car.

“Getting a good start to get to second on the first lap was definitely key,” said Henes of his path to victory. “From there it was all about stringing together consistent laps to catch Charlie and then making the move to sneak underneath him. It wasn’t easy, but proud of this team for bouncing back strong and getting it done after we missed out on the first one by just a bit.”

Bogusz battled dirty air in the second race, after the top five finishers from race one were inverted, and could only muster a fourth-place finish in that 20-lapper.

“Getting boxed in on the start and having nowhere to go didn’t help us,” said Bogusz of the latter feature. “I could have tried to shoot the gap … but my car built really tight and the stagger closing up for the feature made it really challenging on corner exit to where we couldn’t run the top three down.”

Both Twin 20s ran green-to-checkered without a caution and were completed in four minutes and 38 seconds apiece.

The feature purse was paid out by virtue of combined points from qualifying and both features. The twin-race format awarded half points for each of the two 20-lap contests.

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J.J. Henes stands atop his car after winning the second Must See Racing Midwest Lights Twin 20 Saturday at Lorain Raceway Park. (KR Poole Photos)

With 64 total points during the night, Henes received the $1,000 winner’s share for his efforts.

The Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights Series returns to action June 21 at Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Mich., alongside the national Must See Racing Perfit Sprint Car Series.

The results:

Qualifying (group format): 1. 36-JJ Henes, 13.141; 2. 77P-Charlie Schultz, 13.579; 3. 23-Charlie Baur, 13.598; 4. 37-Keegan Weese, 13.631; 5. 17-Andrew Bogusz, 13.844; 6. 51-Rick Holley, 13.901; 7. 38-Adam Biltz, 14.340.

A Feature #1 (20 laps): 1. 17-Andrew Bogusz [2]; 2. 36-J.J. Henes [6]; 3. 23-Charlie Baur [4]; 4. 77P-Charlie Schultz [5]; 5. 37-Keegan Weese [3]; 6. 51-Rick Holley [1]; 7. 38-Adam Biltz [7]. [4:38.343]

Lap Leader(s): Andrew Bogusz 1-20.

Hard Charger: 36-J.J. Henes (+4)

A Feature #2 (20 laps): 1. 36-J.J. Henes [4]; 2. 77P-Charlie Schultz[2]; 3. 37-Keegan Weese [1]; 4. 17-Andrew Bogusz [5]; 5. 23-Charlie Baur [3]; 6. 38-Adam Biltz [7]; 7. 51-Rick Holley [6]. [4:38.088]

Lap Leader(s): Charlie Schultz 1-8, J.J. Henes 9-20.

Hard Charger: 36-J.J. Henes (+3)

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BUSY SEASON AHEAD FOR MSR MIDWEST LIGHTS TEAMS

March 21, 2025 – Holly, Michigan – Must See Racing today announced the updated 2025 schedule for the Midwest Lights Series. The 9-race schedule may be the most ambitious in the six-year history of the competitive 602-crate series.

The 2025 season schedule currently kicks off on June 21 at Michigan’s Owosso Speedway and will conclude returning to Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Michigan with two full shows on Labor Day weekend August 30-31.

New tracks to the schedule in 2025 include Midvale, Ohio July 19, Corrigan Oil Speedway, Michigan June 27 and Kalamazoo Speedway, Michigan on July 4. Lorain Raceway Park, which has been on the schedule each year since 2020, is not on the 2025 schedule.

The MSR Midwest Lights will pair up with the MSR 410 National Series on six occasions in 2025 to give fans a double-header of winged sprint car racing. The first of the six double-headers kicks off June 21 at Owosso Speedway.

Sandusky Speedway, Ohio will host both the MSR National and Midwest Lights on Wednesday July 23 to open the 48th annual Hy-Miler Supermodified Nationals week of racing.

“The upcoming 2025 Midwest Lights season featuring several new teams and six different tracks will no doubt be one of, if not the most entertaining, competitive and exciting seasons in our history” explained MSR President Jim Hanks.

“The combination of schedule, television programming and our all new 2025 Attendance Bonus Program has attracted several new teams and will financially assist and reward our field of outstanding drivers and teams from the bottom to the top” concluded Hanks.

The MWL series will also be the benefactor of national television exposure six times in 2025. The series will appear on the Racing America 24/7 channel found on several streaming platforms including ROKU.
One final date listed as May 10 has yet to be announced. Once this date is announced it will complete the 2025 MSR Midwest Lights Series schedule.

For more info on MSR like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram or visit www.mustseeracing.com

2024 MSR Lights Sandusky 2 JJ Henes Championship VL Solo Jacob Seelman Photo

J.J. Henes Caps Second Midwest Lights Title In Winning Fashion

J.J. Henes won Saturday at Sandusky Speedway to clinch his second Must See Racing Midwest Lights crate sprint car championship. (Jacob Seelman photo)

SANDUSKY, Ohio (Oct. 19, 2024) – J.J. Henes’ performance Saturday at Sandusky Speedway made the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights finale look like a microcosm of the year as a whole.

The season’s most dominant driver set a new track record in qualifying, then led 20 of the 30 laps in the feature to clinch his second Midwest Lights championship in winning fashion.

Henes passed early leader Charlie Baur on lap 11 with an outside sweep through turns three and four in traffic and never looked back, pacing the remaining distance at the half-mile oval despite one double-file restart.

After leading by as much as five seconds in the second half of the race, Henes took the checkered flag 3.179 seconds in front of rival Cody Gallogly to end Gallogly’s two-year reign atop the series.

“It feels great to get the second title; it’s what we set out to do when the year began,” said Henes, whose final margin in the standings was 23 points. He also became the first Midwest Lights driver to reach the 10-win threshold.

“That race was all in lap traffic and restarts … and you just have to pound out positions whenever you can,” he continued. “[Baur] got hung up a bit behind the [No.] 11 [Rick Wichtner] and was a little unsure, I think, of what to do … and I just slipped to the outside of him when he lost his momentum.

“To finish it off here, though; this is where everything started in my career, and to finally get a feature win in a sprint car at this place – let alone a championship – means a ton.”

Though Brandon Tregembo started from the pole position, Baur used a superior launch to grab the lead from the outside lane at the drop of the green, while Henes surged from sixth to third on the opening circuit before overhauling Andrew Bogusz for second place moments later.

From there, Henes laid in wait behind Baur until the pair approached lap traffic, never more than a half second back before Baur had to jump out of the throttle while passing Wichtner on lap 11.

It was at that point that Henes pounced, flaring to Baur’s right entering turn three before edging ahead at the flagstand and completing the pass for good in turn one.

Moments later, the lone yellow flag of the race waved when Ethan Rader spun on the backstretch, falling out with a mechanical failure and clinching the championship for Henes at that point.

The restart that ensued saw Baur and Gallogly retain second and third behind Henes, who raced away to a second advantage in the first lap after the restart and put it on cruise control from there.

Gallogly then used a similar outside pass off of turn four to take second from Baur coming to 11 to go, ending as the runner-up to Henes in both the final feature and the season standings.

“I was wishing we had a few extra laps there at the end,” admitted Gallogly. “It all has to work out your way [to win a championship], and J.J. just beat us this year. There’s no excuses. He ran strongest all season long, and my hat goes off to those guys because we have the utmost respect for J.J. and Jon [Henes, J.J.’s father]. They beat us this time, but we’ll come back even stronger because of that.”

Baur’s third-place finish marked his best run all year, with Andrew Bogusz crossing fourth to secure a career-best points ranking of third. Josh Sexton closed the top five.

Henes’ track record in qualifying was a 15.833-second lap, the first sub-16 second time by a crate sprint car in Sandusky Speedway history. Rookie Keegan Weese and Bogusz split the eight-lap heat race wins.

Henes will be honored for his Midwest Lights championship during Must See Racing’s annual Night of Champions celebration on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The 2025 schedule for the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights will be released shortly.

The results:

Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. J.J. Henes, 36jr, Henes-15.833; 2. Cody Gallogly, 27, Gallogly-16.070; 3. Ethan Rader, 52, Rader-16.340; 4. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Fast Company-16.619; 5. Joshua Sexton, 51s, S&S-16.647; 6. Charlie Baur, 23, CB1-16.897; 7. Brandon Tregembo, 1, Drive1-17.101; 8. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-17.118; 9. J.D. Evans, 38, Evans-17.147; 10. Rick Wichtner, 11, Drive1-17.818; 11. Parker Corbin, 77, Corbin-17.827.

Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Keegan Weese [2], 2. Brandon Tregembo [3], 3. J.D. Evans [1], 4. Parker Corbin [5], 5. Rick Wichtner [4]. NT

Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Andrew Bogusz [1], 2. Ethan Rader [2], 3. J.J. Henes [4], 4. Cody Gallogly [3], 5. Joshua Sexton [5], 6. Charlie Baur [6].

Maxima A-Feature (30 laps): 1. 36jr-J.J. Henes [6], 2. 27-Cody Gallogly [5], 3. 23-Charlie Baur [2], 4. 17-Andrew Bogusz [4], 5. 51s-Joshua Sexton [3], 6. 1-Brandon Tregembo [1], 7. 37-Keegan Weese [7], 8. 77-Parker Corbin [9], 9. 11-Rick Wichtner [10], 10. 38-J.D. Evans [8], 11. 52-Ethan Rader [11].

Lap Leader(s): Brandon Tregembo Grid, Charlie Baur 1-10, J.J. Henes 11-30.

Hard Charger: #36jr – J.J. Henes (+5)

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PERFECT WEATHER ON TAP TO GREET MUST SEE RACING LIGHTS FINALE

Photo by David Sink

October 14, 2024 – Holly, Michigan – Fans and competitors alike will be greeted to great weather this weekend for the Maxima Racing Oils Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series season finale at Sandusky Speedway in Sandusky, Ohio this Saturday afternoon October 19. The forecast is calling for a high of 65 degrees with a zero percent chance of rain.

The 2024 championship chase will end at the conclusion of Saturday’s event that will also feature a full slate of racing for the Open Compacts. The event will see racing action beginning at 3pm and front gate admission is only $12. Veterans $10 and children 12 and under free.

The biggest story line entering the event is the Lights Series points chase. One of the closest points battles in the five-year history of the series has made for an entertaining 2024 season. Heading into the series finale, 3 drivers have a legitimate chance of still claiming a stake to the title.

JJ Henes, the inaugural 2020 champion has positioned himself in a great spot to claim his second series title. Henes currently holds a 15-point lead over two-time and defending champion Cody Gallogly. Andrew Bogusz is 4 points behind Gallogly sitting in third place.

Due to the closeness of the points battle, an entertaining afternoon of racing is being anticipated.

Other MSR Lights Series drivers already entered include Charlie Baur, Parker Corbin, Matt Double, JD Evans, Ethan Rader, Joshua Sexton, Brandon Tregembo, Keegan Weese, and Rick Wichtner among others.

Gates Open / Hot Laps are at 12 noon. Qualifying is at 1:30 pm with racing set to begin at 3 m this Saturday afternoon. For more information on Saturday’s event like and follow the Must See Racing Facebook and Instagram or visit www.mustseeracing.com.

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