HENES CLAIMS LORAIN MSR LIGHTS EVENT
SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio – J.J. Henes returned to the Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series this season determined to win a series title after narrowly missing out on the crown one year ago, and he took a major step toward that goal with a dominant victory Friday night at Lorain Raceway Park.
Henes blistered the field for his first win of the year, driving from seventh to the lead in three laps and checking out for the remainder of the 30-lap feature, held as part of the Super Crown Nationals event at the three-eighths-mile, slightly-banked paved oval.
The 18-year-old native of LaGrange, Ohio – also a recent high school graduate – led by as many as 4.5 seconds during the main event and bested runner-up Cody Gallogly by 1.952 seconds in the end.
It marked Henes’ second career Must See Racing Midwest Lights victory.
“We wanted to come back and win some races this year, and it feels good to be able to get the job done tonight,” Henes said afterward.
After the initial start was called back by race officials, polesitter Tim Henthorne paced the opening two laps before contact between he and Henes while racing for the lead in turn two led to a caution with two laps complete, ending the night for Henthorne.
Sawyer Stout, driving for reigning Midwest Lights Car Owner of the Year John Higgins, dropped out at that point with a steering gear failure after battling mechanical woes for most of the afternoon.
At that point, Henes took command of the feature and never looked back.
However, a final yellow flag with 11 to go – when Dale McQuillen broke an axle and stalled on the racing surface – erased a four-second advantage for the teenager and set up a final restart with Gallogly alongside Henes and looking to extend his series point lead with a second win of the season.
Henes left no doubt when the green flag returned, though, streaking off into the night and forcing Gallogly to settle for second. Joshua Sexton completed the podium ahead of recent Kalamazoo Speedway feature winner Andrew Bogusz.
Henes kicked off the program by setting a new crate sprint track record during single-car qualifying, turning a lap of 13.310 seconds (101.427 mph). It was his fourth career fast time with the series.
Henthorne and Sexton won their respective eight-lap heat races prior to the feature.
The Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series continues its season July 9 during the Comet Classic at Lorain Raceway Park. It will be the crate sprint car touring series’ third visit of the year to the Ohio short track.
For more information on the Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series, visit www.mustseeracing.com.
Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series; Lorain Raceway Park; South Amherst, Ohio; June 17, 2022
Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. JJ Henes, 36JR, 13.310-Henes (NTR); 2. Cody Gallogly, 27, 13.685-Gallogly; 3. Andrew Bogusz, 17, 13.721-Bogusz; 4. Joshua Sexton, 51s, 13.780-Sexton; 5. Sawyer Stout, 92, 13.792-Higgins; 6. Junior Gould, 65, 13.988; 7. Tim Henthorne, 15t, 14.030-Henthorne; 8. Charlie Baur, 23, 14.308-Baur; 9. Dale McQuillen, 21, 14.786-McQuillen; 10. Kyle Capodice, 18, 14.895-Capodice.
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Tim Henthorne [3], 2. Dale McQuillen [1], 3. Charlie Baur [2], 4. Kyle Capodice [5], 5. Junior Gould [4].
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Joshua Sexton [1], 2. Cody Gallogly [3], 3. JJ Henes [4], 4. Andrew Bogusz [2], 5. Sawyer Stout [5].
A-Feature (30 laps): 1. 36JR-JJ Henes [7], 2. 27-Cody Gallogly [6], 3. 51S-Joshua Sexton [4], 4. 17-Andrew Bogusz [5], 5. 23-Charlie Baur [8], 6. 65-Junior Gould [2], 7. 21-Dale McQuillen [9], 8. 18-Kyle Capodice [10], 9. 15T-Tim Henthorne [1], 10. 92-Sawyer Stout [3].
Lap Leader(s): Tim Henthorne 1-2, JJ Henes 3-30
Hard Charger: #36JR – JJ Henes (+6)
