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)
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