Henes Rolls To Second Straight Midwest Lights Victory

SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio (July 9, 2022) – J.J. Henes said after his most recent Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series victory that his team was rounding into championship contention, and he backed that statement up Saturday with a second consecutive series win.

Henes dominated the Midwest Lights portion of Lorain Raceway Park’s Comet Classic, cruising to a 2.743-second victory over Joshua Sexton at the three-eighths-mile paved oval despite a late caution that bunched the field up and made things a bit more intense down the stretch.

The 18-year-old and 2020 series champion first took the lead on lap six of the 30-lap feature by passing polesitter and early leader Junior Gould. He then held the top spot through a pair of restarts on laps 12 and 26, going unchallenged each time en route to his second Midwest Lights win of the season.

“Getting through traffic to grab the lead was the hardest part,” noted Henes. “Once we got to the lead, the car worked really well in clean air, and it was just up to me to hit my marks and not make any mistakes. After changing the Jacob’s Ladder at the beginning of the year, the car has been really strong.

“Any time you have a late restart, I think you’re always a little bit uneasy behind the wheel, but I was confident in my race car and knew we had what it took to hold on,” Henes added. “Every once in a while I could see (Cody) Gallogly and (Andrew) Bogusz, but I didn’t know exactly where Sexton was, so when that last yellow came out I knew we had to be on our game with him right beside me.

“We’re here to win races, but we’ve started looking at the points and we’re getting closer. It’s on now.”

In winning Saturday’s race at Lorain, Henes moved atop the all-time Midwest Lights feature win list with his fourth career series victory, surpassing reigning series titlist Joey Wyckoff and Charlie Schultz.

Saturday’s feature took just over 14 minutes to complete, with a pair of cautions slowing the pace at laps 11 and 25. The first yellow flag waved for debris in turns three and four and the final interruption was for a spin by Lauren DePasquale in turn two.

Behind Henes and Sexton, Kalamazoo winner Andrew Bogusz completed the podium ahead of series point leader Cody Gallogly and Gould, who slipped from the pole to fifth at the checkered flag.

Henes kicked off the program by setting the fastest time in qualifying with a lap of 13.314 seconds (101.397 mph) around the three-eighths-mile paved oval, just .004 seconds off the series’ Lorain track record he set on June 17 during the Super Crown Nationals.

It was Henes’ second straight Midwest Lights fast time and the fifth of his career.

Junior Gould and Gallogly split the victories in a pair of eight-lap heat races. For Gould, who will retire at the conclusion of this season, it was his first Must See Racing Midwest Lights heat victory.

The Must See Racing Midwest Lights season is scheduled to continue Aug. 6 at Lorain Raceway Park, as part of the Bob Frey Classic alongside the Must See Racing National Sprint Car Series.

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

Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series; Lorain Raceway Park; South Amherst, Ohio; July 9, 2022

Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-13.314; 2. Joshua Sexton, 51S, Sexton-13.694; 3. Cody Gallogly, 27, Gallogly-13.851; 4. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Bogusz-13.953; 5. Charlie Baur, 23, Baur-14.011; 6. Junior Gould, 65, Gould-14.217; 7. Dale McQuillen, 21, McQuillen-14.469; 8. Tim Henthorne, 15T, Henthorne-14.622; 9. Lauren DePasquale, 18, DePasquale-14.948; 10. Adam Biltz, 92, Higgins-NT.

Heat #1 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Junior Gould [3], 2. Tim Henthorne [1], 3. Dale McQuillen [2], 4. Lauren DePasquale [5], 5. Charlie Baur [4].

Heat #2 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Cody Gallogly [2], 2. J.J. Henes [4], 3. Joshua Sexton [3], 4. Andrew Bogusz [1], 5. Adam Biltz (DNS).

A-Feature (30 laps): 1. J.J. Henes [6], 2. Joshua Sexton [5], 3. Andrew Bogusz [3], 4. Cody Gallogly [4], 5. Junior Gould [1], 6. Tim Henthorne [8], 7. Dale McQuillen [7], 8. Charlie Baur [2], 9. Lauren DePasquale [9].

Lap Leader(s): Junior Gould 1-5, J.J. Henes 6-30.

Hard Charger: #36JR – J.J. Henes (+5)