8/28/2015
Justin Henderson Hustles To Open Wheel Nationals Win At SCVR
Justin Henderson kept his batting average perfect in UMSS competition during his late season run with the group when he topped the 4th Annual Open Wheel Nationals at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on Friday night August 28 for his second straight appearance in Rock Auto Victory Lane at a UMSS racing event. The talented Tea, South Dakota driver led all 25 laps from his outside front row starting spot on a tricky race track with the cushion right up against the wall. After picking up $2,300 for his win the week before at Princeton, Henderson and his team pocketed another $2,000 for their efforts at the 1/4 mile dirt oval nestled in western Wisconsin.
Russ Hall and Henderson won heat races while Jamey Ogston and Tony Norem topped the Challenge races. Henderson got the lead over Hall at that outset, and that is all he needed. Henderson led all the way. The race was slowed three times under caution for spins and once under the red flag when Richert flipped the Donnohue Designs sprinter over the turn four wall and landed upright. Hall finished second with Norem third. Rick Kobs and Chris Graf rounded out the top five. Ogston, Reed Allex, Jake Lempelius and Bob McVitty were the only other cars to finish.
Current UMSS point leader Ryan Bowers took a wild ride out of the track in turn two during his Challenge race and was unable to start the main event. This was the second week in a row that Bowers has gotten upside down. This one was much more spectacular than his Princeton mishap, as his Mastell Racing #199 sprinter climbed the turn two wall and headed skyward out of the track and into the pit area. The car likely reached a height around 20-25 feet in the air before coming back to earth. Fortunately, nobody was injured. The incident certainly provided some spectacular photos and video.
Up next for the winged warriors is the two night show at the 14th Annual Mighty Axe Nationals at the North Central Speedway near Brainerd on Labor Day weekend. Bowers continues to lead Graf and Richert in the UMSS point standings despite his misfortune the past two races.
UMSS Race Results - St. Croix Valley Raceway August 28, 2015 (Race #16)
4th Annual Open Wheel Nationals
Mastell Brothers & GRP Motorsports A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 1-Justin Henderson[2]; 2. 29H-Russ Hall[1]; 3. B1ST-Tony Norem[3]; 4. 34-Rick Kobs[7]; 5. 20G-Chris Graf[5]; 6. 03-Jamey Ogston[6]; 7. 91A-Reed Allex[9]; 8. 52-Jake Lempelius[10]; 9. 7M-Roger McVitty[11]; 10. (DNF) 5-Anna Kouba[8]; 11. (DNF) 34D-Jerry Richert Jr[4]; DNS 199-Ryan Bowers; DNS 95-Kevin BradwellLap Leader: Henderson 1-25. Cautions: (4) - 03 spin turn 1 with 2 laps in; 5 spin turn 4 with 6 laps in; 34D flipped over turn 4 wall with 7 laps in (red); 5 spin turn 2 with 20 laps in.
Hoosier Racing Tire Challenge Race 1 (8 Laps): 1. 03-Jamey Ogston[2]; 2. 29H-Russ Hall[5]; 3. 34D-Jerry Richert Jr[4]; 4. 34-Rick Kobs[3]; 5. 91A-Reed Allex[6]; 6. 52-Jake Lempelius[1]; DNS 95-Kevin BradwellLap Leader: Ogston 1-8. No cautions.
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race 2 (8 Laps): 1. B1ST-Tony Norem[2]; 2. 1-Justin Henderson[5]; 3. 20G-Chris Graf[3]; 4. 5-Anna Kouba[1]; 5. 7M-Roger McVitty[6]; 6. (DNF) 199-Ryan Bowers[4]Lap Leader: Norem 1-8. Cautions: (1) red with 4 laps in for 199 spectacular-looking flip over turn 2 wall and into pit area (no injuries). 199 done for the night.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Heat 1 (7 Laps): 1. 29H-Russ Hall[1]; 2. 199-Ryan Bowers[2]; 3. 34-Rick Kobs[3]; 4. B1ST-Tony Norem[4]; 5. 52-Jake Lempelius[5]; 6. 7M-Roger McVitty[7]; 7. (DNF) 91A-Reed Allex[6]Lap Leader: Hall 1-7. No cautions.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat 2 (7 Laps): 1. 1-Justin Henderson[4]; 2. 34D-Jerry Richert Jr[6]; 3. 20G-Chris Graf[5]; 4. 03-Jamey Ogston[2]; 5. 5-Anna Kouba[1]; 6. (DNF) 95-Kevin Bradwell[3]Lap Leaders: Ogston 1-5, Henderson 6-7. Cautions: (1) red flag for engine fire on 95 on lap 6. G-W-C finish after that.
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
