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.
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).
Keyword: Henes Aces Must See Lights Run