Driver Profile: Justin Henderson
Thursday, April 23, 2015
(Eric Arnold) Justin Henderson has been one of the most successful drivers at Knoxville Raceway in recent years. Henderson finished third in the Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series 410 class in 2014, and he drove to the 360 car owner’s championship with BDS Motorsports #1 for car owner Bryan Sundby. In 2013, Henderson finished third at the Knoxville Nationals, and took fifth place in 2014.
Although those are admirable career highlights for the 35-year-old Sioux Falls native, Henderson and the Bryan Sundby team are looking to move up the order on the podium in 2015. They will once again compete in the 360 and 410 classes at Knoxville Raceway. With more laps on the track than anyone else, the team is expected to be strong at the Nationals in August. Henderson is only eligible to win one class of the Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series track championships as a driver, but owner Bryan Sundby is chasing owner’s points in both classes. Henderson should have a legitimate shot to win the Knoxville Championship and the Knoxville Nationals this year!
How did Justin Henderson get started in racing? A product of a racing family, Justin Henderson grew up watching his father, Rod Henderson, as a successful driver in the Midwest. Henderson also comes from the rich sprint car heritage of the Sioux Falls area, where everyone is chasing the shadow of hometown hero Doug Wolfgang. At his home track of Huset’s Speedway, Henderson has captured two track championships in the 360 class and one in the 410s.
At the age of seven, Henderson got his start racing karts, like many drivers. “We had to lie about my age the first couple of years,” Henderson said with a laugh. “Back then, they didn’t allow younger kids in. But nowadays they let you start racing karts when you’re five. Of course, my dad raced for a long time from 1984 through 1996, so we raced karts a few seasons hit and miss. And then we moved up to four wheelers and the idea there was to get laps in something with suspension before I moved up to 360 sprints. I helped Dad for that final season before we moved up to the IMCA sprint cars at Huset’s, Rock Rapids, and Madison at Lake County Speedway, where we won a championship, and then we won a couple of championships at Huset’s.”
Henderson first competed at Knoxville Raceway in 1997, and had a tough first outing. “The very first time I went to Knoxville was for the Knoxville Nationals, which was a brilliant idea,” Henderson joked. “We didn’t have a strong motor but gave an attempt. I remember my dad was sitting across from me in our little half-ton Chevy pickup that we took there and he looks at me and tells me when I get to the end of the straightaway, ‘Don’t turn’. I couldn’t get the whole ‘don’t turn’ thing because I wasn’t used to not turning at a race track. So of course, the first lap I turn the car pretty hard and found out what he meant. It was a learning curve at Knoxville for sure and it’s one of the tougher tracks in the country.”
Racing with the World of Outlaws in 2006 and 2007 helped round out Henderson’s experience as a driver. His team was on a tight budget, but they were resourceful to survive the grueling schedule. With his father building engines, they had a couple of solid years of racing against the best, learning lessons that helped make Henderson the driver he is today. Later, he found himself racing in Central Pennsylvania and winning races at Williams Grove Speedway, (not many drivers have won a race at both Knoxville and the Grove), and he won three total there, along with a couple at Port Royal Speedway. Justin has fond memories of racing out East. “I was running for Sorokach Motorsports. Don and Charlie gave me good equipment and let me take care of everything. They hired a crew chief in Jim Shriner and after that we had a lot of success together. Really most of those wins came in one season, but we had a good solid three years out there with a great 2011 season.”
In the middle of the 2013 season, Justin moved back home to South Dakota. He found a ride in the Sundby car for the first time on Twin Features Night and won a feature. Right away there was success! “I was comfortable the first time I sat in Bryan’s car,” said Justin. “I remember that I had to calm myself down because I had been running little bull rings in Ohio on short slick race tracks through the first half of that season. When I got into Bryan’s car, I was instantly comfortable. To be honest, I had a pretty good idea Bryan knew what he was doing. I was able to meet Bryan through Al Parker and if Al liked him, I knew Bryan had to be a pretty good dude and know his stuff. And those two together is a really good combination. Once I was able to get to the shop and take a look at everything that was going on and see the operation, it was no secret in my mind that we were going to be fast, and I think that confidence was a big reason why we were able to go out and win the first night out last year.”
Look for Justin Henderson and the BDS Motorsports #1 to be competing up front again this year against an extremely tough field of cars. The third season might be the charm for this team to win the KCCS Cup!
The BDS Motorsports team and Justin Henderson would like to thank all the fans and their partners: Eagle Power Equipment, American Fab, Midwest Power, JaFar Lawn Service -Newton, IA, Sebastian Sandblasting and Powdercoating, Maxim Chassis, DMI, Astro Titanium, Ultra- Lite Brakes, KSE Products, Kinsler Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Fuel Safe, Kustom Sprintcar Supplies, Moroso Products, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Hoosier Tire Midwest, Butlerbuilt Safety Products, Callies, MSD Ignitions, Dyer Rods, Cometic Gaskets, Diamond Pistons, Comp Cams, Dart Blocks, Super Shox, Gillund E.
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