KNOXVILLE, Iowa — For the third time in his career at Knoxville Raceway, Justin Henderson swept both the 410 and 360 features in a single night.
The stakes were high Saturday on Van Wall Equipment/Marion County Fair Night as the Tea, South Dakota native not only took home a total of $7,000 for his feat, but also claimed a half beef for winning the 410 feature, and a half a hog for winning the 360 main event.
Tyler Groenendyk stormed from the back of the Pace Performance Pro Sprints field to win his third feature of the year in that class, while Todd Cooney swept the two features with the Karl Chevrolet Dirt Truck Racing Association Series.
Ayrton Gennetten stormed out to an early lead in the 20-lap 410 feature, ahead of Carson McCarl and Lynton Jeffrey. Henderson was fourth by the fourth lap. Up front, Gennetten was putting a large margin between himself and the field as he entered lapped traffic on the fifth circuit.
When Riley Goodno contacted the turn one wall at the halfway point, Gennetten and McCarl had put over four seconds between themselves and the third-place car of Jeffrey.
The restart saw new life for Henderson, who surged from fourth to second. Another stoppage for a tangle involving Austin Miller and Ben Brown two laps later, set up the restart Henderson really needed.
The driver of the Sandvig Motorsports No. 7 put a slider on Gennetten in turns three and four after the green fell. Gennetten stayed close, but a Presley Truedson flip with six to go assured Henderson clean air.
Henderson would pull away for his 13th 410 win here, followed by Gennetten, a late-charging Austin McCarl, Carson McCarl and Davey Heskin.
“Before we ever went out for the 360 feature, I had a great big smile on my face,” said Henderson. “I knew we were going to be taking the right after the scales. I could already picture my boy coming up. I just had a big smile on my face. I knew it was a done deal. We did it twice. We’re going to go buy another freezer tomorrow! Ayrton is getting so good here. I was tickled pink to pass him and to beat him. He’s very, very good here. He’s got a lot of wins coming in his future. There’s a lot of good competition here. We’re very happy and proud of this team.”
The finish:
Feature (20 laps): 1. Justin Henderson (8); 2. Ayrton Gennetten (2); 3. Austin McCarl (9); 4. Carson McCarl (1); 5. Davey Heskin (7); 6. Lynton Jeffrey (6); 7. Matt Juhl (5); 8. AJ Moeller (4); 9. Terry McCarl (10); 10. Sawyer Phillips (3); 11. Chris Martin (12); 12. Sammy Swindell (13); 13. John Carney II (17); 14. Jordan Goldesberry (11); 15. Devin Kline (22); 16. Scotty Thiel (15); 17. Bobby Mincer (20); 18. Austin Miller (19); 19. Ben Brown (23); 20. Bob Weuve (21); 21. Joe Simbro (25); 22. Brett Becker (24); 23. Alan Gilbertson (26); 24. Presley Truedson (16); 25. Riley Goodno (14); 26. Tasker Phillips (18). Lap Leaders:Gennetten 1-12, Henderson 13-20. Hard-charger: Kline.