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Photo's courtesy http://www.stevesracingphotos.com
Mike Henry runs 6th at Calistoga Speedway to move up two spots in California Sprint Car Civil War Series standings
By Gary Thomas
Calistoga, CA – August 11, 2009…Continuing his Civil War 360 Series campaign in the Rudy & Bev Warrington owned No. 18 sprinter this past Saturday night Sacramento, CA's Mike Henry drove to a sixth place finish in the main event at the Calistoga Speedway half-mile.
The finish kept up the recent trend of strong runs that Henry has put together since joining the No. 18 team in early June and bumped him up to seventh in the Civil War standings. "It was a pretty tough track tonight so we'll take a sixth and go on from there," Henry said. "I have to thank my owners Rudy and Bev Warrington for giving me the chance to run this car and our crew guys Sammy and Gary for helping out as well."
The event at the historic Calistoga Speedway half-mile this most recent Saturday marked Round 11 for the California Sprint Car Civil War Series and Henry kicked-off the night by qualifying solidly in the 10th position out of the 35 cars on hand. The veteran driver then motored to a runner-up finish in his heat race to transfer into the main event and when the big 10-pill was drawn for the inversion, it put the Borrelo Racing Engines powered A.R.T. Chassis No. 18 machine on the inside of the third row.
With the track conditions being very dry and rubber-down it made passing chances nearly non-existent and Henry ran the majority of the 20 lap contest in the fifth position, until a tire started to go down over the final circuits and allowed current Civil War point leader Sean Becker the chance to get by late in the race to put him back to sixth by the finish. "The track was definitely tough on tires tonight and we actually had a tire going flat in both the heat and the main event before the checkered," Henry said.
Despite missing the first three races of the season Henry finds himself seventh in the California Sprint Car Civil War Series standings going into the Pacific Sprint Cup Invitational, which will be held on Wednesday night September 9 at the Silver Dollar Speedway. "It's been a great season for us so far and has been a lot of fun to be able to run so strong ever since I joined the team," the former two-time Civil War champ said. "Being able to relax and not worry about points has paid off and I think it's shown in our results."
Henry, who spent last season traveling with the Golden State Challenge King of California 410 Sprint Car Series has made seven Civil War starts this year and has finished among the top-six in all but two. "Being able to drive for Steve Harris last year with Golden State was a big deal and the chance to run with guys like Tyler Walker, Jonathan Allard and Brent Kaeding was a great experience and it's paid off," Henry commented. "Every night I go into a race now I'm looking for one thing and that is to win, but on the other hand I'm not putting any added pressure on myself."
In those seven Civil War appearances this year Henry has also claimed four podium finishes, including a victory at the Petaluma Speedway on July 3, in what was just his second series start of the season. "It was really awesome to be able to win a race so soon after I started driving for Rudy and Bev," said the 2002 Placerville Speedway track champ. "Getting a win that early certainly helped my confidence and helped build some momentum."
Henry was also in position to pick up a victory during his very first Civil War start of the season on June 20, until a tire began to go down late in the main event at the American Valley Speedway in Quincy, which gave Sean Becker the chance to get by and steal the win away with just a couple of laps left, relegating him to a second place finish at the checkered.
Another impressive performance with Civil War for Henry this season came during Wild Winged Wednesday on July 22 at the Placerville Speedway, where he qualified 2nd fastest out of 37 cars and scored a third place finish in the main event behind national travelers Shane Stewart and Jesse Hockett. "Finishing behind those two was pretty cool when you look at all the things they've done across the country the last few years," said Henry. "You always read about them winning races all the time so to get on the podium with them was a good accomplishment for this team."
Henry's plans for the rest of the season will see him finishing out the remainder of the California Sprint Car Civil War Series schedule and also competing in the annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals in Chico, with the possibility of other races thrown in as well. "I just really would like to keep running strong and be in position to win races," he said. "I've never won the Wednesday night Civil War Invitational race during Gold Cup, but I think we've got a good shot to get it done this year and can't wait to hit the track next month."
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Sacramento's Mike Henry shown in action at the Calistoga Speedway on Saturday night where he brought home a sixth place finish in the Civil War Series main event aboard the Rudy & Bev Warrington No. 18
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