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Matt Henderson rules All-Stars Series at Smoky Mountain

Matt Henderson had an up-and-down Memorial Day weekend of racing, which saw him splitting time between Crate Late Model and Steel Block competition. (Michael Moats photo)

The highlight of his holiday weekend endeavors came on Saturday evening at Smoky Mountain Speedway, where he scored the $3,000 American All-Star Series win in his Stanco Equipment Co. No. 17 Vineyard Lawn / CVR Race Car / Hendren Racing Engine Late Model. The victory marked his eighth of the year.

“There were definite high points and low points of the weekend. Ironically, the most notable high and low both came on the same night. We won the American All-Star feature on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway. In the Topless Outlaw Series feature, we were battling for the lead, when a lapped car cut across the track in front of me and the leader and collected us both. I hate it for everyone involved because it tore up some real good racecars. Just a bad deal for everyone,” Henderson said. “On Sunday night at Wythe, I spun myself out trying to make a pass for fifth and came from the back to finish seventh. Then on Monday night we lost power steering before qualifying at 411 Motor Speedway but was still able to get a third-place finish.

“We’ve got some serious repairs to do on the No. 00 Steel Head Late Model, and hopefully we can get it ready in time for Richmond this Saturday.”

With Friday night’s opener at Volunteer Speedway (Bulls Gap, Tenn.) rained out, Matt Henderson kicked off his Memorial Day weekend on Saturday evening at Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, Tenn.), where he was pulling double duty in the opening round of the Mayhem in the Mountains.

In a field of 39 American All-Star Series entries, Henderson clocked in sixth fastest in time trials before placing third in the Dash. Charging from his third-starting position in the feature to his eighth win of the season in the CVR Race Cars No. 17 house car, Henderson topped Dillon Brown, Jake Teague, Carson Ferguson, and Mack McCarter at the line. He earned $3,000 for his winning performance.

In the Topless Outlaw Series sanctioned program, Matt was behind the wheel of the Luke Crass-owned No. 00 Late Model. Unfortunately, he was involved in a tangle with the leader and a lapped car, while running in second in the feature, which brought a disappointing end to his evening.

On Sunday night at Wythe Raceway (Rural Retreat, Va.) in the second round of the Mayhem in the Mountains with the American All-Star Series, Henderson secured his spot into the $3,000-to-win A-Main with a heat race victory. Rolling off ninth for the feature, Matt passed two cars in the 50-lapper to register a seventh-place finish.

Henderson’s weekend drew to a close on Monday with the Scott Sexton Memorial at 411 Motor Speedway (Seymour, Tenn.). The event found him battling power steering issues throughout the night to pilot the CVR Race Cars No. 17 to a podium finish in the 25-lap feature. He trailed Rusty Ballenger and Eli Beets to the checkers with Jesse Lowe and Cory Hedgecock rounding out the Top-5.

For more information on these events, please visit www.CrateRacing.com, www.ToplessOutlaws.com, and www.411MotorSpeedway.net.

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