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Franklin's Henderson Wins Robbie Dean-Springfield Sun

Saturday, August 07, 2010 8:54:02 AM

By Greg Billing, Staff Writer Updated 11:55 PM Saturday, August 7, 2010 XENIA — Faced with an ill-handling car before the season’s biggest late model race at Kil-Kare Speedway, Sloan Henderson’s father recalled something said by a Richard Childress Racing representative a few years ago. “That’s what I told her before she went out. She said, ‘hey I don’t have a good car,’ ” Steve Henderson said. “I said a great car driver can take an average car and win with it.” Sloan, coming off her worst qualifying effort of the season, held off a furious challenge from Columbus’ David Carter to win the Robbie Dean 94 on Friday, Aug. 6. On July 17 — her 18th birthday — Henderson became the first female to win a late model race at Columbus Motor Speedway. Cross Kil-Kare off that list, too. Henderson started third, took the lead on lap two and held on to lead 93 of the next 94 laps. Carter almost got alongside Henderson in the closing laps — the bumper of his No. 77 edged past her rear tire for what seemed like a half dozen times — but Henderson’s consistency in the corners kept the No. 4 Green Pro Landscaping out front. “I was really nervous because we didn’t have a great race car. I had faith in all the guys working on it and they got it pretty good,” said Henderson, a fan favorite at Kil-Kare who also had a sizeable crowd during the night’s driver autograph session. “It’s very awesome to have the support I do. To be a female in a male dominated sport, you might not expect that. I’m very blessed and very fortunate.” Defending race champ Donald Mahaffey finished third and was followed by Chad Pendleton and Justin Alsip. Mahaffey, who entered the weekend with a slim 12-point lead over Henderson in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series points for Ohio, set the track record during qualifying. Mahaffey’s time of 13.313 seconds edged the 13.368 posted by Henderson last week. Friends, this talented driver deserves our help, lets help her open doors. again, look at her Stats, they speak for her. http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/springfield-oh-sports/ohio-auto-racing/franklins-henderson-wins-robbie-dean-94-849783.html

Kil-Kare News 8.6.10

Saturday, August 07, 2010 1:22:57 PM

Sloan Henderson Captures Kil-Kare's Robbie Dean 94 by Jerry Wahl Xenia, OH. - Kil-Kare Speedway presented the annual "Robbie Dean 94" Friday night in honor of the late Robbie Dean who was a competitor at the track for many years and passed away as the result of cancer several years ago. Capturing the event this year was eighteen year old Sloan Henderson showing the guys the quick way to the checker. The third annual event saw former track champion Gary Estes on the pole with former legend car driver Terry Scherz alongside for the 94 lap event as they faced the green flag. Estes got the lead but Sloan Henderson slipped by to take the lead with Sam Heckman into second and David Carter third with Mike Stacy fourth. Behind them it was Dick Dunlevy, Chad Pendeton, and fast timer Don Mahaffey fighting for positions. Henderson still led at lap ten but Carter was moving in and Stacy took third with Heckman back to fourth. Henderson continued to lead as they moved up on slower traffic by lap seventeen and the top three were now bumper to bumper only to see the first caution on lap eighteen when Virgil Powell spun on the front-stretch after a bump from Russ Bobb with Bobb sent to the tail. A tough break for Mike Stacy as he went to the pits. Back under green Henderson had her hands full holding off Carter with Heckman now in third as Mahaffey challenged Dunlevy for fourth and did make his pass good on lap thirty three. Mahaffey now went after Heckman and dropped him to fourth as Mahaffey went after the two front runners. Carter tried to duck inside Henderson but the young lady shook him off but Mahaffey was right on Carter's rear looking for a break to gain the second spot as they began to lap traffic. Carter tried the outside of Henderson as the yellow flew for the second time when Carter spun on the front-stretch after an encounter with Mahaffey coming out of turn four. As neither claimed responsibility of the spin both were sent to the tail as Mahaffey darted to the pits for a quick check. Fifty three laps remained when the green showed again with Heckman now in second and Pendleton in third with defending track champ Justin Alsip fourth. On the move was Chad Pendleton as he challenged Heckman for third but here came Carter from the rear taking fifth from Gary Estes on lap forty nine. Henderson had a good lead until Terry Scherz spun on the front-stretch on lap fifty. Pendleton went to the outside of Heckman but slid a little high on turn two but rebounded to again challenge Heckman and passed him for second on lap fifty five. Carter took third and then he was after second place running Pendleton as Henderson had a good lead. Russ Bobb brought the fourth caution out on lap sixty four when he went off the track on the backstretch which moved the field right up behind leader Henderson. Carter and Mahaffey were now after the leaders as Carter challenged Pendleton to take second as he again went after Henderson as four cars ran up front. Again the caution flew on lap seventy one when Matt Parsons and Gary Estes were involved on turn three. With twenty three laps to go it was Henderson, Carter, Chad Pendleton, Don Mahaffey, and Justin Alsip the top five. Carter again went to work on Henderson's lead but so far she has shaken him off as laps wound down. Ten laps to go it was still a battle between Henderson and Carter as Mahaffey was a distant third as the leaders came up on slow traffic. With the white flag in the air Carter made a desperate attempt but it was eighteen year old Henderson taking the win with happy car owner Gary Estes joining her in victory lane. Carter was second followed by don Mahaffey, Chad Pendleton and Justin Alsip.

Sloan Henderson gets a few more “firsts” as she takes the Robbie Dean 94

Saturday, August 07, 2010 8:51:54 PM

August 7, 2:30 PM Cincinnati Auto Racing Examiner Daryl Miller Raucous Kil-Kare crowd treated to a fine night of racing as a legend is honored Sloan Henderson began the day by spinning out in hot laps and lamenting the fact that the car wasn’t coming around as they had hoped it would. Several crew members echoed the sentiment throughout the evening and one essentially apologized to her via the public address system as he declared “it’s not where it needs to be, she’s really going to have to wheel that thing if it’s coming home a winner tonight.” Well, “wheel that thing” she did as she jumped to the lead on lap two of ninety four and proceeded to lead every lap for the rest of the biggest race of the year at Kil-Kare Speedway in Xenia, Ohio. Henderson drove the car hard and benefitted from the very nature of auto racing that brings millions of fans to racetracks across the country year after year. A few doses of good racing fortune along with the spirit of good sportsmanship allowed the eighteen year old pilot of the Gary Estes owned #4 to take one of the most crowd pleasing victories at a racetrack in quite some time. Hot laps were well underway when Sloan Henderson wiggled off of turn four and lost the rear end of the car going into turn one but averted disaster by keeping it off the wall while every other car avoided collecting her as she sat sideways between turns one and two. The rest of the preliminary action was an uphill climb as her crew fought with a car that just last week had broken the Kil-Kare track record as Henderson lowered the mark to 13.368 seconds. That record lasted exactly one week as Donnie Mahffey was not having any trouble dialing his car in as he blistered the track on his qualifying laps as he lowered the Kil-Kare track record to 13.313 seconds. Mike Stacy is a perennial top contender on the modified D shaped 1/3rd mile oval and he posted the second fastest time followed by Chad Pendleton and David Carter rounded out the fastest five. Veteran racers Sam Heckman and Dick Dunlevy Jr. timed in at sixth and seventh as Henderson, Terry Scherz and Gary Estes completed the top ten. The track promoter’s decision regarding the order in which classes will run makes a big impact on how the racing will be later on in the racing program. Allowing other classes to run heat races and a feature or two on a dirt track can be the right way to go or the very wrong choice based on dozens of controllable factors along with a slew of other issues that are beyond human influence. The nature of pavement racing is just as finicky but the groove that is created by other cars running laps and laying rubber down allows the later classes to “stick” to the track at the rubber of the tires adheres to that which has been left behind by hundreds of passes by racecars. That decision along with the inversion system used to create the starting lineup would play a large role in making the third annual Robbie Dean 94 a race for the ages. Add to the fact that the race length was determined by the car number of the legend being remembered on this night. Winners in all classes of cars received one of a kind trophies constructed with parts of trophies that Robbie Dean won throughout his illustrious career and every winner spoke with true enthusiasm when they discussed how much they appreciated being a winner on Robbie Dean night and at no point during the course of the night was the purse for winners mentioned. It was all about the trophy, the prestige and the memories of a fallen friend who was known as a hard charger. He certainly enjoyed this race as many drivers showed that skill and determination can overcome almost anything. Before the feature the drivers gathered at the front stretch and signed autographs for fans, another tip of the cap to Dean who was well known for taking care of fans at every turn. The flagman took his position and the field roared to life led to the post by Gary Estes and Terry Scherz on the front row. Estes nosed to the lead and was recorded as the leader of lap one. It didn’t take long to realize that something wasn’t right with the normally very stout #75 machine of Estes as he dropped precipitously through the field at the beginning of what would become a very frustrating for the driver of that machine but by the end of the night the car owner in that cockpit would end up quite happy indeed. As he slid back, Sloan Henderson used her inside of row two starting spot to swoop by on the low side and become the leader on lap two. The pack of cars remained a tight knit group that was being shuffled by the falling front row as by lap eleven Estes was eighth and Scherz was eleventh. The gap between Scherz and a final pack of four was nearly half of a lap and Henderson would be breathing down their necks in just a few laps. Lap seventeen was the first test of just how steady Henderson’s hands could be as she would have to dive high and low to get around slower cars while holding off a fire breathing pack of cars determined to take that lead away. Disaster was averted for a second time on the day as the cars she was about to lap tangled out of turn four and spun right in front of the leaders. Second place running and the one of the strongest cars on the track David Carter looped the black #77 to avoid destroying several cars. Carter would be given his spot back as he was not the cause of the yellow flag as he simply spun to avoid a mess. The restart put Carter back on the bumper of Henderson. Behind Carter was the #99 of Donnie Mahaffey who had barged up from his ninth place starting spot to put a ton of pressure on Carter. The #17 of Sam Heckman wasn’t keeping up with the top three consistently but he held a smooth and steady line so others could pass should they get the urge, but nobody could find a way around the highly respected veteran racer. The green dropped and beginning on lap 27 Carter tried high and low at seemingly every point of the track to get position on Henderson who was having trouble coming off of turn four but was stronger than Carter in one and two along with being able to move out just a touch down the back. Once they got into three and out of four the rear end of the four car would break loose when she put the power all the down. When out to a big lead Henderson was able to feather the throttle enough off of four to keep the slight wheel spin from cranking the car every so slightly sideways which was happening when the pressure of pursuers was hot and heavy. The next challenge was going to be that dreaded foe called slower traffic. The first time the leaders met the cars at the back of the field a caution flag involving spinning cars and second place running David Carter being one of them unfortunately. This time would be the exact same result and would have a huge impact on the outcome of the race. Working slower traffic the three leaders stepped lightly but as they came out of turn four Carter and Mahaffey got together in what would have to be called “just one of those racing deals” as Carter went spinning out of four and came to a rest low on the front chute. The officials sent both combatants to a time out at the tail of the field and to say that David Carter didn’t agree with the decision would be a gross understatement. He clearly had the fastest car on the track and had plenty of time to work on the leader and claim the Robbie Dean 94. The fact of the matter was, even having to start from the tail he still had plenty of time. He and Mahaffey took the tail and Carter was on a mission to get back to that yellow car in the front. The removal of the two major threats allowed Sloan Henderson to get out front, take off and get gone as Heckman and Alsip were the only two remotely able to keep her in sight. Behind those two was a twelve car length gap to the pack of wild dogs which included Carter who picked off six cars in a lap and a half and was back up to second place just twenty laps after being sent to the tail. Carter passed cars everywhere on the track, including using the high line which very few were able to make work for the purpose of gaining positions. Mahaffey made the same trip but it took him a bit longer to re-take his previously held third place. With twenty two laps to go Carter was outside of Henderson off of two and up to the number four on the side of the race long leader’s machine. This was going to it according to some of the assembled spectators. Carter had a head of steam and looked like he could finally make good on the advantage he held over Henderson who hadn’t had to press the issue in three and four for quite some time so the lack of jump off of four hadn’t been an issue. None of that would matter as the yellow flag flew for a spin on the back stretch and the world will never know if Carter was going to be able to finish powering by Henderson for the lead, yet he still had plenty of time to get that job done. By this point in the evening the groove of rubber had become nearly eight to ten feet wider coming out of the turns. The wider groove allowed Henderson to offset the only weakness she had by arching into the corner and easing it off the turn using a higher line, thus keeping the hind end of the car from sliding out from under her and allowing Carter to use the preferred low line in to turns one and two. Carter didn’t seem to care. He rocketed around the high line lap after lap and in reality he passed up dozens of opportunities to bump Henderson, make her correct the car and go right by her, but that didn’t appear to be an option for Carter who showed that winning the right way was going to be the only way he would do it. He dogged her high and low followed closely by Mahaffey but as close as they were, they were not able to get around the young lady who collected her first ever win at Kil-Kare. Carter, Mahaffey, Chad Pendleton and Justin Alsip rounded out the top five. The victory lane celebration included Sloan receiving the coveted trophy and Robbie Dean’s Big Bird. It was the actual stuffed Sesame Street Big Bird that the former football and racing star carried with him in his racecar. The first woman to win the Robbie Dean 94 was greeted with a loud ovation and dozens of hugs and well wishes. The race was truly an outstanding display of everything that racing should be…good, clean, hard racing where drivers use everything in their power to do what the need to move forward. Racing has many clichés and one of them proved to be true on this night, the fastest car didn’t win. Carter had the fastest car and who knows what would have been had he not had to come from the tail…but as another cliché says…that’s why they run the races, one just never knows what is going to happen. Thus the reason racing is such a compelling sport. Some left the track wondering what may have happened if Robbie’s number was ninety-six. What a race.

GirlRacer UK Racing Blog

Thursday, August 12, 2010 8:12:17 PM

Link to Sloan's blog in United Kingdom in GirlRacer Online Magazine.

Columbus Motor Speedway Press Release

Friday, August 27, 2010 12:59:59 PM

PRESS RELEASE Date: Thursday, August 26, 2010 Back to News Archive -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sloan Henderson Set to Make CRA Series Debut at Columbus Eighteen-year-old Sloan Henderson will attempt to make her first career start in the CRA Super Series on Saturday, August 28 in the CRA 125 at Columbus Motor Speedway. She will pilot the No. 4 GreenPro Landscaping/Rebel 105.9 Chevrolet in the seventh event held at Columbus for the CRA Super Series. 'I'm really looking forward to racing with CRA at Columbus, 'said Sloan Henderson. 'The series has some great drivers and I'm excited that my first start will take place at a track that I'm familiar with. It should help the learning curve and the cars are similar to what we race with the exception of a different tire,' added Sloan. Henderson attended the CRA Super Series event at Berlin Raceway earlier this year for an introduction to the series. Future plans with CRA remain tentative, but goals are to make four additional starts if this weekend's event is a success. Henderson began her racing career in 2004 and has already established an impressive resume. She competed in Quarter Midgets scoring over 50 feature victories and establishing three track records during her first season of competition. As she moved through the ranks of racing she earned Rookie of the Year honors in Bandoleros in 2005 and Legends Cars in 2007. Henderson's impressive 2006 season included the KOIL Championship in the Legends Cars, third in INEX Bandoleros National Points and 13 feature victories. In the Legends division, Henderson finished sixth in the INEX National Points in 2008. Season highlights included 13 feature victories and 33 top-five finishes. The following season she was 2009 NASCAR Whelen Rookie of the Year for Ohio competing at Columbus and Kil-Kare speedways. This year, Henderson has been a regular fixture at Columbus and Kil-Kare in the Late Model division. In 22 starts, she has collected two feature wins, 16 top-five finishes and 18 top 10s. Her most recent victory is the Robbie Dean Memorial event, a 94-lap event at Columbus on August 6. Henderson will add a new chapter to her career with the first appearance in the CRA Super Series this weekend competing against some of the premier Late Model drivers in the country at her hometrack. The CRA Super Series returns to Columbus Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 28 in the CRA 125. Practice begins at 1 p.m. with the racing program starting at 4. Tickets are $18 for adults and $5 for kids. Following the racing action a free concert will feature the Blue Oyster Cult. http://www.columbusspeedway.com/asp/2009/Default.asp