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By DINO OBERTO
(Forestville, PA 3-9-25) The highly competitive USS Achey Inc., 602 Crate Sportsman division at Big Diamond Speedway has, in just a few short years of being a weekly class, touted some great talent, but unquestionably there is one individual who over the past two seasons has established himself as the driver and car to beat, thanks largely to his ability of posting consistent finishes and in doing so has earned back-to-back championships.
Jordon Henn of Kutztown, the two-time and defending champion who drives the Reber Brothers Racing No. 4R, has achieved remarkable statistics during his twin-title campaigns. Throughout the last 28 regular season point races, Henn has secured five victories and an impressive record of 23 top-5 finishes and 25 top-10 finishes. Those consistent performances have established him as a formidable contender each time he enters the pits.
After being a regular for a number of years at Grandview Speedway, Henn began to take on the 602 Crate Sportsman class at the 3/8-mile Big Diamond Speedway starting in 2022. He only ran a partial season but still managed to score a win. Then for 2023 he went full tilt and on an almost regular basis collected one top finish after another which of course led to his championship efforts.
“I was a Grandview regular for so long but every time I went to Diamond I was always comfortable and I always ran well there but I never ran a full season and I knew going there we’d be competitive, but I didn’t think we’d go back-to-back in championships at all,” said 33-year old Henn.
“Especially our first full season there was the year we won the first championship, and I didn’t really expect that with guys like Logan Watt and Brandon Edgar and Danny Buccafusca. There’s a lot of good competition there and I didn’t imagine that.”
2024 was especially notable for Henn. After a solid runner-up to start out the season, he then suffered a rare DNF in week two and an uncharacteristic 22nd place finish. But, from then on it would be top-5s the rest of the way. Five times he was runner-up and with a fourth in the season ending non-point Coalcracker 25, Henn made it 14 top-5s in 15 starts.
“I was a little disappointed last year, to be honest, because of not getting more wins. But you know, going into the off-season thinking about it, we had a season that everybody dreams of really having. We ran top five every single week except one week that we wrecked,” revealed Henn.
“It’s kind of unbelievable to be able to come from mid-pack week after week and 20 laps go fast at Diamond. It’s big there but 20 laps are quick and it’s tough to pass with these Crate cars because they are so equal, and it really is unbelievable to have as many top five finishes as we did so not only were we good but we had a lot of luck on our side too,” he continued.
“And that’s kind of been my career, I’ve always been a very consistent racer and I wish we had more wins last year and I think all the seconds we had, all five of them, we were right there at the end, we just ran out of laps.”
While Henn clearly has the talent behind the wheel, likewise he is provided with good equipment thanks to his car owners Tyler and Cody Reber of Auburn. Their race shop is a short distance from Big Diamond. He’s won with them not only at Big Diamond but at Grandview and BAPS Motor Speedway as well.
“The Reber’s are owners that you can only dream to race for because even when you have bad nights, they’re not disappointed, they just have the mentality of we’ll come back and get them next week and they’re just race fans in general so they love being there,” said Henn.
“I could race more probably if I really wanted to with them it’s really just a matter of me saying, hey, let’s go here or let’s go there. But they’ve been unbelievable to work with and Tyler, who owns the car, he’s very mechanically inclined and he takes care of all the maintenance. I come up once a week to the shop and do setups and we go from there and they provide me with great equipment to go win races.”
Their engine program is also solid with the power coming from Donath Motor Worx of Lafayette, NY.
“Since being with the Reber’s and running with the Crates, Donath is the only ones (engines) we’ve been working with and they have been outstanding with us and giving us stout motors and they’re great to work with,” noted Henn.
With the start of the 2025 season just a few weeks away, Henn and the Reber team have been hard at work preparing, and they’ll actually get things rolling at Port Royal Speedway this upcoming weekend in the Speed Showcase event with the Short Track Super Series.
For Henn and all others racing at Big Diamond and Grandview, it will also mean the return of the right-side Panhard Bar.
“We have the car ready and we’re going to start off the year at Port Royal and kind of test and go back out to Diamond with this new right side Panhard (Bar) set up and going back to the old ways and see where that goes.” he explained.
“I actually feel I have a little but of an advantage heading into this year because I’ve run that in the past. A lot of these guys coming up in the Crates are good guys but all they know is left side (Panhard Bar) and coils at this point where I have quite a bit of years on right side Panhard’s and I actually kind of feel I’m coming into it at a little bit of an advantage.”
With Big Diamond’s first race scheduled for April 4, Henn is expected to be a strong contender in the new season and aims for another win as division champion as well.
“It’s come up in conversation but one of the outlooks this year is focus on winning and you know, by winning and running consistent again then the points will come and so will a championship,” relayed Henn.
“I think that first year I gave up a lot of wins because I was championship focused to lock it up. I started not taking chances and really started to save my stuff and you give up races by doing that. So, we’ve already won a championship twice and it would be nice to go for a three-peat, but we’ll go for race wins and if we stay consistent and win races, we can lock up another title.”
Friday, April 4, marks the 53rd Season Opener at Big Diamond Speedway featuring the Thaw Brawl. The Quandel Concrete 358 Modifieds will race for $4053 to win. The USS Achey 602 Crate Sportsman will compete for a $1053 prize, while the Red White and Blue Autos Inc. Roadrunners will race for $453. Additionally, the Big Creek Concrete Rookie 602 Crate Sportsman will be in action.
Pit gates will open at 5:00 pm and grandstands at 5:30 pm. Hot laps will begin at 7:15 followed by heats. All heat starting spots will be set by random draw. Pit admission is $35 for Big Diamond Speedway members and $45 for all non-members. Adult general admission is $20 and kids 16 and under are admitted for free.
Big Diamond Speedway is located at 392 Forest Lane, Pottsville, Pa. For up-to-date news and information logon to the official track website at https://bigdspeedway.net/ and follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=big%20diamond%20speedway
