6/30/2015
Henry Finishes Ohio Speedweek with Fremont Fourth
(Photo by Sue Smith)
FREMONT, Ohio – During a successful All Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Sprint Speedweek, Cap Henry nearly reached 20 straight main events without a DNF in 2015, with the streak closing at 18 at Sharon Speedway on Tuesday. 13 of his 20 starts this season have been top-ten efforts, including the other three events he contested over the past week. What turned out to be a day-on, day-off rotation included a quick time on night one at Attica Raceway Park and a spectacular rally from 16th to finish fourth at Fremont Speedway on night seven, ultimately the final race of the week.
The Bellevue, Ohio native’s Attica quick time came as the seventh car to take the track to time in, logging a 12.372 second lap to best the other 57 teams in attendance. Five action-packed heat races were up next, where Henry would start fourth in heat one. Late in the ten-lap race, he picked up one position to finish third. By his qualifying time, he earned a spot in the dash race to set the top 12 starting positions for the main event. In that race, eight laps allowed Henry to move from tenth on the grid up to eighth to garner him that spot for the feature lineup.
A long 40 laps was on tap for the nightcap, but Henry didn’t waste any time. With two complete, he had already rocketed his way past several cars into the fourth position. Soon, he and recurring rival Byron Reed were locked in a battle for third. The fight was intense for several laps, both taking their shots at the inside and outside grooves. Just as Henry would snag the spot, the yellow flew with ten complete, relegating him to fourth. The clash was quick to resume once the green came out again. A caution would again emerge with 19 complete, but not before Henry took the spot from Reed on the previous circuit. However, Henry slid up and over the cushion in turn two upon the restart, falling to sixth. The front of the field remained much the same for the coming laps, until a lap 37 incident. NASCAR star Kasey Kahne, who had been running in second, struck an infield tire marker in turn four and spun. As Kahne didn’t come to a stop but the caution had already flown, he was awarded the sixth position, where he merged back into the field. Following up Henry in the restart order, a fervent bout for the position would break out between the two. On the final lap, Kahne was able to sneak by and capture the fifth position from Henry, beating him to the line by .172 seconds.
With the Genzman Racing Enterprises team skipping Eldora, Waynesfield Raceway Park was up, a tiny bullring just southeast of Lima. 50 cars were in attendance to set up five heat races scheduled to start ten cars apiece. In the fourth group for qualifying, Henry was fifth-quick, 20th overall, with an 11.330. The time would start him fifth in heat competition, moving forward to finish third and taking a transfer to the feature.
Without as strong of a qualifying lap this time around, he’d be starting 14th, but soon put down five cars by lap three to run in the ninth position. Battling with Attica winner Dale Blaney for most of the event, the duo was never able to muster much more than where they were running, but Henry was still able to pull ahead of Blaney late in the race to secure ninth.
After another night off while the All Stars were at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, the next race up was Hartford’s Sharon Speedway, just a short distance from the Pennsylvania border. Mostly running on the smaller tracks in Northwest Ohio, the half-mile Sharon threw Henry a curveball; he put up a 13.637 in qualifying to go 29th-quick of 42 entries. The only race all week in which he’d finish behind where he started was the upcoming heat race, where a sixth-place finish resulted from fifth on the grid. Forced into the B-Main for the only time all week, he readily took on his ninth-place start and roared into the third spot to make the move to the main event. That race wouldn’t go as well, however, and Henry ultimately pulled to the infield after going a lap down.
Henry’s bread-and-butter track, Fremont Speedway, was next on his schedule on Thursday after the All Stars ventured to Atomic Speedway Wednesday. If qualifying was any indication of how the night would go, it was destined to be a rough night for Henry. Only producing a 13.525-second lap was 30th overall and sixth in his group. Then, a first-lap incident in heat race action sent Henry spinning to a stop and put him at the tail of the ten-car race for the restart. But known for strong rebounds, Henry tightened the belts and put on a clinic to capture the fourth and final transfer to the feature.
Starting the main in 16th, Henry proved again that he should never be counted out. Taking just five laps to get to tenth, his impressive run was just beginning. When the lone yellow flew on lap 26, he had garnered himself the final position in the top five. Up to that point, the only person to match his effort of 11 cars passed was his foe atop the FAST Series points standings, the aforementioned Reed. Henry managed to pass one more opponent in the late stage of the event to earn himself the fourth-place finish.
While the next two nights were scheduled for an appearance at Limaland Motorsports Park and back at Fremont, both of those events were lost to rain and Ohio Sprint Speedweek was deemed complete. Final points standings for the week listed Henry in 27th position, but nonetheless had the fifth-highest average points per race of any driver competing in more than two events.
Henry would like to thank Level Performance, J&J Auto Racing, OC Shocks, FK Rod Ends, Simpson Race Products, Keizer Wheels, Wings Unlimited, HMS Speedways & Hobbies, Handy Grafix, and Kear's Speed Shop as well as his family, the Genzman team, and all of his great fans for their continued support.
Henry is next scheduled to compete at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio on July 3 and at Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio on July 5, both in the Genzman Racing Enterprises No. 53 410ci winged sprint entry.
Quick Results
June 19 – Attica, OH – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 1st; Heat: 3rd (4); Dash: 8th (10); Feature: 6th (8)
June 21 – Waynesfield, OH – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 20th; Heat: 3rd (5); Feature: 9th (14)
June 23 – Hartford, OH – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 29th; Heat: 6th (5); B-Main: 3rd (9); Feature: 19th (23)
June 25 – Fremont, OH – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 30th; Heat: 4th (6); Feature: 4th (16)
2015 Stats
20 races, 20 features, 2 wins, 11 top fives, 13 top tens, 1 DNF
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapHenryRacing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CapHenry
Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions