Ohio driver raising bar with glowing 2011 start
By Dustin Jarrett
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Jon Henry is undefeated in four 2011 starts at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park. (jonhenryracing.com)
If you’re looking for drivers who've had the hottest starts in 2011, Jon Henry is definitely in the discussion. Any driver would love to have Henry's record in his first six regular-season starts: four victories, a runner-up finish and a third-place finish as he aims to rebound from a subpar season.
The Ada, Ohio, driver will be the first person to admit that 2010 didn’t go as he'd hoped. And after his race team traveled to Florida in February for the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned races at Volusia Speedway Park, the third-year Late Model driver feared 2011 would be more of the same.
“Florida was definitely a little frustrating,” Henry said. “Once we came home from (Florida), we knew things had to change.”
Little did Henry know just how big that change would be as the 24-year-old driver clicked off four straight victories at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park and hasn't finished worse than third since.
“The main goal has always been to be consistent and to finish races,” Henry said. “We’ve just been fortunate enough to be finishing very strong.”
After a lackluster outing at Volusia, Henry called on Ohio Late Model veteran and shock guru Keith Berner and his Accu-Force shock dyno to work on his Ohlins shock and spring package.
“That was probably the biggest adjustment we made,” Henry said, adding that he also got Hawk Performance to hook him up with personally-fitted brake pads. “Being comfortable in your race car goes a long way, and I’m more comfortable now than I have ever been. As a matter of fact, after making those big adjustments, we really haven’t had to change anything in the race car.”
Getting comfortable has taken longer than Henry would have ever dreamed, though. After parting ways with Halcomb Racing after his rookie season in 2009 — a season that saw him win four Sunoco American Late Model Series events en route to the championship — the “Steel Driver” made the difficult choice to go racing on his own. Even with that decision, the high expectations followed.
“Leaving Halcomb Racing was a difficult decision,” Henry admits. “We had just finished winning the ALMS championship and Rookie of the Year in the same season. But, at the time, I had the opportunity to explore some other options. In the end, things didn’t work out like I had hoped and I was left with no ride and no real direction.”
Nevertheless, Henry was able to pull his family’s resources together in 2010 and put together his own ride at the last minute.
“March of 2010 arrived pretty quickly and I still had no plans,” Henry said. “I started looking around to maybe buy my own Late Model and I came across a pretty good deal. Even though it was a 2001 (Rocket), I felt like it was a diamond in the rough and I could make it successful. In two weeks, I went from not having a ride to getting the car on the track.”
While Henry’s debut in a 10-year-old chassis led to a sixth-place finish, the lack of time and resources coupled with his last-minute decision quickly caught up with him and he was racing his Late Model less and less.
Henry wasn’t absent from racing, though. In his spare time, he put his modified together and ended up winning the track championship at Eldora Speedway. Even so, the young driver was still frustrated. Deep down inside, he knew he wanted to be — and needed to be — in a Dirt Late Model.
“We had that modified in the barn and, honestly, that was just a backup plan. But, I didn’t want to settle with just that,” he said.
It’s easy to see why Henry was frustrated. Aside from winning the ALMS title, he raised the bar in 2009 with a top-10 finish in the final UMP DirtCar weekly points along with Rookie of the Year honors. In 2010, however, Henry had just three victories compared to the 10 during his rookie campaign.
“Not having a plan and throwing things together proved to be pretty unsuccessful,” he admits. “Looking back, I wouldn’t do that again. We ended up with a lot of bumps and bruises last year and, financially, we weren’t able to race the Late Model as much”
As we live and learn from our mistakes, Henry has done much of the same, rebounding better than he ever imagined. He’s undefeated at Attica Raceway Park in 2011, going 4-for-4 to open the season. His second-place finish came against a field of 44 cars in the Player Hater 50 at Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Michigan while his third-place run was at I-96 Speedway’s season opener which drew a whopping 39 entries. In three of his four victories at Attica, Henry has started ninth or worse.
“Those wins at Attica mean a lot,” he said. “They have a strong field of cars every week with UMP national champion Rusty Schlenk, former Wayne County and Hilltop track champion Ryan Markham, and multiple-time Attica track champion Ryan Missler. To beat those guys is a big confidence boost.”
In the same sense, Henry understands that the confidence level cannot overshadow what he is capable of behind the wheel.
“Running well this early, sets the bar for the whole season,” he said. “However, I know that patience is key. You can’t win unless you finish. I keep telling myself, ‘If you keep your nose clean, you could have a top-five race car every night’. And with a top-five car, we’ll take home a little bit of money. So far, mentally, it’s been paying off.”
In a family-run operation, bringing home that money has been key in the maintenance and upkeep of his race car. In addition, Henry has recently moved his car and equipment out of the family barn and into its own race shop. While the building isn’t new and the move may not seem like a big deal, Henry knows it will help further his program.
“It’s like a new beginning,” he admitted. “Having an actual race shop makes everything more organized and more professional. The little things like better lighting and a cleaner floor ... it all makes for a better environment for the team.”
“And it’s heated!” he added with a laugh.
With his impressive start in 2011, his renewed confidence and a “new” race shop, Henry is pondering how to handle the remainder of the 2011 racing season. While part of the young driver wants to explore the possibilities of bigger and better things, he knows the danger of biting off too much.
�“Man, I would love to run the whole UMP Summernationals,” Henry said with a smile. “It’s definitely a goal of mine and it will happen at some point in my career. Honestly, if I could get some funding and some man power, I think we could still pull it off this year, but time is quickly becoming an issue.”
Henry still plans to run the full Sunoco ALMS tour this season, piloting the Lawrence Motorsports No. 11 in those events. In addition, Henry admitted he will hit as many UMP races as he can and just “see how things shake out in the national points” at the end of the season. As for right now, he’s content being a solid regional driver.
“I have no desire of racing a national tour event until I feel prepared enough and have the right help,” Henry said.
While it’s safe to say he’s enjoying his time in the spotlight, the level-headed driver is quick to remember his roots — and his fans.
“A lot of family support is what has me back on track, winning, and focused on the future,” Henry said. “But the winning isn’t all about me. It’s about what I can do to help encourage and show young people just how great our sport is. And if I can do that, in the end, we all win.”
