Rising Buckeye State Star Looking For New Ride To Continue Emergence In 2010
MARYVILLE, IL – Dec. 16, 2009 – For a young newcomer to the Super Late Model ranks, a debut season can’t be much better than 2009 was for Jon Henry.
A 23-year-old from Ada, Ohio, who gained attention in recent years with his exploits in the UMP DIRTcar Modified division, Henry got an golden opportunity to move into the headline Super Late Model ranks in ’09 with the well-respected Halcomb Racing team. He responded with a historic campaign, becoming the first driver to win the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned American Late Model Series championship and Rookie of the Year crown in the same season while also emerging as the UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model Rookie of the Year.
“The season we had exceeded all my expectations,” said Henry, who will be among the featured honorees during the upcoming UMP DIRTcar Racing ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet on Jan. 9 in Springfield, Ill. “Being my first year in a Late Model, we thought maybe getting a top-five (points finish) with ALMS and winning the Rookie of the Year with ALMS and UMP would be great. It’s unbelievable that we ended up winning the championship and both rookie awards.”
Of course, Henry nearly saw his season’s storybook result evaporate before his eyes when his car’s driveshaft snapped midway through the 2009 ALMS finale on Oct. 10 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. But fortunately his body of work over the entire campaign was good enough to withstand a DNF/22nd-place finish in the 40-lap UMP DIRTcar Nationals event that doubled as an ALMS points show.
“It was a little nerve-racking, but we held on,” Henry said of his title-clinching evening at the famed half-mile oval near his home. “We struggled in qualifying and had to take a provisional, but we were up to about 13th and looking real good until the driveshaft broke. Then we had to sit up in the grandstand (outside turns three and four) and watch the rest of the race hoping we wouldn’t see the championship slip through our fingers.”
Atop the standings by 33 points over two-time ALMS champion Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich., entering the Eldora weekend, Henry had some cushion to play with. But he knew that his early retirement provided Ruhlman an opportunity to steal the championship with a third-place finish, so it was full-on worry time.
Alas, Ruhlman could only manage a sixth-place finish. That gave Henry the title by 12 points – and immediately raised his profile as an up-and-coming driver to watch in dirt Late Model circles.
“It’s a great feeling when you race against guys like Brian Ruhlman, on a series that gets great car counts, and get the job done to win the championship,” said Henry. “Getting (car owners) Shane and Jennifer Halcomb their first ALMS championship is a pretty big deal too, and making history as the first rookie to win the championship just makes the accomplishment even cooler.
“This could definitely be a huge stepping stone. I’m proud to win an ALMS championship and I want to keep going and someday make it to the next level, whether that is on asphalt or in a dirt Late Model.”
It was the Halcombs – a race-loving husband-and-wife pairing from the Buckeye State who came close to ALMS championship glory in the past with former driver Aaron Scott of Newark, Ohio – who gave Henry the big break he craved to enter the dirt Late Model ranks. When the Halcombs split with driver Tyler Boggs midway through the 2008 season, Henry, who was in the midst of a break-out 16-win UMP DIRTcar Modified campaign with family-owned equipment, expressed interest in the top-notch ride and the Halcombs decided to give the youngster a shot.
Henry didn’t disappointed his new bosses. He won a feature at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park in just his second career dirt Late Model start late in ’08, and this year he came back focused on full-fender competition and demonstrated talent well beyond his years.
A personable racer known as the ‘Steel Driver,’ Henry was at or near the top of the ALMS points standings for virtually the entire 18-race schedule. He won four features (two at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, and one each at Ohio’s Fremont Speedway and Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Mich.) and recorded 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.
Henry’s most memorable moment of ’09 – and the race that saved his title aspirations – came in the ALMS event on Aug. 1 at Oakshade. After terminal motor trouble sidelined his Halcomb Racing Rocket car during hot laps, Henry landed a ride in local racer Bryan Koebbe’s machine in hopes of maintaining his points lead. He did just that – by going out and winning the evening’s feature.
In all, Henry won eight UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Super Late Model features in 2009, including four in a row at Oakshade late in the summer. He also finished second in the UMP DIRTcar East Region points standings and eighth in the national rankings.
Henry’s success in 2009 was worth nearly $10,000 in points-fund cash, including $5,500 for the ALMS title and Rookie of the Year award. He also receives a new Rayburn chassis as part of his ALMS championship prize, and his UMP DIRTcar Awards Banquet booty will include $2,000 for second in the East Region and $1,000 for the circuit’s Rookie of the Year honors.
Henry can’t wait to grow his reputation in 2010, but he won’t continue his progression in the Halcombs’ familiar No. 1 machines. He announced on Monday that he had made the tough decision to part ways with the Halcombs, making himself a free agent in hopes of landing a ride that will allow him to travel to more major dirt Late Model events.
“We learned a ton (in 2009),” said Henry, who currently makes his living working with Kirk Wilson at Wide Open Graphics and helping out on his family’s 2,000-acre corn, bean and wheat farm. “I’m very thankful to Shane and Jennifer Halcomb for giving me an opportunity, but I have made a decision to go a different direction in 2010 to try and further my racing career.”
In a statement Henry posted on his website, he wrote: “I understand the challenges that I am now faced with and have given it a lot of thought. As of right now, the possibilities are endless for 2010 as nothing has been planned yet. My goal for (2010) is to first try and secure a Late Model ride that will allow me to race bigger Late Model races and then possibly do some ARCA testing.”
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Tickets are on sale for the 26th annual UMP DIRTcar Racing ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet on Jan. 9 at the Crowne Plaza Springfield in Springfield, Ill. Tickets are $35 each or $65 per couple and must be reserved by Jan. 4.
For more information on the awards banquet, call the UMP DIRTcar office at 618-450-2072 during regular business hours.
Additional info on UMP DIRTcar Racing can be obtained by visiting www.dirtcar.com.