Henry Brings Home Top Five at Fremont; Can Claim 2026 All Star Championship With Green Flag at Mercer

FREMONT, Ohio (September 21, 2026) - With four races remaining entering this past weekend, the 2026 All Star Circuit of Champions championship battle was slowly tightening between Kalib Henry and Cale Thomas. Thomas had rallied in recent weeks behind the wheel of the Grove Racing No. 45 to bring the championship battle within 34 points prior to Friday night's event. That rally however was brought to an abrupt halt this weekend as rain claimed night two of the Jim Ford Classic, and with today's announcement of Stateline Speedway cancelling their October 3rd finale. By taking the green flag in qualifying at Michael's Mercer Raceway Park, Kalib Henry and the Racers for Life No. 101 would claim the 2026 All Star championship. For Henry, it would mark back-to-back All Star driver championships while Racers for Life would celebrate the team's first owner championship.

Henry entered Friday night with a 34 point lead over Thomas in the Driver's standings while the Racers for Life No. 101 possessed a 41 point lead over the Rudzik Racing No. 49x. Mathematically, Henry and co. needed to finish ninth or better to keep the points battle stable enough to finish the year out with a championship. Any finish better than ninth would only serve to relieve the championship pressure on Henry and the Racers for Life team. Henry capitalized on the opportunity and finished fifth in Friday night's action.

During qualifying, Henry piloted his Valvoline, Birchard Financial, Pub 400, FK Rod Ends, Berryman Racing Shocks, Running Boxer Farms machine to 12.722 lap, good enough for fourth on the timing sheet behind Zeth Sabo, Creed Kemenah, and Cap Henry. Via his qualifying time, Henry would slot into the first heat race on the inside of Sabo in the second row. In heat race action, Henry fell to fourth on the initial start before reeling in Stuart Brubaker for third but came up short as the lap counter hit zero.

Henry, whose No. 101 machine carried two new partners, D2 Excavating and Great Lakes Garage Doors for the weekend, qualified for the final spot in the dash where he started and finished in eighth place.

When the green flag came out for the feature, Henry methodically and with assistance, moved up through the field. On lap five, Zane DeVault* made contact with Cap Henry battling for fourth before going for a series of flips off the top of turn one. Kalib was now running seventh until a red flag came out on lap 16 for Craig Mintz*, who was involved in a fierce five car battle for the lead, moved Henry into sixth. Three laps after the restart, Kemenah moved past Henry for sixth before Henry returned the favor on lap 27. With a handful of laps remaining, Henry found new life on the topside of the racetrack and was able to get by DJ Foos for fifth on lap 30 and held the position till the checkered. Cap Henry claimed the win with Sabo, Thomas, Chris Andrews, and Kalib in tow.

"I hate points racing," Henry made sure to note, "but it's hard to win championships with a checkers or wreckers mentality all the time. There's always that desire to push it a little bit further, find that extra speed, but with that comes more risk and finishing fifth gets the job  done when it comes to the bigger picture."

When the dust settled, Henry's points lead was cut by just two points from 34 to 32 in the driver's standing and three points in the owner's championship from 41 to 38. The new goal was now 11th or better for the final three races. That was before Saturday's event was washed by rain, which tightened Henry's grip even further (16th or better at the final two races or a seventh place finish at Mercer Raceway Park). That was all before today's All Star announcement.

Earlier today, All Star officials announced that Stateline Speedway had elected to cancel its October 3rd event which would have served as the All Star season finale. With the announcement, Michael's Mercer Raceway Park had elected to move their October 2nd program to the now vacant October 3rd spot and become the new season finale for the series.

Henry would join a fabled list of multi-time All Star champions that includes Lee Osborne, Fred Linder, Joe Gaerte, Kevin Huntley, Frankie Kerr, Kenny Jacobs, Dale Blaney, Chad Kemenah, Greg Wilson, Tim Shaffer, Aaron Reutzel, and Tyler Courtney.

With no All Star races this weekend, Henry and the team will travel to Eldora Speedway for the 44th annual 4-Crown Nationals.

For the latest news and information, find Kalib Henry Racing on social media.

*Both drivers were okay.

2026 Season Stats (U.S. Races Only)
33 Races / 4 Wins / 13 Top-5s / 19 Top-10s

Next Events
September 25th, 2026 - Eldora Speedway - High Limit Racing
September 26th, 2026 - Eldora Speedway - High Limit Racing

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Media Contact
Zane Scott
Zane Scott Media
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Photo By: Zane Scott Media