Henry is 2026 All Star Champion

FREMONT, Ohio (October 5, 2026) - Through the first five events of the 2026 All Star Circuit of Champions season, Kalib Henry averaged a tenth place finish. The Sacramento, California native finished the year on a ten race run that saw him average a finishing position of fourth, including two victories and eight top-fives. The 27-year-old rode the momentum to his second consecutive All Star driver championship and piloted his Racers for Life No. 101 to its first owners championship. For Henry, it cements his name in the record books with the likes of Fred Linder, Frankie Kerr, Kenny Jacobs, and Dale Blaney as a multi-time champion of the historic racing series.

Entering Saturday's All Star finale at Mercer Raceway Park, Henry possessed a 32 point lead over Cale Thomas, with the Racers for Life entry entering with a 38 point advantage over second place, Rudzik Racing, in the owners battle. When Henry took the green in qualifying, he officially secured both championships and could set his sights on the $11,000 payday that awaited the victor of the Frank & Marilyn Benic Memorial. 

After posting a time of 13.503 in the second flight of qualifying, Henry found himself seventh in the position order and by way of the heat race invert, on the pole of the third heat race. Starting alongside Trey Jacobs, Henry quickly got the jump and extended his lead to just under two seconds on his way to the heat race win. With Cap Henry picking up the win in the fourth heat race, he had the honor to roll a four for the dash invert, placing Kalib Henry on the pole to the inside of Adam Kekich. Picking up where he left off in the heat race, Henry led from the drop of the green on his way to the dash victory and the pole starting position in the 35-lap finale.

With the championship pressure off his shoulders, Kalib would pace the field to the green with Cap to his outside. Kalib got the advantage into turn one and would lead the first four laps before action was brought to a halt after Jeremy Kornbau got upside down in turn four*. On the restart, Kalib once again got the jump over Cap and pulled away before hitting the tail end of lap traffic on lap ten. Mired in traffic and dirty air, Cap began to reel in Kalib before looking to the inside of the No. 101 machine in turn one and two on lap 13. Kalib shut the door on the entry to turn three and was able to gain breathing room as Cap remained steadfast in his pursuit. Things would take a turn for the worst on lap 15 for Cap, who would spin to the inside of turn two and nearly going head over heels battling for the lead. Kalib would restart with twenty laps to go with A.J. Flick and Zane DeVault in tow. Henry used clean air to his advantage and quickly put space between himself and Flick. Flick stayed close and struck when the opportunity presented itself as the leaders once again hit traffic on the entry to turn one on lap 23. Henry looked back to the inside of Flick in turns three and four but had to woe up behind lap traffic, allowing Flick to begin to pull away. A red would come out on lap 29 when Michael Bauer got on his lid down the backstretch*. On the restart, the field wouldn't complete a lap before Leyton Wagner would tumble, collecting Cap Henry, on the bottom side of three and four*. With six laps to go, Henry mounted one last effort on Flick for the lead but would come up short. Henry would cross the line in second behind Flick with DeVault finishing third.

Reflecting back on his 2026 campaign, Henry noted the late season consistency and being able to finish the year healthy. "I feel like we put a lot of really good nights together...honestly, I'm just happy to run a full year and be healthy." With 33 races on the schedule, the All Stars were able to complete 17 of them as rain or unforeseen cancellations claimed half of the season. "Mother Nature won more races than anybody this year and that kind of sucks. I really wish we would have been able to run more races and maybe get a couple more wins." Henry also thanked his team and partners for their continued support. "I'm extremely thankful for Doc [Jim Muth] and Andy [Potter], everybody behind the scenes: Pub 400, West River Trailer Sales & Service, Birchard Financial, Triple J Towing, Ti22, everybody, I mean Rider Race Engines, K1 Race Gear, Simpson, Butlerbuilt for keeping me safe, and everybody who is part of this thing."

Henry's 2026 All Star campaign started at Attica Raceway Park on April 11th, where he finished 11th. The series then traveled to Kokomo Speedway in conjunction with High Limit Racing for the Bryan Clauson Hero Classic. Henry was the highest finishing All Star with an 11th place finish before following it up with a runner-up finish behind Aaron Reutzel at Fremont three days later for the 75th Birthday Bash. Another High Limit co-sanctioned event took place on May 29th at Lawrenceburg where Henry brought home a top-ten with a ninth place finish. At Williams Grove Speedway, Henry brought home his worst finish of the year with a 17th. From there, momentum swung in Henry's favor as the series rolled into Ohio Speedweek. A 7th at Attica was followed up by an 11th place finish at Sharon Speedway; setting the stage for a Race of the Year' candidate at Wayne County Speedway on June 15th. After blowing a left rear while leading, Henry came to the work area and restarted 17th with just 22 laps to go. Henry quickly worked his way to the front before launching a 2-for-1 slide job for the win in the final set of turns, where Henry captured his first All Star victory of 2026 and his first overall at Wayne County. Rain claimed Eldora's program and the series picked action back up at Waynesfield where Henry finished 14th, marking the last time the Racers for Life No. 101 would finish outside the top-ten in All Star action. Henry finished Ohio Speedweek with a second at Fremont and third at the Wayne County finale. It would be 64 days before the All Stars would be in action again. Butler Speedway play host to the series on August 22nd for the Chuck Wilson Memorial. Henry brought home a fourth place finish after starting 11th. Henry's second win of the year came at Freedom Motorsports Park before bringing home a fifth place finish at Sharon the following night. The Pete Jacobs Memorial at Wayne County over Labor Day weekend saw Henry finish seventh. Rained claimed the final night of the Jim Ford Classic but in preliminary action, Henry advanced from eighth to fifth, scoring his eighth top-five of the year, setting the stage for Saturday's finale at Mercer.

Looking forward, Henry will contest select events in the Oklahoma region before competing in the 41st annual Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. By way of his 2026 All Star championship, Henry will once again be eligible to compete in Monday's Race of Champions.

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

Kalib Henry and the Racers for Life team would like to thank their marketing partners: All Star Performance, Berryman Racing Shocks, Birchard Financial, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, C&H Veteran Enterprises, D2 Excavating, FK Rod Ends, Great Lake Garage Door, Harris Distributing, Hardcore Headwear, House of Hardtops, K1 RaceGear, Pub 400, Quick Car, RCM Design, Rider Racing Engines, Running Boxer Farms, Ti22, Triple J Towing LLC, Valvoline, West River Trailer Sales.

*All drivers were okay.

2026 Season Stats (U.S. Races Only)
37 Races / 4 Wins / 14 Top-5s / 20 Top-10s

Next Events
TBD

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