From Tyler Altmeyer
GAS CITY, Ind. (May 22, 2021) – The result of an all-out slugfest, Republic, Ohio’s Cap Henry finally etched his name on the 2021 FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 win list, doing so in epic fashion during All Stars Indiana Invasion presented by Rayce Rudeen Foundation competition at Gas City I-69 Speedway in Gas City, Indiana. Henry, who now owns five All Star victories over the course of his career, earned his eventual $6,000 payday from the front row, forced to outduel and outwit St. Helena, California’s Rico Abreu. Adding some flair to the record books, Henry’s victory occurred during just the second-ever Gas City visit by the All Stars; Dale Blaney scored the first visit win in 2004.
“You know when you’re racing Rico, it’s never going to be easy,” Henry said in Gas City victory lane. “I felt bad kinda using up the lappers there near the end, but we were racing for the win. My guys have been working so hard this year. We had a bad start to the year, so I wasn’t about to throw that one away.”
Although starting from the outside-pole position, Henry, aboard the Lane Racing, Blake’s Hard Cider, No. 4 sprint car, did not earn the lead initially. Instead, Abreu, who started alongside Henry on the front row, got the early jump, maintaining control of the field for the first 15 circuits while surviving three early race restarts and the initial run-in with traffic.
Abreu’s confrontation with a two-to-three wide traffic jam allowed Henry to close in on the Rico Abreu/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 24 sprint car, eventually working his way around Abreu with a slick move off of turn four on lap 16.
By lap 22, Abreu was back on Henry’s heels, capitalizing after the Buckeye nearly made contact with a backmarker. A slider through turns three and four would ultimately give the lap to Abreu, but Henry quickly returned the favor and resumed the point with a move of his own in the very next corner.
A late race caution on lap 26 would actually give Henry the breather that he needed. With traffic no longer a factor, Henry would go on to navigate the final five circuits with ease, claiming high honors by a final margin of victory equaling 1.210 seconds. Abreu held on to finish second, followed by Bill Balog, Kerry Madsen, and Justin Peck.
“The top was definitely the way to go tonight. You just had to try and rip it,” Henry added. “I was getting kinda lucky because the lappers that I got stuck behind were setting a pretty good pace so I was able to tuck in behind. I definitely needed that caution there at the end to get me back into some clean air.”
“I just think I needed to make some better decisions in traffic,” Rico Abreu said after finishing second for a second consecutive night. “It’s so hard to judge your depth perception on lapped cars. The cushion ended up getting really treacherous there at the end. That was a lot of fun racing with Cap. The better car won that race.”
Growing into one of the most sought after prizes on the All Star campaign trail, the All Stars Indiana Invasion presented by Rayce Rudeen Foundation will conclude on Sunday, May 23, with the third running of the annual Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race at Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Indiana. Like years prior, a $26,000 payday will be awarded to the main event winner.
Floracing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Gas City I-69 Speedway
Gas City, Indiana
Saturday May 22, 2021
Ford Performance Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 22-Ryan Broughton[2]
2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]
3. 13-Justin Peck[4]
4. 73-Scotty Thiel[3]
5. 00-Thomas Meseraull[7]
6. 8M-TJ Michael[6]
7. 10-Zeb Wise[5]
8. 20G-Noah Gass[8]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 4-Cap Henry[4]
2. 26-Cory Eliason[2]
3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[1]
4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]
5. 24-Rico Abreu[3]
6. 5-Paul McMahan[6]
7. 7-Zane Devault[7]
8. 7M-Geoff Dodge[8]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 17B-Bill Balog[4]
2. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[1]
3. 69-Brady Bacon[7]
4. 21-Carson Short[3]
5. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson[2]
6. 11-Ian Madsen[5]
7. 98-Clinton Boyles[8]
8. 5K-Paul Nienhiser[6]
Mobil 1 Heat Race #4 (8 Laps)
1. 14-Kerry Madsen[4]
2. 71-Kevin Thomas Jr[8]
3. W20-Greg Wilson[7]
4. 21BP-Brinton Marvel[6]
5. A79-Brandon Wimmer[2]
6. 02-Brandon Long[5]
7. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[3]
8. 55M-McKenna Haase[1]
Dixie Vodka Qualifying
1. 13-Justin Peck, 10.395[6]
2. 4-Cap Henry, 10.423[10]
3. 73-Scotty Thiel, 10.453[8]
4. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.459[11]
5. 26-Cory Eliason, 10.485[12]
6. 17B-Bill Balog, 10.514[17]
7. 22-Ryan Broughton, 10.524[4]
8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi, 10.586[15]
9. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 10.592[5]
10. 10-Zeb Wise, 10.611[7]
11. 21-Carson Short, 10.648[22]
12. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson, 10.652[19]
13. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 10.660[9]
14. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 10.726[18]
15. 14-Kerry Madsen, 10.747[31]
16. 5-Paul McMahan, 10.757[14]
17. 11-Ian Madsen, 10.769[24]
18. 8M-TJ Michael, 10.772[3]
19. 7-Zane Devault, 10.785[16]
20. 00-Thomas Meseraull, 10.802[1]
21. 5K-Paul Nienhiser, 10.810[21]
22. 69-Brady Bacon, 10.865[20]
23. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 10.889[29]
24. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 10.892[25]
25. 98-Clinton Boyles, 10.950[23]
26. 55M-McKenna Haase, 10.962[27]
27. 20G-Noah Gass, 11.012[2]
28. 02-Brandon Long, 11.051[32]
29. 21BP-Brinton Marvel, 11.114[30]
30. W20-Greg Wilson, 11.127[26]
31. 71-Kevin Thomas Jr, 11.128[28]
32. 7M-Geoff Dodge, 11.303[13]
Kears Speed Shop Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 24-Rico Abreu[5]
2. 22-Ryan Broughton[2]
3. 21-Carson Short[3]
4. 17B-Bill Balog[1]
5. 14-Kerry Madsen[4]
Elliotts Custom Trailers and Carts Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 4-Cap Henry[3]
2. A79-Brandon Wimmer[1]
3. 73-Scotty Thiel[5]
4. 13-Justin Peck[4]
5. 26-Cory Eliason[2]
Classic Ink USA B-Main (12 Laps)
1. 10-Zeb Wise[1]
2. 11-Ian Madsen[3]
3. 5-Paul McMahan[2]
4. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[7]
5. 7-Zane Devault[6]
6. 02-Brandon Long[5]
7. 8M-TJ Michael[4]
8. 98-Clinton Boyles[8]
9. 5K-Paul Nienhiser[9]
10. 20G-Noah Gass[11]
11. 7M-Geoff Dodge[12]
12. 55M-McKenna Haase[10]
FloRacing A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 4-Cap Henry[2]
2. 24-Rico Abreu[1]
3. 17B-Bill Balog[7]
4. 14-Kerry Madsen[9]
5. 13-Justin Peck[8]
6. 73-Scotty Thiel[6]
7. 26-Cory Eliason[10]
8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[17]
9. 69-Brady Bacon[15]
10. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[14]
11. A79-Brandon Wimmer[4]
12. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[12]
13. 71-Kevin Thomas Jr[13]
14. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson[19]
15. W20-Greg Wilson[16]
16. 5-Paul McMahan[23]
17. 11-Ian Madsen[22]
18. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[24]
19. 10-Zeb Wise[21]
20. 00-Thomas Meseraull[20]
21. 21BP-Brinton Marvel[18]
22. 22-Ryan Broughton[3]
23. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[11]
24. 21-Carson Short[5]