The world has been upside down for nearly a year, but Ohio’s Cap Henry turned it right side up for him and his No. 4 Lane Racing sprint car team.
Arguably the hottest sprint car driver in Ohio this past season, Henry notched 12 victories, including three with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions. He was one of the top winners in the nation.
“It’s been my best season to date,” Henry said. “We branched out slightly with OK success, won a lot of races and even with a slump of bad luck midseason, we bounced back and made it all work. The team just never gives up and everyone is always pushing to go forward.
“To win two championships, I haven’t won a championship since my go-kart days and to win two Ohio Speedweek shows was also pretty special,” added Henry, who now owns four career All Star victories.
Henry won an incredible seven features in 15 410 sprint car events run at Attica Raceway Park while garnering his first track championship at the popular third-mile track. He also posted a pair of wins at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway and three at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio.
He was also crowned the champion of the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads-Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series.
Henry is from Bellevue, Ohio, which is located about halfway between Attica Raceway Park and Fremont Speedway. He is 30 years old and his given name is William Carter Henry III. He earned the nickname Cap from his great-grandfather William C. Henry, who was a World War II Air Force captain.
Henry started racing go-karts as a youngster and moved to 305 sprint cars in 2005. He’s been a regular in the 410 division since 2009.
Henry followed the All Star tour with a family-owned team and branched out to drive for Blazin’ Racin’ before joining the Michigan-based Lane Racing team three years ago.
“I started racing for the Lane Family midway through the 2017 season,” Henry explained. “I had just parted ways with Blazin’ Racin’ and was kind of at one of the life crossroads where you have to decide how bad you want it. I contacted Brian Smith, who had just recently parted ways from the Lane team. He gave me Brett’s number and Brett agreed to let me drive it for a few nights, and those few nights have now lasted three seasons.”
In their first full season together, Henry recorded four wins with the Lane Racing team, including a victory in the 2018 Great Lakes Nationals. The team found victory lane five times in 2019 before enjoying a breakout season this past year.
Henry credits much of the team’s success to the family atmosphere and teaming up with mechanic Zack Myers a year ago. Myers, who works for ThorSport Racing, the Sandusky, Ohio-based NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, is also the son of well-respected Ohio sprint car mechanic Guy Myers.
“Zack and I have a really awesome ability to understand each other and not get mad at the other person,” Henry said. “Zack came on board officially in 2019 after helping a few races in 2018, but our friendship goes way back to our karting days. We raced together as kids growing up and always got along well. His transition into the crew chief on the 4 car just worked.
“He also is in charge of my Rumble midget. I trust Zack’s judgment and know he’s always trying his best to make the car do what I need,” Henry added. “He’s very open-minded and motivated to succeed. That motivation pushes me to try harder because I don’t want to waste anyone’s effort. The fact that after the races are over and the whole team are friends at the end, is a huge reason we succeed.”
At the end of the day, though, Henry credits his success to the Lane family.
“The Lane family is huge. It starts with Jim and Jamie Lane, and Brett and Patty are the owners. They have an adorable little girl named Kasey. Brett’s brother and sister, Bryce and Bailey, are also in there, too. The Lane family makes anyone feel welcome and it’s definitely a great group. No matter how the night goes it ends well,” said Henry.
Henry credits his new girlfriend, Tes VonMayhem, for bringing stability to his life.
“I started dating my girlfriend, Tes, in the spring. She is a great person to have in my corner,” Henry said. “She was brand-new to sprint car racing, so I’m extremely proud of her handling the season business and me so well. To have that special person in your corner at all times is priceless. As anyone that’s done this knows, it’s not easy for anyone, especially when you didn’t grow up in the racing world, so her learning and sticking it out is phenomenal.”
Henry is not a full-time sprint car driver. He’s active in his family’s slot car racing business and works at an auto parts store in Bellevue.
“I can’t thank my bosses at Advance Auto Parts enough,” Henry said. “They work with my racing schedule and that means a lot.”
Henry and the Lane Racing team have also fostered many great sponsorship relationships and that starts with New Holland Spirits and their brands Dragon’s Milk White and Beer Barrel Bourbon.
“New Holland has been fantastic. They actually named our car the Dragon Wagon after one of their products and that’s been pretty cool,” said Henry.
For a family-owned team, sponsors are crucial and Henry depends on numerous smaller supporters that contribute to the team’s success.
“We are backed by some great companies and people, and many of them truly increase our resources. That allows us to compete with better-backed teams,” Henry noted. “We don’t have a lot, but we make what we do have as good as we possibly can.”
Hopefully, life returns to some form of normalcy in 2021, which may mean “hitting the road a little more” for Henry and the Lane Racing team.
“We have no hard-set plans yet, but we want to continue adding to our notebook,” said Henry, who finished 10th in the 2013 Knoxville Nationals.