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The Lima News ADA — Jon Henry was presented with a common problem among up-and-coming race car drivers. So he did what he’s done numerous times on the track — stopped following the leader and blazed a new line. Henry, who won the Limaland Motorsports Park UMP Modified season title three years ago before making his was to the Late Models the last two, wants to explore new challenges, namely asphalt racing and NASCAR. To do that, he needs money from sponsorships. Yet before he gets any type of cash, potential sponsors want him to show his value first, on the track and on their balance sheets. It’s a vicious Catch-22 which has snared many drivers. To solve that, Henry is embarking on a popularity contest of sorts. He’s launched a “Share the Experience” campaign, aimed at getting more fans involved and interested in him. The hope is to make himself more appealing to sponsors by bringing in an already established fan base. “My whole process in all of this is trying to get more people involved, and what I’m really going after is trying to get some corporate stuff, to get return on investment and show people what I can do for them,” Henry said. “With the way the economy is, it’s hard for anyone to give money out. You have to prove yourself in the beginning. You have to go out there, make sales, make money for them before they’ll give you anything. You have to go above and beyond to prove to people that it can be a successful business.” There is an Android phone application — search Jon Henry Racing or go to www.jonhenryracing.com — in-car camera footage, listen-ins to radio traffic, and post-race videos. Henry is also appearing on Racing World with Dwight Allen on WFIN-AM radio and doing at least two meet-and-greets per month at different venues, whether they’re swap meets, car shows, mall shows or stores. “It’s thinking about as many possibilities as we can to do things that people aren’t doing right now,” Henry said. To his knowledge, no one has taken these steps to entice fans and bring them closer. The idea sprang from meetings with his development team, and it’s already become more than Henry envisioned. Henry recently got closer to a NASCAR ride when he was approved for a NASCAR license, based upon a detailed application and plenty of referrals. He’s also become close with Sprint Cup star Tony Stewart, never a bad thing for an upcoming racer. “He tells me I’m doing the right thing,” Henry said. “I feel like he’s got my back where if there’s ever a situation where I need a reference.” The goal is to run a Truck series race soon, but as Brett Bodine, the Director of R&D, Competition for NASCAR laid out for Henry, there are a few more hoops to jump through, namely races in the ARCA series and K&N Pro-E series. But again, that takes money. Lots of it. “At the asphalt level, no one cares how good you are,” Henry said. “I’ve handed my resume to lots of people, and I’m sitting there talking with them and they just push it aside. They don’t even look at it. … To go to an asphalt program at the level of NASCAR, it’s all about the dollar amount. We’re talking millions of dollars.” So while he has an eye on the future and is already planning for 2012, Henry is working on his Late Model program. He’ll be in Volusia for six nights in February, and he’ll race for points at Eldora Speedway while picking and choosing his way through the rest of a schedule. “I’ve got a lot of cool things coming up that I think will help us expand even more,” Henry said.