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Johnson Charges Toward Front at Cotton Classic Before Crash

(Photo by Devin Mayo Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (Oct. 17, 2016) – Chase Johnson had a car capable of winning the Penny Newman Grain Cotton Classic at Keller Auto Speedway last Saturday.

Johnson, who was driving for Shawn and Cyndi Thomas, kicked off the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series event by qualifying 11th quickest after being one of the final drivers to qualify.

“We were really quick in hot laps,” he said. “That transferred over into qualifying, but when we went out the track was slicking off. We got the bad end of the stick, but we made the best of it.”

That lined Johnson up on the outside of the front row for a heat race, which he won to lock the team into the dash. Johnson drew the No. 5 during the random draw to start the dash fifth.

“We moved into the fourth spot for almost the entire dash, but I got passed on the last corner coming to the checkered,” he said. “Someone ran through the slick in the middle and went around us.”

The fifth-place result started Johnson on the inside of the third row for the main event.

“We didn’t get too good of a start and fell back a few spots,” he said. “I think we were eighth or ninth and then hung out there for a couple more laps. We got a caution that bunched everyone together and started picking off guys every lap. The car was great and we were moving forward.”

Johnson advanced into fourth place at the midpoint of the feature and he quickly erased nearly a three-second advantage the car in front of him had before a caution came out.

“I think we were sitting fourth when that caution came out around Lap 17,” he said. “On that restart I went into turns one and two. I went to the bottom, which was the preferred line. We slowed way up, but when we got to the center of the corner the guy in front of me slowed even more. I got into his tire and ended up upside down. It tore up a lot of stuff. That was a bummer because we were already in fourth. I think we would have had a shot at winning the thing.”

Johnson’s flip ended his night early and he was credited with a 20th-place finish.

He will be off the next couple of weeks before tackling the King of the West season finale on Nov. 5 at Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif., for the 33rd annual Tribute to Gary Patterson.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 15 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 11; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 5 (5); Feature: 20 (5).

SEASON STATS –

52 races, 3 wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s, 28 top 15s, 34 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Nov. 5 at Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif., for the 33rd annual Tribute to Gary Patterson with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.ChaseJohnsonRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChaseJohnson24

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chase.Johnson.Racing1

APPAREL –

Johnson has No. 68 t-shirts and sweatshirts as well as Chase Johnson shirts for sale at his race trailer at every race he competes in this season. T-shirts are $25 each and hoodies are $35 apiece.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – PitStopUSA.com

PitStopUSA.com is an online motor sports superstore that offers more than 40,000 different circle track parts, supplies, tools and accessories from more than 400 of the premier brands in the industry. PitStopUSA.com specializes in racing safety equipment and is proud to offer the widest assortment anywhere. For more information, visit http://www.PitStopUSA.com.

“We’ve been partnered together for the last few years and it’s great to have their continued support,” Johnson said. “All that they do really helps out and we couldn’t do what we do without them. Make sure to check out their website and give them a call today. They have great products at great prices. Everyone at PitStopUSA is great and I couldn’t be happier to represent such an amazing company.”

Johnson would also like to thank Johnny Franklin’s Mufflers, Newman Freeman Racing, Shifty Illusions, Napa Auto Parts, Flowmaster, Don’s Truck Repair, VSR, Oroville Cycle, I-Wear Graphix, Driven Raceway, Nor-Cal Transmission and Chevron Pro-Gas for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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