1/16/2018
Inside Line Promotions
Chase Johnson Earns Podium on Chili Bowl Prelim Night Before Scoring Top 10 During Finale
(Photo by Collin Markle Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – TULSA, Okla. (Jan. 16, 2018) – Chase Johnson reached new heights last week during the 32nd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.
“I didn’t have too many goals or expectations because it was a new team,” he said. “I felt confident going in because of the amount of races in different cars I ran last year. I knew they had good equipment and if I had a good car we could do a good job.”
Johnson, who teamed up with Morris Motorsports for the premier midget event inside the River Spirit Expo Center, powered from sixth to win a heat race on Thursday. He then maneuvered from sixth to second place in a qualifier, which ranked him second in overall points out of more than 80 competitors.
“We had a good pill draw for the heat race,” he said. “I had a game plan going in. I knew if we picked up two, three, four positions I’d lock into a qualifier. We were lucky enough to find ourselves passing for the lead, which was even better.
“We never had to force it in the heat or qualifier. I took things as they came and we found ourselves in a great spot in both the heat and then in the qualifier.”
Johnson started the 25-lap main event on the outside of the front row.
“It was a little rocky in the beginning,” he said. “I didn’t have the best first five or 10 laps. I was shuffled back to fourth and was concerned I might fall back more while we were idling around under a yellow. I got my head together and figured out where I needed to be. We moved back into third and then back into second. I had a late-race battle for second with Shane Golobic. At that point it wasn’t necessary to force the issue since three locked in.”
Johnson’s third-place result earned him one of the lock-in positions to Saturday’s A Main, marking the first time he’s reached that far in the event.
Saturday began with a pole shuffle. Johnson pulled the No. 9 and he won his first round after being able to select the favorable bottom lane for the three-lap shootout. The higher seed did the same thing the next round as Johnson finished ranked ninth in the shuffle to start the 55-lap main event on the inside of the fifth row.
“The shuffle gave us a good feeling on where the car was at and where we stacked up against some other guys,” he said. “It was a good gauge for ourselves. It lined us up ninth for the A Main so that’s always a positive when you can start that far forward in a race.”
Johnson maintained a top 10 throughout the long race before finishing eighth.
“I knew we had a good car and we’d be good at the end,” he said. “A couple of guys were better at the beginning and a driver or two got around us. I tried not to push myself where I’d make mistakes. I made sure we hit our lines and were keeping up with the groove. We picked up a couple of guys here and there and worked our way to eighth. It was a really fun race. Being out there and racing with those guys was a blast. To be in the Chili Bowl A Main and to get a top 10 was pretty cool.
“I want to thank everyone at Morris Motorsports for the great opportunity. It was a fun week.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Jan. 11 – Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. – Heat race: 1 (6); Qualifier: 2 (6); Feature: 3 (2).
Jan. 13 – Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. – Pole Shuffle: 9 (9): Feature: 8 (9).
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 – Safecraft Safety Equipment
Safecraft Safety Equipment is used by most of the top professionals in motor sports, automotive, aviation, marine and other demanding industries. The company is known for its innovative designs and its products are engineered with the highest quality components available. Safecraft is the largest manufacturer of vehicle fire suppression systems in the United States and the most trusted name in motor sports for more than 20 years. For more information, visit http://www.Safecraft.com.
“A company like Safecraft is the perfect addition to the No. 68 team,” Johnson said. “With their expansion of Fire Suppression Systems into the market of sprint car racing we plan to help expand their current marketing program.”
Johnson would also like to thank Newman Freeman Racing, Johnny Franklin’s Mufflers, PitStopUSA.com, Flowmaster, Woodland Napa Auto Parts, VanLare Steering Repair, Wesmar Racing Engines, Wings Unlimited, Schoenfeld Headers, Bell Helmets, LRB Race Products, Champion Machine, Swift Metal Finishing, Shifty Illusions 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.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
