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Johnson Matches Father's Win with First Charlotte Victory

Concord, NC (07/17/21) - The event name couldn’t have been more precise as temperatures in the Piedmont region of the Tarheel state soared in the upper 90’s with heat indexes reached the century mark as teams from up and down the east coast made their way to the Queen City for Night 1 of the The Carolina Sizzler.Thirty nine cars signed into the co sanctioned event with the Steel Block Bandits Dirt Late Model Challenge and the Vision Wheel Topless Outlaw Dirt Racing Series presented by Discount Tire. Anticipation was high as the drivers and crews made final preparations on a sweltering Saturday afternoon.In qualifying, Ronnie Johnson was fastest in Group A with Shaun Harrell taking quick time in Group B. Those two would lead the field to green for the 25 lap , $3000 to win feature at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.With time restraints and a 11:00 curfew in place, the laps were cut by Event officials thus putting the fastest 28 cars in the field for the feature. Johnson would roar out front from the outset of the green with Harrell, Dustin Mitchell and Jason Manley in tow. Mitchell tried to get an advantage on a restart and was penalized one row mid way through the race. Several Bandits experienced tough nights as Robbie Emory would spin collecting Willie Milliken early on sending both cars to the rear. Millikens night only gets worse as he, Clint Hodges and Dean Bowen get together on the front stretch.The biggest turn of events came on lap 20 as points leader Russell Erwin spins in mid pack collecting several other cars in the process. Erwin would rebound to nurse home a 15th place finish, while second place in points, Milliken scores a 21st place run. Derick Quade Racing #74 makes hay on the high side late in the race and goes from 8th to 5th on the last lap to rebound in the points chase.The Hall of Famer, from Chattanooga, Tennessee would go on to win his first race at Charlotte matching his fathers feat 61 years ago next door at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “ I’m real happy to get this first win here, we’ve only been here twice and we really hit on something right off the bat� “ Dad won over there 61 years ago so this is real special for me.� Johnson was very happy with his car- “ These guys give me a great piece every time we go out and tonight was no exception. I wanna thank Charlotte and these two series for putting this together and making it happen, it’s not everyday that you see two series working so well together.� Notable tidbits :Tough night for lots of Bandits is the top story… … Uncharacteristic spin by Erwin BUT he rebounds. That coupled with Millikens rough night could be a season saving turn of events.Millikens 2021 season of heart break continues as he had a top 5 run going until he gets collected.Biggest points movers- definitely Harrell and Quade as they capitalize on the misfortunes.Hodges has second tough outing of the season , but should hold on the 5th in points as 6th place D.j. Garrett retired early from the event.The Carolina SizzlerDirt Track at Charlotte (July 17, 2021)Feature Results1)Ronnie Johnson 2)Dustin Mitchell 3)Jason Manley 4)Chase King 5)Derick Quade 6)Shaun Harrell 7)Michael Rouse 8)Layne Clifton 9)Mike Weeks 10)Michael Batton 11)Christian Thomas 12)Oreo Thomas 13)Timmy Blackwell 14)Robbie Emory 15)Russell Erwin 16)Joey Cascell 17)Ryan King 18)Matthew Bissette 19)Austin Neely 20)Matthew Nance 21)Willie Milliken 22)Karl Tipton 23)Tim Allen 24)Jordan Horton 25)Dean Bowen 26)Brady Walton 27)DJ Garrett 28)Clint Hodges

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