6/24/2014
Inside Line Promotions
Johnson Drives to Top Fives at Stockton Dirt Track and Placerville Speedway
Inside Line Promotions – PLACERVILLE, Calif. (June 24, 2014) – Chase Johnson scored a pair of top fives last weekend.
The action kicked off on Friday at Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif., in the winged sprint car of Harley Van Dyke. Johnson qualified sixth quickest and he finished where he started – third – in his heat race.
Since at least one of the top-five qualifiers failed to advance through a heat race, that moved Johnson into the dash.
“It’s hard to make any big moves in the dash with the track that big,” he said. “We didn’t want to go too crazy. It was kind of a test session.”
Johnson maneuvered from seventh to sixth place in the dash, which started him on the outside of the third row for the 30-lap main event.
“We were right there,” he said. “We were fast in the beginning of the race. The car kind of went away as the track went away in the middle of the race. Right after halfway the track took rubber and we got faster. The more rubber that hit the track the faster we were.”
Johnson battled between fourth and seventh the entire feature before ending with a fifth-place finish.
“It was a very solid night,” he said. “The car was great. Harley and Fez did a great job and gave me a great piece. We’ve been working really well together. We’ve found our rhythm and are starting to get going now.”
Johnson wrapped up the weekend on Saturday by making his nonwing sprint car debut with the Joe Hunt Magnetos Wingless Sprint Shootout Series at Placerville Speedway in a car owned by Shawn and Cindy Thomas.
“That was my first time in a full-size wingless sprint car,” Johnson said. “It exceeded my expectations. I didn’t really have any idea of how to drive the car. It’s kind of a momentum car and I haven’t driven anything like that before.”
The team fought fuel issues early as Johnson qualified eighth quickest. That started him on the inside of the second row of his heat race. Johnson gained one position to post a second-place result, which earned him a trip to the dash.
After finishing sixth in the dash, Johnson started the main event on the outside of the third row for the second straight night.
“We did a lot of dramatic changes because we were looking to find more grip,” he said. “We were right on the bottom early on and I found a line on the top. We stayed up top. It was follow the leader on the cushion. It was really tough, especially not having any laps in a nonwing car. It’s really different than how you drive a winged sprint car on the cushion.”
Johnson spent the majority of the race in sixth place, which is where he lined up on a green-white-checkered finish.
“On the green-white-checkered I passed one car going into the first corner and then coming to the checkered I passed a guy for fourth on the top coming out of turn four,” he said.
The fourth-place result marked Johnson’s fifth top five of the year.
He is slated to pull double duty this Saturday at Petaluma Speedway in Petaluma, Calif., where Johnson will make his 410ci nonwing sprint car debut driving for Shawn and Cindy Thomas. He will also race a nonwing micro sprint for Steve Kaiser.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 20 – Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 3 (3); Dash: 6 (7); Feature: 5 (6).
June 21 – Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 2 (3); Dash: 6 (5); Feature: 4 (6).
SEASON STATS –
14 races, 0 wins, 5 top fives, 6 top 10s, 9 top 15s, 12 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Petaluma Speedway in Petaluma, Calif., with USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Car Series and in a nonwing micro sprint
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.ChaseJohnsonRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChaseJohnson24
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chase.Johnson.Racing1
APPAREL –
Johnson has new red, black or gray t-shirts and hoodies for sale at his race trailer at every race he competes in this season. T-shirts are $20 each and hoodies are $35 apiece.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Johnny Franklin’s Mufflers
With California locations in Santa Rosa and San Rafael, Johnny Franklin’s Mufflers has been a leader in the service industry for mufflers, drivelines and hitches for more than 50 years.
“My great grandpa started Johnny Franklin’s Mufflers in 1961 and it has been in the family ever since,” Johnson said. “My family and everyone at Johnny Franklin’s Mufflers have supported me through my entire racing career and are my biggest fans. I couldn’t be happier to represent such a great company.”
Johnson would also like to thank Newman Freeman Racing, PitStopUSA.com, Shifty Illusions, Napa Auto Parts, Flowmaster, Don’s Truck Repair, VSR, Fast Lube Plus, K&N Filters, Oroville Cycle and I-Wear Graphix 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 and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
