7/22/2019
Inside Line Promotions
Kaleb Johnson has Weekend Dampened by Misfortune and Rain
(Photo by Chuck Stowe Images)
Inside Line Promotions – JACKSON, Minn. (July 22, 2019) – Racing in two classes unfortunately meant double the misfortune for Kaleb Johnson last Friday when he battled a challenging evening at Jackson Motorplex.
Johnson’s opening heat race in his 305ci sprint car appeared to be an omen for the night for both that class and with the Midwest Power Series and Midwest Sprint Touring Series 360 sprint cars.
“We had a caution a few laps into our heat race,” Johnson said. “I noticed going into turn three during the yellow that my car suddenly got really hard to steer. I tried jerking the wheel back and forth a bit on the frontstretch and it didn’t get any better. I decided it wasn’t worth the risk driving it that way and pulled in. I figured it was something with the right front hub and that’s what it was. The seal had gone bad. It was an unfortunate deal, but stuff like that happens.”
With repairs to the car made, Johnson later pushed off to start the feature.
“We didn’t really touch anything else on the car,” he said. “But for some reason it wouldn’t fire and we weren’t able to start the race. That was a bit disappointing, but it’s just been that kind of year.”
Johnson’s 360 heat race went better. He started and finished fifth.
“It was kind of tough to pass in the heat race,” he said. “The humidity seemed to draw the moisture up. It’s tough to prepare the track for that. But we were able to maintain our starting spot and make the feature. That was our main goal entering the night – since there were 39 cars there – along with having the car in one piece and being able to go to Knoxville the following night.”
Johnson rolled off 20th on the A Main starting grid.
“About two or three laps in I got ahead of Wade Nygaard on the outside of turns one and two,” he said. “I honestly figured I had him cleared going down the backstretch. I tried going low into turn three when I felt contact with my left rear and his right front, spinning me sideways and unfortunately getting him upside down.
“I thought I had cleared him and some others said I had cleared him. Maybe it was just one of those racing deals. I certainly didn’t intentionally turn down on him. That’s not the way I race. It was a bad deal for both of us. Our damage wasn’t too extreme, but it was enough to keep us from continuing.”
A chance for redemption the following night at Knoxville Raceway was washed out by rain shortly before the cars were about to take the track.
Johnson and his team are looking for better fortune this week when they race their 360 at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday and at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday sandwiched around 305 competition at Jackson Motorplex on Friday.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 19 – Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn. (305 sprint car) – Heat race: DNF (7); Feature: DNS (20).
July 19 – Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn. (360 sprint car) – Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: DNF (20).
SEASON STATS –
21 races, 0 wins, 9 top fives, 12 top 10s, 14 top 15s, 16 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Tuesday at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa, with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series; Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with the IMCA 305 Sprint Cars; and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, with the KCCS 360 Sprint Cars
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalebJohnsonRacing22
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Oddson Underground
Oddson Underground, Inc., of Windom, Minn., is a family-owned business established in 1998. The business is an underground utility contractor that handles the installation of fiber optic, water, sewer, power, geothermal and other underground services. For more information, visit http://www.oddsonunderground.com.
“We’re really excited to have Oddson Underground join our team this year,” Johnson said. “They came on board with us in a pretty big way and we’re looking forward to having their name on our car.”
Johnson would also like to thank Medical Machining Specialists, Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Kat’s Hog Heaven, DeBerg Concrete, GRP Motorsports, Snyder Logging and Tree Service, Sea Foam Products, The Ron Weber Team, TL Racing, Big Al’s Diecast, Guaranteed Rate – Mike Brudigan Home Loans, Dave’s Lawn Care and Landscaping and Last Deck 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
