8/3/2021
Inside Line Promotions
Kaleb Johnson Earns Seventh-Place Finish at Knoxville Raceway
(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 3, 2021) – Kaleb Johnson capped a solid night of racing with a seventh-place finish in the 360ci sprint car A Main Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway.
His effort came among a stout field of 40 drivers in the final race before the 31st annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank, which runs this weekend at ‘The Sprint Car Capital of the World.’
“We were pretty happy with the way our night went,” he said. “We had a fast car all night and that makes us feel good going into 360 Nationals.”
Johnson began his night by qualifying fifth quickest out of his 20-car group.
“We were fortunate there were enough cars to run two groups of qualifying since we drew a high number,” he said. “We were satisfied with being fifth after going out 14th.”
Johnson followed qualifying by charging from fourth to win his heat race.
“The car felt comfortable right away in the heat race,” he said. “I could run the top or bottom. I was able to get around some cars and get into cleaner air. Eventually, I chased down the leader and passed him on the final lap to get the win.”
The feature inversion lined Johnson up sixth for the night’s 24-car A Main.
“I didn’t get the best start,” he said. “I think I fell back to eighth by the time we got to turn three. I should’ve run the top through turns one and two, but I didn’t and that let Jamie Ball by me.
“I ended up racing with Sammy (Swindell) for a while and eventually got by him. We were able to narrow the field up a bit, but with no cautions it can be pretty tough to move up when everyone gets spread out.
“I was eventually able to pass Jamie for sixth, but I made a mistake coming to the white flag and he got back by me. That was kind of the end of the race because there was a red flag before we took the checkered so we finished seventh.”
Johnson is eager to return to Knoxville Raceway this weekend for the 360 Nationals, which begins for him on Thursday with a preliminary night before the event concludes on Saturday.
“I’m excited and a little bit nervous,” he said. “It’s our biggest race of the year and we’ll be racing against some of the best drivers in the country, so you have to be on your ‘A’ game every time you’re on the track. Qualifying is very important. We’re hoping we can get off to a good start on Thursday with a good qualifying run.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 31 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 7 (6).
SEASON STATS –
24 races, 0 wins, 5 top fives, 12 top 10s, 14 top 15s, 19 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for the 31st annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalebJohnsonRacing22
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – GRP Motorsports
GRP Motorsports, owned and managed by Greg Parent, supports and sponsors cars, drivers and auto racing events throughout the Upper Midwest.
“Greg is a huge supporter of racing and I feel very fortunate to have his name on our cars again this year,” Johnson said. “We appreciate what he does for racing and especially for the support he gives us.”
Johnson would also like to thank Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Oddson Underground, GRP Motorsports, Innovative Design/Sletten Properties, Sea Foam, Snyder Tree Service, Guaranteed Rate-Mike Brudigan Home Loans, The Ron Weber Team, State Bank of Fairmont, Big Al’s Diecast, Dave’s Lawn Care & Landscaping, JF Capital, Last Deck, Hepfner Racing Products, Schaeffer’s Oil and TL Racing 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
