(Photo by Chuck Stowe Images)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (May 23, 2023) – Kaleb Johnson recorded his first podium result of the season last Sunday during the Huset’s Speedway season opener.
The weekend got off to a rough start as mechanical woes derailed Johnson on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where he qualified 17th quickest and won a heat race before not being able to start the main event.
“We’re getting more and more comfortable there every week,” he said. “We didn’t qualify the greatest, but getting more laps and seat time, especially with a new car, is important.”
Sunday featured a rebound in a big way for Johnson as he qualified third quickest before finishing fifth in a heat race.
“We qualified pretty good,” he said. “Then I made a mistake on the start of the heat race. The guy starting fifth got by me and I tried to go around him. I pulled a wheelie and almost got into the wall. You couldn’t move around a lot so we settled for fifth.”
That lined Johnson up on the inside of the sixth row for the main event.
“I didn’t have the greatest feature behind the wheel, but I was mainly riding around there,” he said. “There was a lot of carnage. It was probably the craziest race I’ve been a part of.”
Johnson avoided a crash in front of him on the opening lap and two more multiple-car incidents throughout the race to climb into the runner-up position in the waning laps.
“I only passed one car and was running second with a few laps to go,” he said. “We started running out of fuel on that last restart. It started sputtering pretty bad so I was hanging on for whatever I could get.”
Johnson salvaged a third-place result, which was his best finish of the year.
This weekend will be a busy one for Johnson, who will race on Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Midwest Power Series; on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway; and on Sunday and Monday at Huset’s Speedway with the Buffalo Wild Wings Northern Outlaw Sprint Association.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 20 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: DNS (11).
May 21 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 5 (4); Feature: 3 (11).
SEASON STATS –
8 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top 10s, 3 top 15s, 4 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Midwest Power Series; Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa; and Sunday and Monday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., with the Buffalo Wild Wings Northern Outlaw Sprint Association
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalebJohnsonRacing22
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Joel Pingeon Trucking
Joel Pingeon Trucking Inc. is a quality nationwide step deck, flatbed and conestoga trucking company based in Springfield, Minn. For more information, visit http://www.JDPingeon.com.
“Joel Pingeon Trucking sponsors a couple of cars around the area and I’m fortunate to have their logo on our race car,” Johnson said. “They travel a lot of miles around the Midwest and it’s cool to have a company like that support our team.”
Johnson would like to thank Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Oddson Underground, Inc., Folkens Brothers Trucking, Joel Pingeon Trucking, Blondie Motorsports, Construction Products & Consultants, GRP Motorsports, Innovative Design/Sletten Properties, Turn 2 Lodge, Cressman Sanitation, Hohn Palmer LLC, State Bank of Fairmont, AB Custom Construction, Specialized Caulking Sealants, The Minnesota Mafia, Guaranteed Rate-Mike Brudigan Home Loans, The Ron Weber Team, David Kramer Drywall, Big Al’s Diecast, Heartland Properties, Dave’s Lawn Care & Landscaping, TL Racing, Hepfner Racing Products, TJ Forged Wheels, Howe Motorsports, Moyle Racing Engines, Kistler Racing Engines, Forged in Dirt and Team DGRD 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.
- Shawn Miller on May 23, 2023
- Article Date: 5/23/2023 by Inside Line Promotions