(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (June 26, 2023) – Kaleb Johnson highlighted the 2nd annual BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by MENARDS by making the feature redraw during the final preliminary night.
More than 50 drivers tackled the four-day World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event at Huset’s Speedway.
“The week was pretty tough,” Johnson said. “The first two nights we didn’t fare so well, but the third night was much better. We made the show and the redraw. It didn’t end how we wanted, but it’s tough racing against those guys. They are so good.”
Qualifying woes stymied Johnson on Wednesday and Thursday as he ended in the Last Chance Showdown and C Main, respectively.
“We really just couldn’t get anything right on the car,” he said. “We struggled finding any grip. I was just spinning the tires, which isn’t very good. After those two nights we switched cars and that seemed to help. It’s a car I started the year with and I couldn’t get it to work well. We switched to this other car that was a little different and ended up switching back on Friday.”
Johnson kicked off Friday’s preliminary night by qualifying sixth quickest. He then hustled from sixth to fourth place in a heat race to earn enough points to advance into the feature redraw.
“We laid down a good qualifying lap,” he said. “I was able to hit the bottom pretty good. I was a bit surprised we hung on for sixth quickest, but the track did go away a bit throughout qualifying. We started sixth in the heat race. I knew if I wanted a chance at the redraw I needed to pass one or two cars, which we were able to do.”
Johnson lined up on the outside of the third row in the main event after pulling the No. 6 during the redraw.
“I was going to be happy with a top 15,” he said. “I knew it’d be tough. I let some cars pass me and made the wrong lane choice a couple of times. Then we hurt an engine about 15 laps in so we were unable to finish.”
Johnson was credited with a 22nd-place result.
“I knew we’d be buried in event points for Saturday,” he said. “I had to have a good start in the qualifier to pass a couple of cars. I got squeezed into the wall taking the green. It bent the torque tube so I was lucky to hang onto sixth.”
Johnson placed sixth in a qualifier before ending the weekend 16th in the Last Chance Showdown.
“I knew starting that far back it’d be tough,” he said. “I think we gained a position and mostly rode around back there for a while.”
Johnson plans to take this weekend off before resuming competition on July 7 at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Midwest Power Series and July 9 at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 21 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 46; Heat race: 7 (8); C Main: 1 (2); B Main: 20 (21).
June 22 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 48; Heat race: 8 (8); C Main: 5 (7).
June 23 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 22 (6).
June 24 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifier: 6 (6); B Main: 16 (17).
SEASON STATS –
25 races, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 8 top 10s, 8 top 15s, 12 top 20s
UP NEXT –
July 7 at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Midwest Power Series and July 9 at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalebJohnsonRacing22
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – State Bank of Fairmont
State Bank of Fairmont is a long-time supporter of local auto racing. The Minnesota bank offers full-service banking on a local and personal level. For more information, visit http://www.SBOF.com.
“It’s exciting for me to have the support of the State Bank of Fairmont,” Johnson said. “They’ve sponsored some pretty big-name drivers over the years and it’s an honor for me to be included in that group.”
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 Jun 26, 2023
- Article Date: 6/26/2023 by Inside Line Promotions