(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (July 8, 2024) – Kaleb Johnson produced a top-10 performance at both Knoxville Raceway and Huset’s Speedway last weekend.
Johnson’s best outing occurred on Sunday at Huset’s Speedway, where he qualified seventh quickest in his group and won a heat race to advance into the feature redraw. He was the final driver to draw and the No. 5 was remaining, lining him up on the inside of the third row in the main event.
“We didn’t qualify the greatest, but winning the heat race was crucial,” he said. “In the feature, I fell back to sixth right away and raced there for a while. As we approached traffic you could almost put a blanket on the top six. I was up to fifth at one point and on the restart at the end I avoided a sideways car and lost a couple of spots. Even though I felt we were better than a sixth-place car, it went pretty well.”
Johnson’s sixth-place outing was his seventh top 10 in seven A Mains at the track this season. He continues to lead the championship standings.
Johnson also did double duty driving for Dennis Gainey on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. His best run was in the 360ci winged sprint car division as he qualified 14th quickest and placed fourth in a heat race before hustling from 16th to ninth in the main event. That was the second-most positions gained.
“I was a little bummed we didn’t qualify the greatest and lost a spot in the heat race,” he said. “Each week we’re trying something different. Come feature-time we get it figured out. Once we can get better at the earlier part of the night it’ll be crucial.
“I was good early in the feature and got behind a car that got crossed up. I had to get out of the gas and the next thing I knew four or five cars passed me. There was a restart at the end of the race and I was able to move my wing back. I went where people weren’t and was able to gain those spots back.”
Johnson’s night in the 410ci winged sprint car division came to an early end because of mechanical woes. He timed in 23rd quickest in qualifying and won a heat race before being unable to finish the A Main.
Johnson will drive his car this Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., during a Midwest Sprint Touring Series 410 Sprint Cars show before returning to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday. He will also pilot a 360 sprint car for Gainey on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway.
“I’m pretty excited to get back to Jackson,” he said. “We haven’t raced there all year. We have a lot of sponsors and support around that area. And hopefully we can continue to get better in Dennis’s car at Knoxville and in ours at Huset’s.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 6 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 23; Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 24 (18).
July 6 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 14; Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 9 (16).
July 7 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 6 (5).
SEASON STATS –
21 races, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 15 top 10s, 17 top 15s, 17 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn.; Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa; and Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.com/
X: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalebJohnsonRacing22
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Oddson Underground, Inc.
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 excited to have Oddson Underground return to our team this year,” Johnson said. “They came on board with us in a pretty big way a couple of years ago and we’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with them.”
Johnson would like to thank Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Oddson Underground, Inc., Folkens Brothers Trucking, Blondie Motorsports, Construction Products & Consultants, GRP Motorsports, Innovative Design/Sletten Properties, Cressman Sanitation, 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, FID Media, Team DGRD and Hefty Seed Company 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 Jul 08, 2024
- Article Date: 7/8/2024 by Inside Line Promotions