(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – MESQUITE, Texas (Oct. 19, 2015) – Bad luck struck Johnny Herrera at a terrible time last weekend.
Herrera, who has been in the hunt for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour championship all season, was disqualified after finishing seventh on Friday during the 42nd annual Winter Nationals opener at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
“I lost a muffler in the feature,” he said. “I’m not the first one it’s ever happened to. You get in the routine of putting them on, but you should look closer to the welds. It’s like anything, you have to keep an eye on it. It’s just an oversight on my part I guess.”
Herrera, who had finished fourth in a heat race and fifth in a B Main earlier in the night, had charged from 23rd place to the top-10 finish after having to use a provisional. The disqualification cost him 33 points, which dropped him to 84 points out of the lead entering the final event of the season.
“The right decision was made and that’s the way it should have been,” he said. “I wish it wouldn’t have happened, but I’m a rules guy and believe that the rules should be enforced.”
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at the half-mile oval, where Herrera claimed a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row.
“Winning the heat race was very important,” he said. “That put us in the redraw, but we got the eight.”
Herrera pulled the highest number during the random redraw, which lined him up on the outside of the fourth row for the main event.
“It was rubber down right away,” he said. “It got late and they decided not to do anything to the track. Everybody rode around where they started. For the most part there wasn’t any passing. The rubber was about two car widths wide. You had to run on the low side of it to catch it if you got tight.”
Herrera battled inside the top 10 throughout the feature before posting a ninth-place result.
He will take this weekend off before finishing the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour season Oct. 28-31 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 28th annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals.
“Now I just go to win the race,” he said. “If you were racing for a championship you try to be more on the cautious side, but now it’s all about winning.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 16 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 4 (5); B Main: 5 (6); Feature: DQ (23).
Oct. 17 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 9 (8).
SEASON STATS –
47 races, 9 wins, 25 top fives, 37 top 10s, 41 top 15s, 43 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Oct. 28-31 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 28th annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.JohnnyHerreraRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnnyHerrera2
LIVE COVERAGE –
To keep up to speed with Herrera at every Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event, visit http://www.RacinBoys.com for free, live audio. Additionally, RacinBoys will provide live Pay-Per-View video at select races.
APPAREL –
Herrera has t-shirts available for sale at his race trailer and at http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com/shopping.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Mesilla Valley Transportation
Mesilla Valley Transportation is one of the largest transportation providers in Western Texas and New Mexico. The company specializes in time-sensitive service between major manufacturing areas in the United States and Canada and the borders of Mexico. For more information, visit http://www.M-V-T.com.
“Royal Jones (who owns Mesilla Valley Transportation) has been a big supporter of mine for many years,” Herrera said. “He’s a great person and Mesilla Valley Transportation is a great company. Royal has been a huge supporter of not only me, but of a lot of racers. He’s a genuinely wonderful guy.”
Herrera would also like to thank Champion Brands, Print Place, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Competition Suspension Inc., FK Rod Ends, Hoosier Racing Tire, Schoenfeld Headers, Maxim Chassis, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Simpson Race Products, Outlaw Wings, Bevins, Weld Wheels, Finish Line Coatings, Semi-Crazy Truck Wash and Smiley’s Racing Products 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 Oct 19, 2015
- Article Date: 10/19/2015 by Inside Line Promotions