Inside Line Promotions – KOKOMO, Ind. (June 7, 2016) – Chase Johnson’s first Indiana Midget Week was a success.
Johnson, who was driving for Matt Wood Racing, advanced into three of the four features he contested with a pair of top-15 finishes during the USAC National Midget Series spectacle.
“It was a tough week just because of the amount of issues we had, but we had some shining moments where the car was running great and I was feeling really strong as well,” he said. “I want to thank Matt and the crew for giving me the opportunity. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to the future with them.”
The action began a week ago Tuesday at Montpelier Motor Speedway in Montpelier, Ind., where Johnson battled mechanical problems throughout the night. He timed in 40th quickest during qualifying and placed seventh in a heat race, but was unable to make the C Main because the car wouldn’t run.
The problem continued on Wednesday at Gas City I-69 Speedway in Gas City, Ind., where Johnson missed hot laps. However, he qualified 27th quickest and the team was able to fix the mechanical problem. Johnson placed seventh in a heat race and he charged from 11th to fourth place in the B Main to transfer into the back of the main event.
Unfortunately, Johnson was involved in a flip on Lap 9 that relegated him to a DNF.
“I was racing with my teammate and he slid up the track,” he said. “I had a good run on the top. When he slid up I got into his right rear tire and ended up tipping over. It wasn’t damaged too much. It was mostly bolt-on stuff.”
The team ventured to Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind., on Thursday and Johnson opened the event by qualifying ninth quickest. He ended sixth in a heat race and third in the B Main to transfer into the feature.
“Lincoln Park Speedway was going to be a really good night,” he said “In the main we ran seventh pretty much from Lap 10 to Lap 25. That was really neat to do that because of the caliber of guys in front of me and behind me. With about four laps to go we had someone drive into us that almost made us flip. It caused a yellow and we had to restart last because the car stopped.”
Johnson rebounded in the closing laps to post a 14th-place finish.
The team elected to skip Friday’s event at Bloomington Speedway in Bloomington, Ind., and Saturday’s race at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, Ind., rained out.
Indiana Midget Week wrapped up on Sunday at Kokomo Speedway, where Johnson timed in 17th quickest before finishing second in a heat race. That lined him up on the outside of the eighth row for the main event.
“Kokomo was really good,” he said. “I had a chance to sit in the stands and watch two years ago. I couldn’t wait to get to the place and run it. In the feature I charged up to 11th and spent most of the race there. While battling for 10th with Zach Daum he had some type of issue where he had to slow down to turn into the infield. When he did that I was on the bottom and had to check up. When I did that we lost two positions.”
Johnson scored a 13th-place finish, which tied his career-best result in a midget.
He will return to action in his family owned sprint car this Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 31 – Montpelier Motor Speedway in Montpelier, Ind. – Qualifying: 40; Heat race: 7 (10); C Main: DNS (-).
June 1 – Gas City I-69 Speedway in Gas City, Ind. – Qualifying: 27; Heat race: 7 (7); B Main: 4 (11); Feature: 23 (21).
June 2 – Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 6 (4); B Main: 3 (3); Feature: 14 (9).
June 5 – Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Ind. – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 13 (16).
SEASON STATS –
25 races, 2 wins, 5 top fives, 5 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 14 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.ChaseJohnsonRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChaseJohnson24
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chase.Johnson.Racing1
APPAREL –
Johnson has No. 68 t-shirts and sweatshirts as well as Chase Johnson shirts for sale at his race trailer at every race he competes in this season. T-shirts are $25 each and hoodies are $35 apiece.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Shifty Illusions
Shifty Illusions is a custom paint business based in Bakersfield, Calif. Shifty Illusions specializes in helmets and goalie masks. For more information, visit http://www.ShiftyIll.com.
“I can’t thank Shifty Illusions enough for giving me a great looking helmet that is a tribute to Marcus Johnson and Dale Wondergem,” Johnson said. “I’m really thankful for all that he’s helped us with. Shifty Illusions isn’t expensive and makes everything look great. He’s very talented.”
Johnson would also like to thank Johnny Franklin’s Mufflers, Newman Freeman Racing, PitStopUSA.com, Napa Auto Parts, Flowmaster, Don’s Truck Repair, VSR, Oroville Cycle, I-Wear Graphix, Driven Raceway, Nor-Cal Transmission and Chevron Pro-Gas 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 07, 2016
- Article Date: 6/7/2016 by Inside Line Promotions