(Photo by Serena Dalhamer)
Inside Line Promotions – WHEATLAND, Mo. (June 21, 2016) – Johnny Herrera picked up a pair of podium finishes to highlight the 24th annual Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek.
“It was a decent Speedweek for us,” he said. “Of course we’d have liked to have won it. We weren’t bad. We just need to be a little better. We weren’t 100 percent on top of our setups, but we still salvaged some decent runs.”
The Speedweek began on June 11 at Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo, Texas, where Herrera placed seventh in a heat race before he charged from 20th to 11th in the main event.
Action resumed last Wednesday at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. Herrera won a heat race from the pole position, which lined him up on the outside of the fifth row for the feature.
“We got to second at one point,” he said. “They had a restart with five laps to go. I was closing the gap a little on (Brad) Loyet before the caution, but I don’t know if we could have done anything. On the restart I went down there and ran in too low and didn’t get in the rubber so I settled for third.”
Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla., hosted Round 3 on Thursday. Herrera advanced from eighth to fifth place in a heat race and he won a qualifier from the pole. That started him seventh in the main event.
“It was one of those nights when we were ok, but I wasn’t happy with the way I had my car rolling,” he said. “We didn’t have a great balance in the car. I was hoping for more, but we settled for a fifth-place finish.”
Friday’s event at Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo., didn’t begin on the right note. The team was forced to change engines prior to hot laps. Herrera placed fourth in a heat race, which lined him up on the outside of the seventh row for the feature.
“We had a really good car there in the main event,” he said. “We made the right choices. I think the race went 24 laps non-stop before the yellow came out.”
Herrera rallied from 14th to garner a third-place result and the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars.
Speedweek wrapped up on Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway, where Herrera finished fourth in a heat race and fifth in a qualifier to lock into the 15th starting position for the main event.
“I think we drove our way to eighth by Lap 24,” he said. “There was a top and bottom the first five or so laps and then it was a one-lane track. On a restart with about five laps to go the motor lost oil pressure so we had a DNF.”
Herrera was credited with a 16th-place finish and he ended third in the Speedweek standings.
“I have some great sponsors who are helping us as we head west,” he said. “Morton Excavating is lending us an engine and Harold Main, who is an old sponsor of mine, said he’ll loan us an engine if we need it. We really appreciate their help as well as all the support from our sponsors.”
Herrera is slated to compete this Thursday through Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the 45th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. He charged from 15th to fourth during last year’s Dirt Cup finale.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 11 – Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo, Texas – Heat race: 7 (5); Feature: 11 (20).
June 15 – Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 3 (10).
June 16 – Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. – Heat race: 5 (8); Qualifier: 1 (1); Feature: 5 (7).
June 17 – Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. – Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 3 (14).
June 18 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 4 (8); Qualifier: 5 (3); Feature: 16 (15).
SEASON STATS –
30 races, 2 wins, 14 top fives, 14 top 10s, 16 top 15s, 19 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday through Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the 45th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.JohnnyHerreraRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnnyHerrera2
APPAREL –
Herrera has t-shirts available for sale at his race trailer and at http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com/shopping.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems
Based in Concord, N.C., ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems manufactures custom seats and distributes a variety of racing accessories, including seat mounts, padding, belts and restraints, steering wheels and helmets. For additional information, visit http://www.ButlerBuilt.net.
“I highly recommend everyone to use ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems,” Herrera said. “Not only are they extremely safe, but also are very comfortable.”
Herrera would also like to thank Morton Excavating, Competition Suspension Inc., Mesilla Valley Transportation, Champion Brands, Ostrich Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, Hoosier Racing Tire, Schoenfeld Headers, Maxim Chassis, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Simpson Race Products, Outlaw Wings, Weld Wheels, Finish Line Coatings, Semi-Crazy Truck Wash, Smiley’s Racing Products and Heidbreder Foundation Services 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 21, 2016
- Article Date: 6/21/2016 by Inside Line Promotions