(Photo by Rob Kocak Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 24, 2021) – Kaleb Johnson earned his season-best result Friday night at Rapid Speedway, where he finished second in the 21-car Midwest Sprint Touring Series main event.
“It wasn’t a win, but it still felt pretty good to finish second after the way things have gone so far this year,” he said. “I drew good for a change. I started outside pole in our heat race and was able to take the lead coming out of turn two and led the rest of the way.”
Johnson’s win put him in the redraw for the main event and he drew the fourth starting spot for the 25-lap main race, which ran non-stop.
“We were able to move up to second in the first couple of laps and we stayed with the leader, Jack Dover, for a bit,” he said. “But when we were in lapped traffic I drove a bit conservative and he pulled away. Chris Martin pulled alongside me a couple of times when I was taking too long to lap a car, but I was able to get back ahead of him.”
The following night also started well at Knoxville Raceway.
“Our night at Knoxville began really well,” he said. “We were fastest in hot laps and fifth quickest (of 22 cars) in qualifying. Unfortunately, the rest of the night didn’t go nearly as well.”
A fueling problem forced Johnson to retire early from his heat race and he lined up 10th in the feature.
“When the race started I went into the first turn behind a couple of cars,” he said. “They both went to the bottom so I went to the top. I tried to let the car drift up, but the back end skated out on me and I hit the wall pretty hard. We broke some stuff in the rear end and that ended our night. It was a weird deal, but it was my fault. We were probably lucky that it wasn’t a lot worse.”
Johnson is looking forward to traveling this weekend to three tracks in three states.
“We’re planning to race at Jackson on Friday, at Knoxville on Saturday and at Lake Ozark Speedway on Sunday, if everything goes okay and the weather cooperates,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to race at Lake Ozark, but never have. I saw they’re having a two-night special event this weekend so I figured this would probably be about my best opportunity to race there.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 21 – Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 2 (4).
May 22 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: DNF (7); Feature: DNF (10).
SEASON STATS –
7 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 3 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 6 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with the Midwest Power Series and Midwest Sprint Touring Series; Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa; and Sunday at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalebJohnsonRacing22
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“We’re really happy to have Mike on our team and for his support again this year,” Johnson said. “I encourage anyone who is looking to buy a home in the Sioux Falls area to contact Mike for the best mortgage option for them.”
Johnson would also like to thank Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Oddson Underground, GRP Motorsports, Innovative Design/Sletten Properties, Sea Foam, Snyder Tree Service, Guaranteed Rate-Mike Brudigan Home Loans, Ron Weber Team, State Bank of Fairmont, Big Al’s Diecast, Dave’s Lawn Care & Landscaping, JF Capital, Last Deck, Hepfner Racing Products, Schaeffer’s Oil and TL Racing for their continued support.
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- Shawn Miller on May 24, 2021
- Article Date: 5/24/2021 by Inside Line Promotions