Update #31 Race #:53

KJ Motorsports

Update #31

Race #:53

By Kenny Johnson
26 Oct 2008

Well this past weekend ended our 2008 season. We raced at K-C Speedway at the Dirt Track World Championship. I wish I could write that we ended on a good note, but I have to tell it like it is. . . . . They had 110 modifieds and we drew pills for group qualifying. We were in group #5 with names like Rick Aukland, Kenny Riddle, Shon Flannery & Keith Berner. I went out to hot lap and was trying to get a good lap in without the traffic. Going down the back chute the yellow comes out and I saw an open line on the top. I kept the car too high and get in the slime and from there it was over. I slammed into the yuke tires and rolled the car. Of course I made the mistake of undoing my seat belts and that made it worse on me. They ended up rolling me back on my wheels before I could get out. Once out, I looked things over and saw the damage. A track worker took me back to the pits and I began pulling parts out that would be needed. As I did that a large crowd gathered around to see what the car looked like. The next thing I knew there was a swarm of people gathering tools and parts and started putting the car back together so we could make qualifying. Well it worked and we qualified 2nd fast in our group and 8th fastest overall. They inverted the top 3 in the heat and this started us front row outside with Riddle on the pole. Riddle pulled me slightly on the start but I stuffed into turn one with little room on the high side and I smacked the wall. I gathered it up and took a charge down the back chute only to smack the wall again. Now I fell back to 4th but came racing back to 2nd and caught Riddle and was pressuring him for the lead but I went into turn #1 too hard and when I steered to the right the right front tire hit the frame rail and I spun out sending us to the tail in 18th. Not exactly sure how many laps were left, but we came from 18th to finish 9th. We were on the high side the entire time scraping the wall nearly every lap. We started 11th in the consi and took to the high side again and were passing for the lead near lap 8 or so. The car was very fast and I was lovin’ it. When passing for the lead, Rick Aukland did not know I was on the high side and he was coming up the track off of turn 2. So I let my car go up the track and I jumped the cushion and put the car up on the flat. The right rear loaded and unloaded the left rear and I was wide open and I spun it out, AGAIN! I went to the tail knowing I blew my chance again. We were making an attempt to pass some cars and a wreck happened in 3 and 4 about mid pack. I was committed to the outside and ended up getting wedged between a car and the wall. We climbed the wall and got on top of it and then came crashing down. At that point I figured the car was done. I got pushed into the infield and got out and looked at the car. Realized the car did not have any flat tires, nor did it have any broken parts. With 3 laps to go I decided what the heck, go back out and see if a miracle could happen. Well, in all honesty I knew better, but I gave it a try and we made it back to finish 7th. In the end I disappointed a lot of people including myself and my crew. I was in the show 2 different times and took myself out of it. We did get a lot of attention from numerous race fans though. Although that doesn’t pay the bills it does make me feel good knowing fans appreciate hard charging racing.

I’d like to thank and acknowledge those that helped put the car back together after I rolled it. Tim Cooper, Jason Canepari, Dad, Chad Nelson, Harley Hall, Howard Santee, AJ Huber, Mike McPherson, Jeremy Berwanger, Todd Gorrell, Kenny Riddle, Alf Litman, Tod Frye, Allan Hamrick, Dustin Sprouse, Ryan Stoops, Kenny Lilly, Tom Lemon, Trey Lemon, Layne Lemon. I hope that I have not forgotten anyone. There were also several teams that came over to offer up help and/or parts. It was a time of need and everyone came to the rescue.

I am officially calling it a season and what a season it was. We had 9 wins, 9 seconds & 6 thirds which are some pretty respectable stats. We also achieved winning both the AMRA National and Road Warrior Tour Points Championships. That makes us a 3 time Road Warrior Tour Champion and a 2 time National Champion. As I have mentioned before, there have been several people that have played a role in helping to obtain this championship winning season. Tod Buckhalter of Hassy Chassis has put his faith in me; Tim Cooper and Jason Canepari to represent Hassy Chassis by letting us run the Hassy Chassis House car. Tim Cooper has been there all summer long and keeps things in order and tries to keep me in line as well when I am on the track. Jason Canepari who has provided us some good set ups and knows what changes to make at the track. Sponsorship wise we have had help from the following: Hassy Chassis, Racersmate, K-Graphics, Dickson Racing Shocks, Laurita Excavating, Zemba Bros. Construction, Billy Lloyd Racing Engines, H&S Construction, Balderson Construction, Wrisco Aluminum, Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett & Gene’s Trailer Sales. I also need to thank Wayne Cornell for his effort in keeping our web site maintained and user friendly.

My plans are to have a special edition car next year for it will be my 25th year racing. I also plan to get T-shirts made this winter to celebrate 25 years and celebrate our AMRA Championships. I will be working with Tom & Pam Lemon in getting these shirts and they will be selling them.

I want to take this time to mention 3 friends and to keep them in your prayers for they are all having health issues; Greg Schilling, Jack Shutts and Steve Armentrout.

I will send out another update once I have something to inform you all about. Until then have a good winter and drop me a line when you can!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #30 Race #52

KJ Motorsports

Update #30

Race #52

By Kenny Johnson
14 Oct 2008

This past weekend was the $5,000 to win show at Midway and they had 48 modifieds on hand. We were in group #5 and set fast time in our group. We started on the pole along side Dave Groves. Dave took the early lead on the high side and we were able to run with him by running the middle. On the 2nd lap he got a push and we were able to make the pass and go on to get the win. This put us 5th in the dash and we finished 5th. In the feature we started 5th and maintained 5th for a good little while racing on the bottom. I realized of a change that I considered making, but chose not to. I wish I had put more gear in the car to run the bottom, but I didn’t and I think it hurt our run. I did run the top, the middle and the bottom in an attempt to try and advance. In the end we wound up finishing 10th. I wasn’t real satisfied with the finish, but the car was in one piece and we’ll take notes on what to do for next year.

This weekend we will be going to K-C Speedway for the Dirt Track world Championship which pays the modifieds $3,000 to win. We qualify, run our heat races and consolation races on Thursday night. Then our feature is Saturday night before the big late model race. I love K-C and have high hopes for a really good run! Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

Update #29 Race #51

KJ Motorsports

Update #29

Race #51

By Kenny Johnson
07 Oct 2008

We went to Eldora this past weekend for the UMP Nationals. They had 122 modifieds and we qualified 9th fastest overall and 2nd fast in our group. They invert the top 4 in each heat, so we started 3rd. The outside pole sitter and the 4th place car took off and were 1st and 2nd, the pole sitter was 3rd and we were 4th. In turn 3 and 4 the pole sitter got a little sideways and I ramped over his right rear and we each lost a position. I finally got past him and chased down the 3rd place car and was about to make a pass on him when the yellow came out. When we went back racing and went down the back chute, the 3rd place car chose the low line, the 1st and 2nd place car chose the high line and I chose an even higher line. I blasted around the 2nd place car only to find the leader blew up and he went high. I had no where to go and blasted him hard. It tore up my left front shock, lower control arm, upper control arm and the tire and wheel was just dangling on the car. I fell back to 8th coming off of turn 4 and stood on the gas drove it down into turn one and hesitated and hit the wall. Drove it down into turn 3 and hesitated and hit the wall. I apparently wasn’t getting the point that the car was broke, cause when I went into turn one I didn’t hesitate and made it thru without hitting the wall and I continued to do this thru the end of the race and made it back to 5th and almost passed for 4th. Once I slowed down it was difficult getting the car back to the pits. Now this driving got us some new fans, but unfortunately none of them had any money. It was said over the weekend that the people with money are probably sitting back saying I’m glad he don’t drive for me cause I couldn’t afford him. LOL! Oh well, we got it fixed and was ready for the consolation race on Saturday in which we were starting 6th and they were taking the top 2. As it turns out the 2 cars in front of me scratched and did not start the race which moved us up to the outside pole. We took the lead and went on to win by 4 car lengths or so. This started us 19th in the feature and I immediately went to the high side and was passing cars left and right and made it up to 7th. I got behind #135 and could not get by him. I tried low, middle and just could not make the pass. After several cars went back by us I decided to go even higher and it bit me. I got tied up in the cushion of turn 4 and several more cars got by us. I went back to passing cars and made it back up to the #135 and was finally able to pass him on the last lap. They wound up scoring us in 15th place. We thought it should have been 11th or 12th and thought they may have had a few lap cars out of place in the finishing order. But all in all, I love racing at Eldora and am somewhat pleased with our results.

This weekend we go to Midway for $5,000 to win show. This should be a jammed pack field of modifieds also. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

Update #28 Race #50

KJ Motorsports

Update #28

Race #50

By Kenny Johnson
28 Sep 2008

Saturday we went to the Finale at the Valley and they had 30 modifieds. We drew pill #2 in which I thought was a good pill draw but they decided to qualify. We still went out and set fast time with a 16.89. We started the pole of the 1st heat along side Joe Cox. Joe got the win but not without being pressured the entire time by us. We had to do another pill draw for the line up of the feature and we were to start 4th. During the late model feature the rain started and they had to send the cars off the track. We waited around for the rain to let up, and then several cars went out to get the track ran in and we were one of them. Needless to say we couldn’t see much of the car for it was covered in mud. Since the delay lasted quite a while, there were some cars that chose to go home. One of them was an outside pole sitter Jeff Woods. This moved us up to that spot. The 1st 2 starts we took the lead but a caution would line us up double file. The 3rd time we had to go single file and this put the pole sitter Darrin McDonald in the lead. We pressured him for the 1st 2 laps, but I hit a hole in turn 3 & 4 that allowed Darrin to pull away. We chased him down and caught back up to him, but were unable to pressure him for the pass. We got ourselves another 2nd place finish.

It is confirmed that we got both Championships in AMRA and Team #23 produced a proper big league celebration by dumping a cooler full of ice water on me after the feature! That’s some good friend’s right there and I sure appreciated the gesture. Although I some how think they got some enjoyment out of it! LOL

This weekend, we plan to go to Eldora for the UMP Nationals. Last years race had like 112 cars and we set 6th fastest time. Hopefully we’ll improve on that this year.

Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

Update #27 Race #48 & #49

KJ Motorsports

Update #27

Race #48 & #49

By Kenny Johnson
22 Sep 2008

WOW! I’ll start off by saying not a very good weekend of racing for KJ Motorsports. We were at Skyline for 2 days and 2 complete Road Warrior Tour shows. The Road Warrior Tour Championship was on the line & we had a 23 point lead of Dave Defibaugh and a 25 point lead over Louie Krushansky. Saturday night started out great. We set fast time in our group and 3rd fast overall. We won our heat and that put us starting 4th in the feature. Louie was starting on the pole and Defibaugh was starting 18th. In the end we finished 8th, Louie finished 4th and Defibaugh finished 10th. This changed the point lead down to 17 points over Louie and 27 points over Defibaugh. So with us finishing 8th, I felt like we definitely needed to make some changes to the car to improve for Sunday’s races. The track was even slicker than it was on Saturday. As many of you know, I really despise slick track racing, but I know we were all on the same track. We set 4th fastest time in our group and wound up finishing 4th to start us 16th in the feature. Louie started 8th in his heat and made it to 3rd, but was penalized for a jump start and that forced him to run the consi, in which he finished 2nd to start him right behind us in 18th. Defibaugh finished 2nd in his heat to start him 8th in the feature. Mathematically any of the 3 of us could win the Road Warrior Tour Championship at this point. The way I had it figured is if Louie finished 9 positions ahead of us, he would win the championship and Defibaugh had to finish 14 positions ahead of us. So the race started and I intended to race hard and get to the front. It wasn’t long into the race that I knew I was in no way a contender and I was just trying to keep my nose clean and salvage a finish. Well Louie unfortunately caught a uke tire and took out his power steering, so he was trying to hang on also. Dave was conservatively working his way up after falling back several positions. Then what we feared happening happened, we got caught up in a wreck and it flattened our right front tire and took us out of the race giving us a 19th place finish. So now all we could do is sit and wait for the end of the race to see what the other 2 would do. Well, again misfortune struck Louie and he also got caught up in a wreck that tore his car up and he would finish 17th. So now it was waiting to see where Defibaugh finished. It was getting nerve racking, but Defibaugh finished 7th and they announced that we won the Road Warrior Tour Championship points by 9 points. What a relief, for this past week and weekend played havoc on my nerves and that was the exact reason I approached the entire season as I did but not following points. We just raced to be racing and did not worry about the points. Well when it got down to the wire, I worried. The other point’s battle was also on the line for National points. We were in a close battle with Jeremy Berwanger. The way it played out, is if I got a 2nd place or better, we’d win the points. If Jeremy got a 2nd place or better, then we would go into next weekend at the Valley to decide the point’s champion. Saturday night Jeremy fell short in his heat race to start him deep in the field. Although this did not slow him down, he made it all the way to a 3rd place finish. So now he had Sunday to accomplish a top 2 finish. But as he was working his way into the top 3 a car pinched him off and he spun out and was forced to the tail. Once there and with the track conditions not being very racy he did not advance very far and he finished in 10th place. So “unofficially” we have also sewed up the National point’s championship as well. Like I said in the beginning, this was a not a very good weekend for racing stats, but an outstanding weekend for KJ Motorsports, Hassy Chassis, Racersmate, Dickson Racing Shocks, Billy Lloyd Racing Engines, K-Graphics, H&S Construction, Zemba Bros., Laurita Excavating, Balderson Construction, Gene’s Trailer Sales, Wrisco Aluminum, Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett.

I need to thank some key people that helped us obtain these 2 Championships. First is Tod Buckhalter at Hassy Chassis, for supplying us with the Hassy Chassis House car. Second is Tim Cooper who has spent many hours in the garage and many hours on the road going to the races. Jason Canepari who has helped to identify the various set ups that have helped us win races this year. Many fans that have become followers of KJ Motorsports, such as Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett, Carl and Sharon Walker, Ralph Whited, Michael Willoughby, Jake Cooper, Loretta Shortridge, Tom and Pam Lemon and of course Mom and Dad. Although Mom doesn’t go very much, I know she thinks of me often, because when it doesn’t rain out, I know she didn’t do a rain dance. And Dad, well there is not a bigger supporter of KJ Motorsports around. Hats off to Team #23 and team #44J whom we have built a good friendship over this past season and I am already looking forward to racing them in 2009. But Team #77, #23 & #44J brought it down to the wire for the point’s battle and I have the up most respect for all 3 of them and can appreciate everything they had worked for! Thanks for making this year an all round good year.

Next weekend, we will be at Ohio Valley racing the “Finale at the Valley”. Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ