KJ Motorsports Update #17 Race #34 & #35

KJ Motorsports Update #17 Race #34 & #35
By: Kenny Johnson
Date: 08-12-13

Friday, Mother Nature kind of looked like she was going to win out. But yet once again, Legendary Hilltop managed to get their show in. It turned out they had a good crowd and a decent car count. Maddy Cooper drew us pill #11, to start us on the outside pole of heat #4. We went on to get the win to start us 4th in the feature. Tyler Evans and Nick Corbitt was on the front row and Roy Roush started 3rd and we started 4th. Nick took the early lead, with Tyler in 2nd and us in 3rd. Roy eventually passed us off of turn 4 and Tyler passed Nick. So we were running how we started until, with one lap to go, Nick blew an engine. It was a judgement call by the flagman to throw the yellow to bring out a green/checkered restart. They threw the gree off of turn 4 and I took to my normal high line entering turn one. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tyler and Roy had gotten together, allowing me to take the lead and taking the checkered flag. I believe Tyler came in 3rd and Roy came in 6th. I was kind of dumbfounded and truly never expected to get the win, for we just wasn’t quite fast enough. But, you never say never in racing and anything can happen. That gave us win #11 on the season.Saturday we went to Ohio Valley Speedway, where we saw a huge crowd and a few people from work came down as well. Maddy again drew us a great pill to start us on the pole of heat #1. We won the heat race and had to redraw. Maddy got us a 3rd starting spot for the feature. Tyler Evans took the lead from Andy Bond and we ran 3rd behind Andy. I was starting to put pressure on Andy, when he had a left rear flat. This moved us into 2nd and we put pressure on Tyler. We owned the high side and he ran the middle and we raced side by side for several laps. It wasn’t going to be a guaranteed win by any means, but we were in a good position to make it a crowd pleaser for sure. But with 2 laps to go, our left rear tire went flat, giving us a DNF. Tyler went on to get the win. He is definitely going to be one to reckon with in the future.I won’t be around on Friday, for I will be at Parris Island watching Lexi graduate and become a United States Marine. Saturday we are still undecided, so watch Kenny Johnson Motorsports on Facebook and Coop will keep you posted. So, we hope to see ya there!This week, I want to give a shout out to my church family at Lubeck Community Baptist Church. What a joy it has been to receive the word from Pastor Mark Houser and to be able to open up and share with all that are there. If any of you are looking for a church family, stop by Lubeck Community Baptist Church and join in on the fun!

Thanks again for all of your support! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

K-Graphics, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Hypercoils, T&L Consulting, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Hall’s Auto Repair, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch, Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.Thanks again for your support, KJ www.kjmotorsports.net

K.J. Motor Sports

Kenny Johnson Motor Sports Web Page

kjmotorsports.net

KJ Motorsports Update #16 Race #31, #32 & #33

KJ MotorsportsUpdate #16Race #31, #32 & #33
By: Kenny Johnson
Date: 08-09-13

Friday, 7/26/13 we were at Skyline Speedway for the 5th Annual Greg Schilling Memorial Race. 52 cars were on hand to make up 6 heat races and 3 consolation race and the 30 lap feature. We were able to set fast time with a 13.91 to start on the pole alongside Jes Hartman. We took the lead going down the back chute, but wound up running 3rd by the time we got to the flagstand. I hadn’t changed the car at all after qualifying and I should have. We past our way back to 2nd to put us starting 7th in the feature. We made our way to 4th and raced Kevin Morehouse for several laps for 3rd. Finally made the pass and was following leader Anthony Kincaid and 2nd place Jeremy Berwanger. We were all 3 running the low groove when we started making our way into lap traffic. That’s when I hit the high side and passed both leaders off of turn two. But as we got down into turn 3 we came up on a lap car. I made a decision to check up and turn down under the lap car. We made contact and our car ramped into the air, but was able to keep going. The lap car wound up stopping in the infield causing a yellow. This put us back in 3rd for the restart. Green came out and again I went to the high side and passed for 2nd down the back chute and was alongside the leader at the flagstand, but yet another caution put us back in 3rd. On the next restart I knew Jeremy was going high, so I opted to go low and follow the leader. Jeremy would get the lead a lap later and I seemed to be struggling with the handling of our car from the impact with the lap car. We wound up 4th, with Jeremy Berwanger taking the win, Anthony Kincaid 2nd and Rick Aukland 3rd. All in all, was real happy with the race itself, crowd was huge and would call it a successful race. Also want to acknowledge that this night was also the Jack Shutts Memorial Race for the late models.

Saturday we went to Jackson County Speedway in Jackson, Oh for $1,000 to win. They had 19 cars and they went to pill draw due to potential weather concerns. This started us 5th in the heat and we got behind someone that made it difficult to pass and we finished 5th, starting us 13th in the feature. The car was really good, but was just a tough track to pass on. We made it to 7th and was still making progress when the checkered fell. Jenni Cook was in this weekend from Florida to race with us all weekend. It was her first time getting to see me race in person and was glad she made it up. She is a huge help promoting our racing team and I appreciate all she does.

Friday, 8/2/13 we went to Beckley Speedway, where we set 4th fastest time to start us on the outside pole of heat one. We went on to win the heat to start us on the pole of the feature beside Mike Duncan. Mike took the initial lead and we followed closely. We took the middle line, while he was on the high line. We could get our nose up to his door in the corners, but could not get in the gas exiting the corners for Mike had the preferred line. But then I made a mistake. Exiting turn 2 as he pulled by me, I picked the throttle up and the car went up the track and I just seemed to get sucked into the back chute wall. It caught the right front and the right rear. The right rear got the worse of it. It destroyed the right front wheel and tire, the right rear wheel and tire, both right side 4 bars, right rearend tube and axle, driveshaft, shifters, the “x” in the frame, front motor mount, right rear brake line, right rear shock. . . .do I need to go on. I’ll admit, I’ve had worse, but not in a long while. Damage was too much to fix in one day, so we did not race on Saturday. Roger Ledbetter and Roger Thompson both made their first trip with us and got to experience the agony of defeat.This week we plan to go to Legendary Hilltop Speedway on Friday and Saturday we will be at Ohio Valley Speedway. So, we hope to see ya there!

This week, I want to give a shout out to Jack Shutts. Jack had done many roles at the area racetracks, from flagman to scorer to announcer to pit steward to race director. I had known Jack since I was a youngster and had seen him and my dad argue with one another. But then again dad argued with many. . . LOL But Jack was a friend of the family for years and his family was also our friends. I respected Jack and his decisions that he made on and off the racetrack. I miss the big guy, but know he’s waiting to throw the checkered flag for me once again.

Thanks again for all of your support! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! K-Graphics, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Hypercoils, T&L Consulting, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Hall’s Auto Repair, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch, Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

Thanks again for your support,

KJ 

www.kjmotorsports.net

Update #14 Race #27, #28 & #29

Update #14 Race #27, #28 & #29
By: Kenny Johnson
Date: 07-16-13

Friday, July 5th we went to Legendary Hilltop Speedway where we set 3rd fast time. We started on the pole of the 3rd heat and led all but the last turn and were passed by Rich Michael. This started us 6th in the feature and we fell back to 8th or so, but fought our way back to a 5th place finish. I just missed the set up and the car didn’t perform well. I’ll take the blame for that. We got rained out at I-77 Speedway on July 6th. Friday, July 12th we went to Skyline where Coop drew his first bad pill over there this year. We started 7th in the heat but got the win to start us on the outside pole beside Roy Roush. Roy got the early lead by virtue of single file start due to 3 cautions before getting a lap in. But we managed to take the lead but I noticed that something was broke and it isn’t the first time either. We broke a left rear shock mount and kept the car from getting up on the bars the way it needed to. Jeremy Berwanger came from deep in the field and passed us to give us a 2nd place finish. We’ll take it, considering the car was not performing the way it should have. Saturday, July 13th we went to I-77 Speedway where we set fast time, won the 1st heat and started on the pole of the feature. We took the early lead and were running the bottom. But James Dennis found the high line and passed us. I went to the high line and we were just about as good as he was and had made a move a couple of times to pull alongside him coming off of turn 4. But in the end, James went on to get the win and we got another 2nd. I was really mad at myself for not taking the high line from the get go, but no one to blame but myself! This week we plan to go to Skyline on Friday and Saturday we will go to McCown’s Jackson County Speedway for $1,000 to win. So, we hope to see ya there!

This week, I want to give a shout out to T&L Consulting which is Tom and Pam Lemon and their family! They are avid race fans and great supporters of KJ Motorsports. T&L Consulting provides many things in the way of training needs or promoting. But most of all provide a great friendship! Thanks again for all of your support! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! K-Graphics, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Hypercoils, T&L Consulting, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Hall’s Auto Repair, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch, Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #13 Race #26

KJ MotorsportsUpdate #13 Race #26

By: Kenny Johnson
Date: 07-02-13

First off, I want to thank those that sent prayers last week. Had a little medical issue on Monday of last week, that hopefully was a one time thing. All tests came back normal and I’ll do some follow up with my Dr. to see if there is something I need to do. Hopefully she won’t say that I need to eat vegetables. . . . LOL I also need to thank Tim Cooper, he worked in the garage all week long to get the car ready for the Schilling race. Don’t know what I would do without him. And I want to thank my wife for babysitting me all week and making sure I was doing the right things, which isn’t an easy task.We went to Skyline and hung out with the Schilling’s and McPherson’s until Mother Nature and Greg got together and decided to have a little funny and through down a ton of rain on us, but then it cleared up and the sun come out and we all trounced around in the mud, hoping we were good to go, but another rain hit and that finished us off and the race was cancelled. It is rescheduled for July 26th and it will also be the Jack Shutts Memorial. Saturday we went to Ohio Valley for their Topless race paying $1,200 to win. We set 3rd fastest time and started the pole of heat 3 beside Rod Sayre. Rod got the early lead and I went to the high side to make use of the cushion, but I got in pretty hard and got up on 2 wheels. When I came back down Robbie Evans passed me. We fought back to get 2nd but found out we had bent our lower right front control arm. Pill draw started us 6th in the feature and we moved into 3rd fairly early and was trying to race with the 2 leaders. I was trying multiple lines but I let the car get away from me off of turn 2 and I got sideways in front of the field. I just had to sit there and wait for the collision. This wreck knocked us out of the race and upon the first assessment I thought the old car was done for. But got it home and looked it over and I believe we are ok. Todd Lambiotte came over and got an early start on tearing it apart, then Coop, Brian Fox and myself got busy and got the car repaired and back together for this weekend! Our plans are to go to WV Motor Speedway on Wednesday night for $3,000 to win. Then Friday we will be at Skyline Speedway and Saturday at McCown’s Jackson County Speedway for the Dan Reno Memorial paying $2,222 to win. We hope to see you there!!!! This week, I want to give a shout out to my step son Shawn Blair. He is in the US Air Force and is transferring from Montana to Germany. He will be home with his wife Yana on July 3rd through the 11th. Kim is extremely excited to not only see Shawn, but to meet Yana in person. Looking for a good week with the family! Thanks again for all of your support!Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!K-Graphics, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Hypercoils, T&L Consulting, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Hall’s Auto Repair, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch, Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #12 Race #24 & #25

Update #12 Race #24 & #25
By: Kenny Johnson Date: 06-24-13

Friday we went to Skyline where they had 24 cars. We started 4th in our heat and passed for the win on the last lap. This put us on the pole of the feature and we went on to get win #10 and that made us 5 in a row at Skyline. Saturday we headed down to the Valley with Jason Canepari’s car which is for sale. Pill draw started us 3rd in the heat race and we got the heat win. Coop’s pill draw started us 6th in the feature. We passed our way to 3rd but first and 2nd had a half a straight a way lead on us and we needed a caution to see if we had a shot at them. But we never got a yellow, so we had to settle for 3rd. It was a good car and I think it’s a winning car. Maybe we will get another opportunity to run it to help try and sell it. If anyone is interested, get a hold of me at 304-615-2899.This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday for the Greg Schilling Memorial and Jackson County Speedway on Saturday for the Dan Reno Memorial. We hope to see you there!! This week, I want to give a shout out to the Greg Schilling Memorial Foundation! Greg was a fellow racer and a great friend who passed away too early from a battle with cancer. He was a great family man, who made me feel like part of his family. The Foundation that has been established by his siblings has made contributions to high school scholarships and also other families in need of funds for medical conditions and unfortunate circumstances. If you would like to donate, please contact me via e-mail at iamracing@yahoo.com for more details and we hope to see you at the 5th Annual Greg Schilling Memorial race this Friday at Skyline Speedway. Thanks again for all of your support! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! K-Graphics, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Hypercoils, T&L Consulting, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Hall’s Auto Repair, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch, Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

Thanks again for your support, 

KJ

Update #11 Race #22 & #23

Update #11Race #22 & #23
By: Kenny Johnson
Date: 06-17-13

Friday we went to Skyline & Coop is killing it on the pill draw this year. We started on the outside pole of heat #2 beside Booger Garnes (driving Nick Carr’s car) and we got the heat win. This started us on the outside pole beside JP Roberts. We battled JP for the first 2 or 3 laps until a caution came out. We got the lead and went green and had to battle some lap traffic until a caution with about 5 or 6 to go. We were able to hold on and get win #9. Saturday we went to Ohio Valley Speedway. Dustin Jarrett and his son Chase, along with his dad and Brother in law and his nephew Carson came down to watch some racing at the Valley. I asked Chase to draw my pill and he drew #11 to start us on the pole of heat #3. We went to the high side and got the heat win. At the Valley, the top 2 in each heat redraw for starting position, well Coop went and drew #1. We started on the pole beside Vince Conrad. Vince ran about ¾’s of the way up on the track and I was running the bottom. I could get up beside him, but he would pull back by with his momentum on the high side. I just didn’t have enough off the bottom. So I then decided to move up and follow him in hoping to dive in on the extreme high side. But Vince ran a line that did not allow me to get in. While doing this, Nick Corbitt was working the extreme low side and was working on passing us. So I went back to the bottom and still the same results with Vince. So I then tried to run the middle in hopes to get Vince to bobble, but he kept his line and managed to always pull ahead of us. But moving up to the middle allowed Nick to pass us and he was strong enough on the bottom to pass Vince. I continued to work on Vince, but never made the pass and we got a 3rd place finish. Disappointed with that and I’ll have to redeem myself when we go back this weekend.This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday and Ohio Valley on Saturday. We hope to see you there!! This week, I want to give a shout out to Carr Auto Glass. Jeremy Carr has been doing this for a few years now and has a great reputation for providing quality work and great sevice. You can go to him or he can come to you. Check out his web site for more information and contact info. www.athens-autoglass.com ! Tell him I sent ya!

Thanks again for all of your support! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! K-Graphics, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Hypercoils, T&L Consulting, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Hall’s Auto Repair, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch, Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

Thanks again for your support, 

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #10 Race #19, #20 & #21

KJ MotorsportsUpdate #10Race #19, #20 & #21

By: Kenny Johnson Date: 06-12-13

Friday (5/31) we went to Skyline, but Mother Nature had other plans and they had to cancel. Saturday (6/1) we went to I-77 Speedway where we had 4th fastest time and started outside pole of the heat. We took the lead, but our radiator mounts broke and the radiator fell back into the fan and destroyed the fan and radiator and we had to drop out. This would start us 16th in the feature and we managed to come to a 2nd place finish. Had a shot for the win, but I messed up coming to the white flag and drove it in too hard in turn 3 and choked. Although I should have been pleased with our 2nd place finish, I was kind of aggravated at myself for screwing up! Friday (6/7) we went back to Skyline Speedway & Coop drew us pill #16 to start us on the outside pole of heat #1 and we got the win. This started us on the pole of the feature and the track was slick and smooth. We took the early lead and never looked back. The car was really good in the slick and hope it continues. This made win #7. Saturday (6/8) we went to I-77 Speedway where we had 2nd fast time. We started on the pole of the heat beside Bruce Dennis. Bruce jumped out to the early lead and I was running hard to keep up with him and I spun out. I went to the tail and did come back to get a 3rd place finish to start us 6th in the feature. We passed our way to 2nd and worked on James Dennis for the lead. We got under James in 3 and 4 and James got his right rear in the slick and he spun out. It was building to be a good race. But once we got the lead we pulled away. But on the last lap coming off of turn 2 we broke a left rear axle and we limped it across the checkered to get win #8.This weekend brings us 4 nights of racing. We plan to be at Tyler County for a Renegades of Dirt show paying $1,200 to win, and we will be in Jason Canepari’s car that night. Friday we will be at Skyline, Saturday Ohio Valley Speedway and Sunday at West Virginia Motor Speedway for another Renegades of Dirt show. We hope to see you there! Friday morning we will be displaying our car at DERC (DuPont Employees Recreation Club) along with some other racers at Camp Crawdad. There will be several kids there and it should be a lot of fun! This week, I want to give a shout out to Kyle Jones & OVDTR.com. Kyle goes to all of the area race tracks and gives up his time to video the races and posts them on his web site. This is a lot of time and effort and if you have ever videoed before, you know he really don’t get to watch the races until he gets home and watches the tape. He will sell DVD’s of races, so contact him via his web site if you are interested! Thanks again for all of your support!Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! K-Graphics, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Hypercoils, T&L Consulting, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Hall’s Auto Repair, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch, Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

Thanks again for your support, 

KJ