Update #25 Race #40, #41 & #42

KJ Motorsports
Update #25
Race #40, #41 & #42

By Kenny Johnson
08 Sep 2010

Well, best grab a snack and a drink, for this may be a long one! Thursday we went to WVMS for a rain out race from back in May. We started 7th and made our way up to 3rd. But we were having an issue with the car smoking for we had sucked a valve cover gasket. You see, our engine is very tired and worn out and is way overdue for a freshen up. Because the rings are so worn it creates a lot of crankcase pressure and that pressure has to go somewhere. I was watching my gauges very close, so close that I missed my marks in turns 3 and 4 and was passed by Chris Stotts on the last lap, so we finished 4th. All in all I was pretty happy with the run.

Friday we went back to WVMS for $2,000 to win. 40 some cars showed up and we set 8th fastest time to start us outside pole of the 4th heat. Because the engine was a little sluggish I decided to put more gear in it. It did bring the car to life and we won the heat race. Started 4th in the feature and moved right into 3rd behind Jr. Nolan and Jared Landers. Jr. dropped out with overheating problems and Jared Landers was sent to the tail for spinning a lap car. This put us in the lead and surprisingly we went on to get win #16 for the year. I never would have thought we’d get a win against the competition that was there and to be honest, if Jr. or Jared would not have had bad luck, we probably would not have won. But we’ll take the win for sure!

After cleaning up the oil mess again on Saturday, we went back to WVMS. We set 10th fastest time and they inverted the top 4 in each heat. This put us right where we wanted to be on the outside pole. We started right beside car owner Jr. Nolan and we took it into turn 1 just a little deeper than he did and that got us the lead and we went on to get the heat win. This started us 3rd in the feature and the inside line was not the ideal place to be. We fell to 6th place before we got to the high side. Once on the high side we started getting the car going good and we passed for 5th and was reeling in 4th, when I had to pull off because the oil pressure was fluctuating from all of the blow by the engine has. I feel we could have gotten a top 5, but we still have races to run this year and I definitely did not want to hurt the engine.

Again had an oil mess to clean up and get things ready for the 100 lapper, $10,000 to win show at Tyler County. They had 60 some cars and was group qualifying. We sure had a tough group of cars with names like Bobby Kitchens, Rick Aukland, Dave McWilliams and Corey Conley. We were 4th fastest in our group, but we were all close. They inverted the top 4 and that put us starting on the pole. Now here is where I made a HUGE mistake. With the track being slick I used our Skyline mentality on tire choice and we went soft on tires. Well, that was totally wrong and it costs us big time, for we wound up finishing 5th in the heat race. Very big mistake! We started 7th in the consi and finished 5th. They were only taking the top 3, but we knew all along that we had a provisional for the high AMRA point man. So we got in the show started 23rd and at one point were in 7th. But we had changed 2 tires at different times along the way and wound up finishing 10th. All in all a respectable run and I was very pleased with the car and set up once we got the right tires on it. Along with the help of Cooper, I want to thank Louie Krushansky’s and Mike McPherson’s crew for their help during the feature. Coop could not have done it by himself.

All in all a pretty decent weekend, although it feels like it took a year or so off my life, for it was a very tiring weekend. This weekend Skyline is running on Saturday and this will be the last point s race and if all goes well, I think we will win the points championship at Skyline. Skyline will be our only race this weekend. So we hope to see you there! For those that read our newsletters, we are now searching for sponsorship for 2011. If you have a contact or know of a business that would be interested in advertising with our race team, please get a hold of me.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #24 Race #38 & #39

KJ Motorsports
Update #24
Race #38 & #39

By Kenny Johnson
30 Aug 2010

Friday we went to Skyline where they had 30 modifieds. Tim Cooper drew the #1 pill to start us on the pole of the first heat in which we won. Started on the pole of the feature and took the lead and never looked back to get win #14. Car felt really good and it made for a great night.

Saturday we went to the Valley to finally get in the Topless race and also the Faster Pastor race. Mark Houser (my pastor) drove Steve Brown’s car and started front row outside. Mark is the type to hold back and let others receive all the glory. So he finished 6th. That’s my reason he finished 6th, of course his daughter not letting him off the hook that easy. For she said she could have out ran him on foot. . . LOL But it was a fun night for all involved. For the topless race, they had 37 modifieds and we were 2nd fast time. Started on the pole of the heat and won it. Cooper drew us another great pill to start us on the pole of the feature. We took the lead and we had gotten pressure from Phil Jeffries, Ricky Venham & Jimmy Fordyce but were able to hold each of them off and get win #15 for the year. It was a really good night with church members being there to see our win and also some High Side Fans from Chillicothe, OH (The Caplinger Family and the Branscom’s) made the trip down rather than going to K-C Speedway. Having the fan support that we do, really means a lot. Just like the sponsors we have. . . I want to thank Jr. and Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports, Shaw Racecars, K-Graphics, Balderson Construction, Billy Lloyd Racing Engines, H&S Construction, T&L Consulting, Bill & Patty Welch, Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett, Wayne Cornell of WOC Designs, TNS Photos, Carl and Sharon Walker and of course Mom and Dad. It would be near impossible to race without the support of these people. Also need to thank Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson and Jason Canepari for the many hours they put in at the track and at the garage.

This is a huge racing weekend coming up. We will be at Mineral Wells for a make up race on Thursday where we start 7th. Then we are there Friday and Saturday for 2 complete shows paying $2,000 to win each. Sunday we go to Tyler County Speedway for 100 lap race paying $10,000 to win. If our wining streak or even just our running good streak can continue it will be a great weekend. So we hope to see you there! For those that read our newsletters, we are now searching for sponsorship for 2011. If you have a contact or know of a business that would be interested in advertising with our race team, please get a hold of me.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #23 Race #37

KJ Motorsports
Update #23
Race #37

By Kenny Johnson
22 Aug 2010

Friday, Skyline was back in action and we had 37 modifieds. Cooper is still doing great at drawing pills and drew a #9 which started us 2nd in the 3rd heat. We won the heat to start us 3rd in the feature. We took 2nd on the first lap and were pressuring the leader, when on the 2nd lap we got a right rear flat tire. That pretty much ruined a potentially good night. We got a DNF with an 18th place finish. The Caplinger family made their way down to watch us on a night that saw our feature hit the track near 1:00 am and then to see us run only 2 laps was disappointing I’m sure.

Saturday we went to K-C Speedway to get rained out just as we were turning into the track. WOW, Mother Nature sure does like messing with us.

This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday and Ohio Valley Speedway on Saturday for the Topless Race and the Faster Pastor Race. So we hope to see you there! For those that read our newsletters, we are now searching for sponsorship for 2011. If you have a contact or know of a business that would be interested in advertising with our race team, please get a hold of me.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #22 Race #36

KJ Motorsports
Update #22
Race #36

By Kenny Johnson
16 Aug 2010

Friday we went to Beckley for a Road Warrior Tour race paying $1,000 to win. Unfortunately they only had 14 cars, but they were 14 strong cars. We set fast time with a 14.94 and started on the pole of the heat beside Brett Hamilton. Brett and I ran door to door for one entire lap before I hit the brakes too hard and killed the engine entering turn 1. When the engine quit, it immediately turned me sideways and I spun out. Total mistake on my part and it costs us as you’ll see. We went to the tail and were able to make it back to 4th. This started us 7th in the feature, but on the 1st lap 2 cars almost spun in front of me, but we all saved it and kept going. The only problem was that we were now last and had to fight our way back with no cautions. We only made it back to 7th. I was disappointed in our finish and disappointed that I cost us a good run by spinning out in the heat race. I guess we haven’t had too many nights like this one, so I should consider ourselves fortunate. But I don’t, it still bugs me!

Saturday we went to the Valley for the Topless race paying $1,200 to win and also the Faster Pastor race, in which my Pastor from Lubeck Community Baptist Church was participating. But Mother Nature thought better of us getting to race. All we got to do is hot lap and get our cars muddy. They have rescheduled this race for Aug. 28th. Also want to say thanks for some High side Fans from KC coming down to watch, the Caplinger families and Bubba Branscom and his brothers. Hope they can make it back down on the 28th!

This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday and KC on Saturday. So we hope to see you there! Also want to give a shout out to Wayne Cornell “WOC Designs” for maintaining and keeping our web site up to date! For those that read the updates, drop a note on our guestbook.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #21 Race #34 & #35

KJ Motorsports
Update #21
Race #34 & #35

By Kenny Johnson
09 Aug 2010

Friday we went to Beckley for $1,000 to win. They had 18 cars and we set fast time and a new track record of 14.65. We started on the pole of the heat race and won the heat to start us on the pole of the feature. We managed to beat Todd Robinson into the 1st turn and led every lap to pick up the $1,000 and our 13th feature win. It was a good night.

Saturday we headed over to Brushcreek where they had 51 cars. We had an issue while qualifying in that our radiator cap came off and we lost most of our water. So I did not get a completed lap. We were 7th quick in our group. We finished 6th in our heat to start us 4th in the consi. They were only taking the top 4 to the feature. We fell back to 5th and I put it to the high side and of course slammed the wall bending up our decking and stuff, but we made it back to 4th and made the show. Started 24th in the feature and made our way to 14th until having to pull out with a DNF due to the engine overheating. Happy to make the feature, but sure would have liked to start the night off better. I want to thank Tom and Pam Lemon and their sons for all of the help and this weekend we’ll see T&L Consulting on the side of the car. I also want to give a shout out to TNS Photos out of Chillicothe. Check them out at www.tnsphoto.net

This weekend we go back to Beckley for a Road Warrior Tour race and then back to Ohio Valley for the Topless Race paying $1,200 to win. So we hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ