Update #2 Season Opener At Hilltop Speedway

KJ Motorsports
Update #2
Season Opener At Hilltop Speedway

By Kenny Johnson
29 Mar 2011

No, not that Hilltop Speedway. The Hilltop Speedway that is in Millersburg, OH. We haven’t raced there in a couple of years, but the times we did, we were competitive. We have our brand new Larry Shaw modified, Outlaw Race Parts, Coughlin cars.com, GP&S ready to go for the 2011 season. We are anxious to get on the track and see if we can better our season from last year. The schedule is not complete, for not all tracks have their schedules out yet. But I tried to put one together based on some money races within a 2 to 3 hour tow. I’d like us to be able to step up at some of these money shows. For it will get us better exposure along with getting our sponsors seen more. So keep checking back in on the tour tab and try to schedule some races that you normally wouldn’t go to so that you can root us on.

I want to thank, Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson, Jason Canepari and Todd Lambiotte for their help this winter. These guys get no compensation and just do it for the love of the sport! Thanks a lot! Also need to thank Jake Cooper and K-Graphics for the color scheme this year.

I’m hoping to have a real good newsletter next week, so keep checking in weekly from here on out to see what I might have to update you with.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #1 Getting Things Ready For 2011!

KJ Motorsports
Update #1
Getting Things Ready For 2011!

By Kenny Johnson
02 Feb 2011

Date: 2-2-11 Well up till this past weekend, it’s been kind of a slow off season. Back in December, Tim and I went to Batesville, Arkansas to Larry Shaw Racecars to pick up our new chassis that we won from Skyline Speedway for winning the track points. We did some of our own modifications and Dad and Carl Walker took it over to Hardrock Powder Coating. We picked it up Friday and it was nice and shiny black. We worked on it all weekend and it is starting to take shape. Hopefully in a few weeks it’ll look like a racecar.

 With the help of Steve Leist at TNS Photos, we generated a portfolio to help obtain sponsorship for the 2011 season. We sent out many requests and received back many NO’s. But if you don’t ask, you don’t know. But we did get some new sponsors along with keeping some old ones. So to date, here is who will be supporting KJ Motorsports in 2011:

 • K-Graphics – Keith Emrick – 304-428-2685

• Outlaw Race Parts – www.outlawraceparts.com – 800-393-9951 - Ask for Doug

• Coughlin Automotive – www.coughlincars.com – Serving Central Ohio

• T&L Consulting – Tom & Pam Lemon – 304-588-4366

• TNS Photos – www.tnsphoto.net – Steve & Tasha Leist

• Wrisco Aluminum – www.wrisco.com – Russ Gray

• GP&S (Gaskets, Packing & Seals) - www.sealsolutions.com – 304-422-3880

• Larry Shaw Racecars – www.larryshaw.com – Kevin Shaw – 870-251-2966

• RAD – Race Against Drugs - www.ncprs.org – Jenni Cook – 386-760-2254

• H&S Construction – Joe Schilling – 740-984-0203

• AdverTax – www.advertax.com – Steve Leist – 740-775-2829

• Balderson Construction – Steve Balderson – 304-481-2484

• Lubeck Community Baptist Church – www.lcbc-wv.org – Join me every Sunday

• WOC Designs – Wayne Cornell – Designed and Maintains our web site

 I want to thank Dad & Mom, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch (compliments of Phil Welch), Tony & Bubba Branscom for their support throughout the season. Also the guys at the shop, whether they are full time or part time help, their help is always needed and appreciated; Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson, Jason Canepari and Brian Dennewitz.

This year we will have T-Shirts for sale. We have been getting requests for a few years now and thanks to T&L Consulting, we will be selling them. I’ll keep you all updated as to when they are ordered and when they arrive. I will also be working with T&L Consulting with a new idea I had for 2011. We will have a “KJ’s Highside Fan Club” and a “KJ’s Highside Kids Club”. As we get the details worked out I will pass on the info. and will have a tab added on the web page.

Other news in which some were aware of and others may not have been is Kim and I got married on 1-1-11. Ironic that the date some how relates to my racecar number. Which wasn’t intended to work out that way, but it did. I have been blessed with a great wife and great kids.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #30 Race #48

KJ Motorsports
Update #30
Race #48

By Kenny Johnson
10 Oct 2010

Went to K-C Speedway on Saturday night for what would be our last race of the season for KJ Motorsports in the 2 Brothers Shaw modified. There were 54 cars signed in and we group qualified. We were in the 5th group and we set fast time in our group and 6th fastest time overall. Of course our time might have been a little better if I would not have tried to knock the wall down in turn 3. But that’s just the way I roll at K-C. . . LOL So we started on the pole of the heat along side Kevin Morehouse, whom has won 25 features this year. On the initial start we took the lead, but a yellow would come out and we had a 2nd double file start and this time Kevin got the lead. He went to the high side and we pressured the entire race. Prior to taking the white flag I dove to the bottom of 3 and 4 to try and sucker him down. When we entered 3 and 4 for the checkered he dove to the bottom to take my line and it was set up perfectly. I charged to the high side and our front bumper was up to his right front wheel at the line. Darn good race; just came up short. Finishing 2nd place would start us 11th in the feature. The car was really good in the feature, we came from 11th to 6th in 10 laps and was working on 5th when he spun out in front of us in turn 1 and we had no where to go. We wound up getting a right front flat and the rules for the night would not allow us to change it. So I had higher expectations for our last race. But all in all, the season was a huge success. We won the Skyline Points Championship, we won the AMRA National Points Championship and we finished 3rd in the AMRA Road Warrior Tour Points Championship and 17 feature wins and 24 heat race wins.

First off I want to thank Tim Cooper for all of the help he has provided all season long. Tim spends a lot of hours in the garage and all his weekends at the races with me. He is a big reason for the success we had this year! Also want to that Chad Nelson and Jason Canepari for their help and Dad and Mom. I want to thank Jr. and Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports and Shaw Racecars for allowing us to race what has been a great racecar. Sponsors that have helped this year is K-Graphics, Balderson Construction, T&L Consulting, H&S Construction, Hammett Trucking and 2 sponsors we have picked up for the 2011 season is Outlaw Race Parts (www.outlawraceparts.com) and TNS Photos (www.tnsphoto.net). I want to welcome them to our team. I also can’t forget all of the “Highside Fans” that have followed us to numerous tracks. Many of them has left their home track to come and watch us race at another track. They all mean a lot to me and I appreciate all of them. Of course I can’t leave out Kim, for she doesn’t get to go to all of the races and there are many evenings thru the week that she is already in bed when I get in from the garage and she has yet to complain. We are actively looking for sponsorship for the 2011 season. If any of you know of anyone interested in helping our race team, please let me know and I can set up a meeting with them.

I plan to go to West Virginia Motor Speedway this weekend in hopes that someone may ask me to drive. If not, I’ll be spectating. If any other news comes up, I’ll send out a new update! Thanks to all for a great season!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Update #29 Race #47

KJ Motorsports
Update #29
Race #47

By Kenny Johnson
03 Oct 2010

Well, I think we made one of the best decisions Saturday and for me and the decision we made, it was pretty unusual. We planned to go to K-C Saturday night and we even planned to leave early. But after talking with several “High Side Fans” from Chillicothe, I thought I should just wait it out. So I sat at Coopers all afternoon, watching college football and the Nationwide race and of course the weather radar. It kept getting later and later and it would take us an hour and 40 minutes to get there. But in watching the radar, we knew the rain was going to be hitting there soon. We finally got the call around 5:30 and the rain started. The Valley was paying $1,000 to win and we thought there might be a chance they could beat the rain, so we headed that way. Just as we pulled in, I got the call that K-C cancelled. We missed the pill draw so we had to start 9th in the 3rd heat. We managed to work our way thru the field and we won the heat. On the pill draw, Cooper got us a 3rd place starting position. When they threw the green we got held up a bit and fell to 5th before we got off of turn 2. But in just a few laps we moved into 2nd and were racing Kenny Riddle for the lead. Riddle was running the low side and we were on the top. A caution came out and that brought us to a restart. When Riddle got into turn 1 on the bottom and hit his brakes too hard and killed his engine (which I have done before). So we now inherited the lead and went on to get the win and it was win #17. I was pretty excited, not only for the win, but the fact that we made a really good decision and beat Mother Nature!

We plan to race this car one more time and that will be this Saturday at K-C Speedway for $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

Update #28 Race #46

KJ Motorsports
Update #28
Race #46

By Kenny Johnson
26 Sep 2010

Saturday we went to a jammed packed Ohio Valley Speedway. There was no qualifying and Cooper wasn’t there to draw our pill. When I went up to draw, Josh Davis’s (sprint car driver) son (about 1 ½ years old) drew me a #27 to start us 6th in the first heat. We managed to get the win in which we had to do another pill draw for our feature starting position. I made sure Cooper did the pill draw and he has been absolutely awesome on pill draws. We started on the pole of the feature. We took the early lead on the low side and then we moved to the top. The top was kind of a fine line. When I hit it right, it was fast, when I hit it wrong it allowed others to gain on us. I felt like we had a win wrapped up, but the radiator cap came loose and we had to pull off. Just kind of dumb luck and with the year we have had I guess we can’t complain too much.

This Saturday we plan to go to K-C Speedway for a Road Warrior Tour race paying $1,200 to win. So we hope to see you there!

Keep Kim in your thoughts and prayers, for she had surgery this past Friday and will have a few weeks of recovery.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ