9/21/2020
Inside Line Promotions
Kaleb Johnson Charges from Last to Top-10 Finish at Power Series Nationals
(Photo by Rob Kocak Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (Sept. 21, 2020) – Kaleb Johnson charged from the 24th starting position to score a top-10 finish at Huset’s Speedway last Saturday during the final night of the DeKalb/Asgrow Power Series Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores.
“Our weekend went okay,” said Johnson, who rallied back from a crash at the event the previous night. “There were a lot of good cars. Friday was disappointing. We wanted to make the A Main on the final night. We did that and then we passed a lot of cars, so we were pretty happy with the way we finished the weekend.”
Johnson’s evening didn’t get off to the start he hoped for when he qualified 16th out of 24 cars in his group during the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and the Midwest Power Series event on Saturday.
“The car didn’t feel right in hot laps and we didn’t have a lot of time to change things before time trials,” he said. “But the track was pretty greasy so I didn’t really know what to change. I ended up spinning the tires most of the way around the track during qualifying.”
Johnson’s qualifying time slotted him in the eighth starting position in his heat race with the top five advancing to the A Main.
“The track was still pretty heavy for the heat race so we felt pretty good about moving forward a couple of spots to finish sixth,” he said. “We missed the transfer for the A Main by one position, but it gave us a good starting spot for the B Main. We started and finished fourth in the B Main and that got us the last starting position in the A Main.”
Johnson was able to advance early in the night’s main event until a miscue reset his race.
“My primary concern was not getting lapped early in the race because I was starting 24th on a short track where the leader has a long head start,” he said. “I was able to pass a few cars early, but then I missed the bottom around Lap 9 and spun out and had to restart at the back again. But after that I was able to make the top work and got by quite a few cars. It was a lot of fun and I was happy to finish 10th after restarting last.”
Friday evening began better than Saturday for Johnson, but the upside was short-lived. After qualifying 10th quickest in his group, Johnson’s night ended early on the first lap of his heat race.
“I was running the top in turns three and four and Tim Kaeding was on the bottom,” he said. “I think he hit a slimy spot coming out of four and it pushed his car up the track. He left me enough room, but I got over the cushion and into the wall pretty hard. It broke the rear end and about every bolt-on part in that area of the car. I was fortunate that it didn’t flip. We probably could’ve fixed it, but we didn’t feel it was worth it to start last in the C Main.”
Last weekend marked the end of the 2020 racing season for Johnson.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 18 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 10; Heat race: DNF (5); C Main: DNS (-).
Sept. 19 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 16; Heat race: 6 (8); B Main: 4 (4); Feature: 10 (24).
SEASON STATS –
19 races, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 8 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 14 top 20s
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalebJohnsonRacing22
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – GRP Motorsports
GRP Motorsports, owned and managed by Greg Parent, supports and sponsors cars, drivers and auto racing events throughout the Upper Midwest.
“Greg is a huge supporter of racing and I feel very fortunate to have his name on our cars again this year,” Johnson said. “We appreciate what he does for racing and especially for the support he gives us.”
Johnson would also like to thank Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Oddson Underground, JF Capital, Snyder Tree Service, State Bank of Fairmont, Sea Foam, Schaeffer’s Oil, Hepfner Racing Products, DeBerg Concrete, Big Al’s Diecasts, The Ron Weber Team, DeBerg Flooring, Guaranteed Rate – Mike Brudigan Home Loans, Dave’s Lawn Care & Landscaping, Triple M Trucking, Last Deck and Marthaler Dodge for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
