Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (May 17, 2022) – Kaleb Johnson recorded back-to-back top fives on Saturday night before posting his career-best 410ci winged sprint car result on Sunday.
Johnson opened the busy weekend at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where he kicked off the competition on Saturday by qualifying fourth quickest before charging from fifth to win a heat race.
“Unfortunately, we dealt with overheating problems in both features,” he said. “The speed was there and that’s the main thing. If we didn’t have to deal with that issue we could have had a little better outcome. I feel we’re rolling around there pretty well right now.”
Johnson finished where he started – fifth – in the conclusion to Saturday’s program. The night ended with a fifth-place result in a make-up feature.
“In the second feature I led for five or six laps and then ran second for four or five laps and then I faded to fifth as the overheating got worse,” he said. “It was a bit disappointing, but still a positive to get two top fives.”
The team ventured to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday. Johnson timed in third quickest and he ended fourth in a heat race to garner enough points to advance into the feature redraw.
“I think I shocked everybody including myself when we timed in third quick,” he said. “The car was really stable in qualifying and I put down two good laps. And the heat race went well. I ran third most of it. There was a restart with two or three laps to go. I made a mistake and ended up getting passed by two cars. On the last lap I was able to squeeze by someone coming to the checkered to get back to where I started.”
Johnson pulled the No. 5 during the feature redraw to line up on the inside of the third row for the main event.
“I found myself in the middle on the start and let about four people get by me,” he said. “I passed one car and then the rubber came in. Even though I went backwards I thought it was a pretty good night.”
The eighth-place result was his first career top 10 in a 410 sprint car.
Johnson plans to run a three-race weekend beginning on Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Midwest Power Series. Saturday features action at Knoxville Raceway and Sunday will showcase a return to Huset’s Speedway.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 14 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (5); Feature: 5 (5); Make-up Feature: 5 (3).
May 15 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 4 (4); Feature: 8 (5).
SEASON STATS –
8 races, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 4 top 10s, 7 top 15s, 8 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Midwest Power Series; Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa; and Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.kalebjohnsonracing.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kaleb___
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Specialized Caulking Sealants
Specialized Caulking Sealants is a full-service company focusing on joint sealants, waterproofing/air barrier and fire stopping covering South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and other states. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/
“I got to know Jason Dibbern, who owns Specialized Caulking Sealants, through my job,” Johnson said. “He’s been a big race fan and started helping us last year. We appreciate his continued support.”
Johnson would also like to thank Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Oddson Underground, Inc., JF Capital, Cressman Sanitation, GRP Motorsports, Innovative Design/Sletten Properties, State Bank of Fairmont, Sea Foam, Guaranteed Rate-Mike Brudigan Home Loans, David Kramer Drywall, Snyder Tree Service, The Ron Weber Team, AB Custom Construction, Big Al’s Diecast, HRP Wings, Dave’s Lawn Care & Landscaping, Triple M Trucking, Last Deck, Howe Motorsports and Moyle Racing Engines 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.
*PHOTO BY TYLAN PORATH PHOTOGRAPHY* 