By Lonnie Wheatley
PEORIA, Ariz. (June 11, 2011) – R.J. Johnson made it two Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region wins in a row by taking top honors in Saturday night’s Inaugural Summer Sizzle 30-lap main event at Canyon Speedway Park.
Leading all 30 circuits to take his third ASCS Canyon win of the year and 11th of his career, Johnson also put a stop to Jeremy Sherman’s CSP perfection in 2011. Sherman, who had topped all three previous events at CSP this year, was fourth.
While Johnson officially led all the way aboard Bobby Martin’s Pro Flyer-powered Weiler Farms/Pecon Builders No. 51 Maxim, Charles Davis, Jr., did slip by once in the late going only to have the move nullified by a caution flag.
Johnson went on to win over two-time and defending series champion Davis, Jr., who climbed from the tenth position to claim runner-up honors. Josh Pelkey claimed the show position, with current points leader Sherman racing from 11th to fourth.
Mike Spencer rounded out the top five, with 17th-starter Mike Martin, Joshua Hodges, 20th-starter Bruce St. James, Ryan Linder and Thomas Ogle completing the top ten.
Hodges, Linder and Bob Ream, Jr., won heat races, with Martin winning the “B” Main.
Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region Results from Canyon Speedway Park:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 2. 21-Jeremy Sherman, 3. 20-Shon Deskins, 4. 12-Josh Pelkey, 5. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 6. 32b-Brian Hosford, 7. 93-Justin Quinn, 8. 23-Josh Castro, 9. 77-Dalten Gabbard.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 9-Ryan Linder, 2. 6-Ronnie Clark, 3. 62-Nathan High, 4. 51-R.J. Johnson, 5. 68-Bryan Swinehart, 6. 99-James Aragon, 7. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 8. 5x-Jody Wirth.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 2. 7-Mike Spencer, 3. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 48T-Thomas Ogle, 5. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 6. 1x-J.T. Imperial, 7. 16-Mike Martin, 8. 7k-Bruce St. James.
“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 16-Mike Martin, 2. 93-Justin Quinn, 3. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 4. 7k-Bruce St. James, 5. 99-James Aragon, 6. 23-Josh Castro, 7. 5x-Jody Wirth, 8. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 9. 1x-J.T. Imperial.
“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 51-R.J. Johnson, 2. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 3. 12-Josh Pelkey, 4. 21-Jeremy Sherman, 5. 7-Mike Spencer, 6. 16-Mike Martin, 7. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 8. 7k-Bruce St. James, 9. 9-Ryan Linder, 10. 48T-Thomas Ogle, 11. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 12. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 13. 62-Nathan High, 14. 20-Shon Deskins, 15. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 16. 6-Ronnie Clark, 17. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 18. 68-Bryan Swinehart, 19. 93-Justin Quinn, 20. 32b-Brian Hosford.
Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jeremy Sherman 1,279, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. 1,181, 3. R.J. Johnson 1,136, 4. Josh Pelkey 1,075, 5. Ronnie Clark 1,016, 6. Andrew Reinbold 1,007, 7. Bruce St. James 974, 8. Dalten Gabbard 956, 9. Matt Rossi 907, 10. Mike Martin 898.