From David Smith Jr.
– Park City, Kansas – April 28, 2012 – Two-time and defending series champion C.J. Johnson of Quinter, Kansas started on the pole and was never seriously challenged and he wired the rest of the twenty car field to win his first National Championship Racing Association of Park City, Kansas sprint car feature Saturday night at 81 Speedway in Park City.
Johnson, aboard the #45x JSE Racing Products/Pizza Hut/Quinter Auto Parts/Martin Farms sponsored ASI engine powered JE racing chassis sprinter, out ran outside front row starter Mike Peters into turn one and quickly set sail on the rest of the field to start the twenty-five lap feature. Ty Williams, making his first series appearance on the season, followed in third with Jason Martin and Jeremy Campbell giving chase.
But Johnson would open up a half stretch lead by lap two while running the low side of the track.
The first caution of the feature finale fell on lap six when Brodix rookie of the year contender Wyatt Burks came to a stop at the top of turn two.
Johnson once again throttled away from the rest of the field on the restart and quickly opened a half stretch lead while Peters, Campbell and Martin battled for the runner up position.
Campbell would get by Peters for the runner up position on lap fifteen before the next caution slowed the pace one lap later when Patrick Stasa spun to a stop in turn two.
The restart saw Martin power by Peters on the high side in turns one and two to take over the third position and gave chase to Campbell as Johnson once again motored away from the field.
Three more cautions would be shown in the next five completed laps before Martin looked to make his move into the runner up position on lap twenty-one and briefly did so by getting by the Campbell sprinters. But before that lap was completed the final caution of the night fell when the front end of Taylor Milton’s #97x collapsed to end his night.
On the final restart there was no catching Johnson as he led the final four laps unchallenged to score his 13th career series victory and an early momentum compared to last year’s championship run.
“The car was setup for the bottom and that is where we were committed,” said Johnson in victory lane. “Starting on the pole was the key and I kept watching to see if the bottom would go away but it never did. This gives us early momentum, something we didn’t have last year.”
Campbell crossed the line second ahead of Martin, Peters and Williams.
Perhaps one of the most exciting moments for the large crowd that gathered at the speedway happened in both twelve lap “B” features.
Haley Arnold, the young lady from Sedalia, Missouri started third in the first “B” feature and was the only driver up front to make the top side of the three-eighths mile to work and made her way to the front in taking home the victory. Her sister, Miranda, looked to make it a sister sweep of the “B’s” but settled for a strong runner up finish. Both ladies transferred to their first career NCRA sprint car “A” feature greeted with a standing ovation.
A.J. Selenke and Burks took the final two transfer positions in the first “B” feature while Ryan Roberts captured the victory in the second “B” feature with Cody Forshee grabbing the final transfer spot.
The next stop for the NCRA sprint car series will take place on Friday of Memorial Day weekend, May 25th, during the second annual “Sprint Car Mania” at RPM Speedway in Hays, Kansas.
The series would like to take this time to thank their sprint car division partners and sponsors for the 2012 race season:
Park City, Kansas, Hoosier Racing Tires, Sunoco Race Fuels, Vertex Magnetos, Rod End Supply, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, The Joie of Seating, Ultra Shield, Hooker Harness, Precise Racing Products, Taylor Cable Products, XXX Racing Chassis, Super Shox, Competition Suspension, JE Racing
NCRA 360 Sprints
4/28/2012
81 Speedway/Park City, Kansas
30 Cars
1st Heat: 1) 8w Jordan Whitehead (Andover, Ks), 2) 85e Luke Cranston (Plains, Ks), 3) Taylor Milton 97x (Fargo, Ok), 4) 2j Zach Blurton (Jetmore, Ks), 5) 99 Cody Forshee (Wichita, Ks), 6) 18 Ryan Roberts (Aurora, Ne), 7) 33 Kris Miller (Woodward, Ok), 8) 81 Jon Freeman (Salina, Ks)
2nd Heat: 1) 45x CJ Johnson (Quinter, Ks), 2) 85 Forest Sutherland (Cherryvale, KS), 3) 91 Jeff Stasa (Kingman, Ks), 4) 19 Patrick Stasa (Fort Worth, Tx), 5) 5m Miranda Arnold (Sedalia, Mo), 6) 6 Haley Arnold (Sedalia, Mo), 7) 97 Brian Herbert (Dodge City, Ks), 8) 21x Taylor Velasquez (Turpin, Ok)
3rd Heat: 1) 36 Jason Martin (Liberal, Ks), 2) 10c Jeremy Campbell (Wichita, Ks), 3) 48 Jake Martens (Fairview, Ok), 4) 43 A.J. Selenke (Wichita, Ks), 5) 04 Brad Graham (Springfield, Mo), 6) 21 Marc Robe ( , Ks), 7) 17 Corey Moore (Wichita, Ks)
4th Heat: 1) 51 Mike Peters (Wichita, Ks), 2) 1 Ty Williams (Liberal, Ks), 3) 81au Gavin Punch (Collinsville, Ok), 4) 11w Wyatt Burks (Topeka, Ks), 5) 35 Barry Gifford (Ponca City, Ok), 6) 16k Kaden Taylor (Ponca City, Ok), 7) 4 Jordan Weaver (Woodward, Ok)
1st “B” Feature: 1) 6 Haley Arnold (Sedalia, Mo), 2) 43 A.J. Selenke (Wichita, Ks), 3) 11w Wyatt Burks (Topeka, Ks), 4) 04 Brad Graham (Springfield, Mo) 5) 81 Jon Freeman (Salina, Ks), 6) 21 Marc Robe ( , Ks), 7) 17 Corey Moore (Wichita, Ks), 8) 33 Kris Miller (Woodward, Ok)
2nd “B” Feature: 1) 18 Ryan Roberts (Aurora, Ne), 2) 5m Miranda Arnold (Sedalia, Mo), 3) 99 Cody Forshee (Wichita, Ks), 4) 16k Kaden Taylor (Ponca City, Ok), 5) 35 Barry Gifford (Ponca City, Ok), 6) 97 Brian Herbert (Dodge City, Ks), 7) 4 Jordan Weaver (Woodward, Ok), 8) 21x Taylor Velasquez (Turpin, Ok)
A Feature: 1) 45x CJ Johnson (1) (Quinter, Ks), 2) 10c Jeremy Campbell (9) (Wichita, Ks), 3) 36 Jason Martin (5) (Liberal, Ks), 4) 51 Mike Peters (2) (Wichita, Ks), 5) 1 Ty Williams (3) (Liberal, Ks), 6) 91 Jeff Stasa (12) (Kingman, Ks), 7) 81au Gavin Punch (10) (Collinsville, Ok), 8) 48 Jake Martens (6) (Fairview, Ok), 9) e85 Luke Cranston (7) (Plains, Ks), 10) 18 Ryan Roberts (16) (Aurora, Ne), 11) 99 Cody Forshee (20) (Wichita, Ks), 12) 8w Jordan Whitehead (4) (Andover, Ks), 13) 6 Haley Arnold (15) (Sedalia, Mo), 14) 97x Taylor Milton (11) (Fargo, Ok), 15) 85 Forest Sutherland (8) (Cherryvale, KS), 16) 5m Miranda Arnold (18) (Sedalia, Mo), 17) 43 A.J. Selenke (17) (Wichita, Ks), 18) 19 Patrick Stasa (14) (Fort Worth, Tx), 19) 2j Zach Blurton (13) (Jetmore, Ks), 20) 11w Wyatt Burks (19) (Topeka, Ks)