Johnny Herrera stepped into unknown territory entering the 2015 season when he elected to be the sole owner of his sprint car team for the first time.
“Stepping out and trying to do this for the first time as the only owner, I think it was a successful season,” he said. “It was a building year and a learning year, but it was probably more gratifying than a lot of other seasons.”
Herrera finished the season with nine feature wins and 25 top-five finishes to go with a third-place finish in the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour championship standings. It marked his fifth consecutive season placing in the top four in the standings with the series.
“We were in the hunt all year and just had a couple of misfortunes, but woulda, coulda, shoulda,” he said. “At the end of the day if we’d run a little better here or there who knows what could have happened. Overall it was a good year. We didn’t win the championship, which is what our goal was, but we had a solid year.”
Herrera registered three victories with the ASCS National Tour, which was tied for the third most. Additionally, he posted 24 top 10s – also ranked third – in 30 features made.
Herrera added a half-dozen regional triumphs, including four with the ASCS Red River Region, one with the ASCS Warrior Region and, most importantly, one with the ASCS Southwest Region.
“Winning my dad’s memorial race was something big,” he said. “Being able to be there and come out on top, that was the most memorable win for me. All the wins were rewarding as a car owner, but that one was really special.”
Herrera’s final win of the season came during the Joe Herrera Memorial on Oct. 3 at Aztec Speedway in Aztec, N.M., with the ASCS Southwest Region. He led all 25 laps to score the emotional trip to Victory Lane.
Herrera had planned to wrap up his season last week during the 28th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., but Mother Nature intervened during the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event.
Herrera said he plans to kick off the 2016 season during the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz., Jan. 1-2, Jan. 5 and Jan. 8-9. He will then tackle a similar schedule as this year, including running with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
“I can’t thank all of my supporters and sponsors enough for their help,” he said. “We had a successful season together and I’m looking forward to guiding all of my sponsors, fans and family to Victory Lane a lot in 2016.”