From Richie Murray
(September 2, 2025) — The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship’s annual late season trip to California’s Merced Speedway will honor racer Chase Johnson on Saturday night, November 22, 2025.
The Chase Johnson Classic will present USAC National Midget and 360 Winged Sprint Car racing in a one-night doubleheader on the high banked 1/4-mile dirt oval. If needed, the makeup date for the event will be held on Sunday, November 23.
Tickets are now on sale for the event at http://www.mercedspeedway.net/.
Penngrove, California’s Johnson is a past wing sprint car champion and is a multi-time winner across USAC’s CRA Sprint Car, West Coast Sprint Car and Western States Midget series. However, in August 2024, Johnson suffered injuries that resulted in him becoming a quadriplegic following a racing accident at California’s Silver Dollar Speedway. Chase is still fighting everyday with intensive therapy to recover from his injuries.
It’s now been one year since Johnson’s accident, and with the support of Merced Speedway promoter, Doug Lockwood, the inaugural race bearing his name is set commence this Fall.
“It means a lot,” Johnson said. “I never would’ve thought I’d have a race named after me. It just goes to show how awesome the racing community is with their the outpouring of love and support that’s still happening a year later.”
Johnson and Lockwood have known each other for a long time, and Johnson is honored himself to be able to work alongside Lockwood on this venture at a track that he ranks among his absolute favorites.
“Getting to work on this project is very cool,” Johnson stated. “Merced is a top notch facility, and having the midgets and sprint cars there, I feel like it’s a great fit. Something with multiple divisions showing the versatile racer that I am and was is important to me. I wouldn’t really want it to be a race specific to one or the other. I think it’s definitely more fitting that it involves multiple disciplines that I’ve raced.”
Lockwood has a picture taken several years ago of Chase and himself chatting on the back of a USAC truck at Santa Maria Speedway. For Lockwood, the picture is personally special, and as Lockwood explained, Johnson has always been one who he could always count on to conduct himself professionally, do things the right way and help out the sport in any way he could.
“Chase has always been someone who I’ve texted when I’ve had ideas or if I needed someone to show up and do a display or anything like that,” Lockwood noted. “He and his brother (Colby Johnson) were always the first ones to be there or who I’d talk to. I knew it was coming up on one year since his accident, so I texted him about a week ago and told him I’d really like to do this. He was all on board with it from the very beginning. It just means a lot to me to be able to do something with him and honor him. I can’t wait to have him at the track and work through this project together after everything he’s gone through and to honor the racer he is and was.”
Johnson holds Merced Speedway in high regard, making it a natural fit for the Chase Johnson Classic. In fact, Johnson won both a USAC Western States Midget and USAC West Coast Sprint Car feature event at Merced in 2021. He also holds the one-lap USAC West Coast Sprint Car track record at Merced.
“Doug and Merced Speedway do a phenomenal job of making every race spectacular,” Johnson praised. “They knock it out of the ballpark with track prep and you can go across the pit area and everyone there will tell you that it’s one of their favorite races of the year. We hope to make it an event, not just another race, with some special things going on throughout the night and also make it special for the racers as well.”
For anyone who is interested in being a part of the event, please contact Chase Johnson at ChaseJohnsonRacing@yahoo.com.
More details on the event will be made shortly at www.usacracing.com and www.mercedspeedway.net.