Saturday, 6/13, Ohio Valley: We struggled a bit in the heat race and finished 3rd. Made a small change for the feature and started 5th and came up to 2nd. Louie’s car was on 3 wheel brakes and it got me. I had hit the brakes a little too hard and almost spun the car out. This cost us 3 positions and we finished another 5th.

Saturday, 6/20, Ohio Valley: We started 6th in the heat and came up to finish a close 2nd to Jimmy Fordyce. Did the pill redraw and drew outside pole. We tried 3 times to get a lap in, but finally had to go to single file. Jason Brookover led every lap and we finished a close 2nd.

Friday, 6/26, Skyline: Jake drew our pill this week and it’s a good thing I like him or he’d be fired. We started 8th in our heat race. Rain had hit prior to hot laps and the track was real racy. We were able to come up through the pack and win the heat. This started us on the outside pole. Ran 2nd to Jeremy Berwanger for a good while, then Jeremy Blake passed us. We finished 3rd for a respectable night.

Saturday, 6/27, Ohio Valley: Started 4th in the heat race and was working on the leader, but the car just wouldn’t come off the corner very strong and we fell back to finish 3rd. started 6th in the feature, but the outside pole sitter could not make the start. So this moved us up to 4th, then on the first start the outside pole sitter gets taken out before the first lap. So now we are starting outside pole. We take the early lead and we lead 18 of the 20 laps. Unfortunately I choked and cost us a win. I was aggravated at myself for throwing a win away.

This Friday is a race that I have been waiting for all year and hope that you can make it. It is the Greg schilling Memorial race at Skyline Speedway. We also plan to go to Tyler County for the Dickson classic on Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday (5/23) we went to Ohio Valley and started 5th in our heat and finished 2nd. We did the pill redraw and we would start 4th. The car was good in the feature except I didn’t have any rear brakes. So we finished 3rd and I didn’t destroy the car.

Sunday (5/24) we changed rotors and pads and went to Tyler Co. for $3,000 to win. They had 49 cars and we set 6th fastest time. They inverted the top 4 in each heat and we started 4th in the 6th heat. We actually took the lead going down the back chute entering turn 3, but the rear brakes were not working again. We managed to hold on to 3rd place. We found that we had boiled the fluid the night before, so we changed the fluid and started 2nd in the consi. We won the consi to start us 15th in the feature. We ran around that position for 8 or 10 laps and I did not feel we were going to come up thru the pack, so I elected to bring the car to the infield.

The following Saturday (5/29) we went to KC for $1,000 to win. We started 3rd in our heat and finished 2nd. This started us 5th in the feature and we worked our way to 3rd. We were running with the top 2 but I scraped the front chute wall and flattened my right front tire, which then put me into turn 1 wall. Not great results but had a decent car.

At this time, I have elected to give the car back to Hassy Chassis. Tod has been extremely supportive the past 3 years. The word has gotten out that I will not be driving and already have a couple of options. For immediate racing I will be in the Team #23 back up car. Louie, Pam, Ray and Barney have become great friends of our team and once they heard, they got on the phone to offer up a ride. So we won’t be out this weekend, but should be out next weekend. I’ll post later where we will be.

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to K-C for all of the other tracks rained out. We made it to K-C and hot lapped and then the rain came and made things a muddy mess. The promoter waited the shower out and then began to run the track in. Some racers including myself went out to help the effort but it was all for not. I thought since he waited it out that he was committed to getting it in so I took our car out and got it terribly muddy just for him to give up. Next time I’ll wait in the trailer. But I need to thank Tim and Jake Cooper for coming out and washing the car. I’m certain they’ll be speaking up the next time I get the idea to go help run in the track. LOL

This weekend we plan on racing 3 nights. Friday we will be at Skyline and at the Valley on Saturday. Sunday Tyler County will be paying $3,000 to win and this will be a huge Modified show. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

This weekend we plan to be at Skyline on Friday and at the Valley on Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

This weekend we will be at the Valley on Saturday, unless Mother Nature has her way. If they cancel we will look at other Saturday night tracks. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

I wan to thank TLC (Tom Lemon Co.) and his family for their support. Very dedicated race fans and they always provide a fun time!

This weekend I will be playing it by ear. The only certain thing is that we will be at the Valley on Saturday. We will have to wait and see about Friday.

Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday Ohio Valley had postponed their opening night to April 25th, so we went to Tyler County in hopes of repeating. Dad drew us pill #33 which put us on the outside pole of the 1st heat along side Norman Aaronholt. The track was already dusty and slick. I led lap one, but lost the lead to Aaronholt and eventually lost 2nd to Mark Dickson which put us finishing 3rd. Started 5th in the feature and unfortunately was not advancing, I believe we fell back to 8th or so and a lap car had hit the wall and bounced back in front of me which took us out for another DNF.

This weekend I plan to just run the Valley on Saturday. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, so you ought to make plans to come. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Races were cancelled at Midway on Friday and my decision to go to Eastside Speedway in Virginia was changed due to travel expenses and time. So we planned to go back to Tyler County, but they cancelled because of the weather. So, Midway utilized Saturday as their race day. They had more than 34 modifieds. My qualifying run was not all that fast and we started 5th in the heat race. Came up to 3rd and was battling for 2nd, but Larry Holbrook mad a late race charge from 4th to 2nd and moved us back to 4th. This started us 15th in the feature and we stayed out of trouble and avoided the wrecks to finish 5th. Car was decent in the feature, but not what we needed to win.

This weekend we plan on going to Skyline on Friday and Ohio Valley on Saturday, both being opening nights. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

I want to thank Tim Cooper, Jason Canepari, Jason’s brother Drew and Butch Malone for helping out at the track! I also want to thank Keith and Cy at K-Graphics for designing a beautiful car. Hopefully we will have pictures from track photographers to post on our web site soon. I believe we can officially announce everyone that is on the car. Please support all those that you can: Wendy’s Restaurants, K-Graphics, Hassy Chassis, Eddy Chiropractic, H&S Construction, Laurita Excavating, Balderson Construction, Dickson Racing Shocks, Wrisco Aluminum, Poske’s Performance Parts, WOC Designs, Billy Lloyd Racing Engines, Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett, The Lemon Family, Dad & Mom and Kim.

I also want to announce that a Foundation has been established for Greg Schilling who passed away Nov. 25th, 2008. K-Graphics is donating a memorial sticker that is $5 each. Money collected will be handed over to the Foundation as a donation to help raise money for great causes. If anyone is interested, please contact me and I will get you however many you want.

This coming Friday we will be making a visit to Martin Elementary School for their Race Day! It gives the kids a chance to come out and see the racecars and ask some questions and trust me they ask some questions too. . . LOL

Weather permitting, it looks as though we will go to Midway on Friday night and on Saturday we will go to Eastside Speedway in Waynesboro, Va. for $1,500 to win. Keep checking in and I’ll try to post changes as soon as I know them. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Preparing for 2009 – 25 Years;

2009 will make my 25th year racing; wow that is hard to believe. It’s probably even harder to believe for Dad. Dad is the one that after driving for 10 years gave up his racing so that I could start mine. That is a very unselfish man and a terrific Dad. So when he complains about all the racing I do, he can know that it is all his fault. . . LOL

We have been out in the garage often preparing the car and the garage for this coming racing season. Jason took the car back to Hassy and set it on the jig and made some minor changes. Tim Cooper and Brian Dennewitz have been getting the garage in order and now Tim will be starting on the trailer. The Lemon family (Tom, Pam, Trey and Lane) have been out several times and have worked on stripping the old decals off the trailer and have helped with the car as well. I put a new body on the car and gave it a new look with silver aluminum. K-Graphics will soon being doing the decals. Hassy has renewed our parts for the season. Billy Lloyd has our engine ready and I also bought another engine so we should be good and ready for 2009.

We intend to update our web site soon to celebrate our 25th year. I’ll be working with Wayne Cornell to see what we can come up with. I also will be updating our links or sponsors page. Along with many of the sponsors that we had last year, I want to announce that we have picked up Wendy’s Restaurants for the 2009 season. I will provide location information at a later date, but definitely support your local Wendy’s. Also at a later date I will announce all of our sponsors for 2009.

Our schedule will be released soon for we are still waiting on area tracks to put out there schedule. It will be similar to last years schedule with us running locally and then out of town some at some money races.

Over the years I have experienced the loss of some close racing friends, such as Tom Willoughby, Bill Shortridge and Mike “Bubba” Whited. This past fall I lost 2 more friends. Jack Shutts, long time flagman/scorer who has been friend/enemy (LOL, sorry Jack, remember the false teeth story?) of the family for many years. Also, a real close friend, who just couldn’t be beat as a friend/brother; Greg Schilling. Greg will be thought of often when I am out on the track and I hope to obtain a lot of his abilities as a driver. Greg was always in control and I hope he can help me with that this year. This is kind of an early announcement, but Mike McPherson #22 has initiated the Greg Schilling Memorial Race at Skyline Speedway on July 3rd. This will be a special race to many people and Mike deserves a tremendous amount of credit for pulling it off.

That’s all for now and I will let you all know how things progress over the next month or so.

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

This past weekend was the $5,000 to win show at Midway and they had 48 modifieds on hand. We were in group #5 and set fast time in our group. We started on the pole along side Dave Groves. Dave took the early lead on the high side and we were able to run with him by running the middle. On the 2nd lap he got a push and we were able to make the pass and go on to get the win. This put us 5th in the dash and we finished 5th. In the feature we started 5th and maintained 5th for a good little while racing on the bottom. I realized of a change that I considered making, but chose not to. I wish I had put more gear in the car to run the bottom, but I didn’t and I think it hurt our run. I did run the top, the middle and the bottom in an attempt to try and advance. In the end we wound up finishing 10th. I wasn’t real satisfied with the finish, but the car was in one piece and we’ll take notes on what to do for next year.

This weekend we will be going to K-C Speedway for the Dirt Track world Championship which pays the modifieds $3,000 to win. We qualify, run our heat races and consolation races on Thursday night. Then our feature is Saturday night before the big late model race. I love K-C and have high hopes for a really good run! Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

We went to Eldora this past weekend for the UMP Nationals. They had 122 modifieds and we qualified 9th fastest overall and 2nd fast in our group. They invert the top 4 in each heat, so we started 3rd. The outside pole sitter and the 4th place car took off and were 1st and 2nd, the pole sitter was 3rd and we were 4th. In turn 3 and 4 the pole sitter got a little sideways and I ramped over his right rear and we each lost a position. I finally got past him and chased down the 3rd place car and was about to make a pass on him when the yellow came out. When we went back racing and went down the back chute, the 3rd place car chose the low line, the 1st and 2nd place car chose the high line and I chose an even higher line. I blasted around the 2nd place car only to find the leader blew up and he went high. I had no where to go and blasted him hard. It tore up my left front shock, lower control arm, upper control arm and the tire and wheel was just dangling on the car. I fell back to 8th coming off of turn 4 and stood on the gas drove it down into turn one and hesitated and hit the wall. Drove it down into turn 3 and hesitated and hit the wall. I apparently wasn’t getting the point that the car was broke, cause when I went into turn one I didn’t hesitate and made it thru without hitting the wall and I continued to do this thru the end of the race and made it back to 5th and almost passed for 4th. Once I slowed down it was difficult getting the car back to the pits. Now this driving got us some new fans, but unfortunately none of them had any money. It was said over the weekend that the people with money are probably sitting back saying I’m glad he don’t drive for me cause I couldn’t afford him. LOL! Oh well, we got it fixed and was ready for the consolation race on Saturday in which we were starting 6th and they were taking the top 2. As it turns out the 2 cars in front of me scratched and did not start the race which moved us up to the outside pole. We took the lead and went on to win by 4 car lengths or so. This started us 19th in the feature and I immediately went to the high side and was passing cars left and right and made it up to 7th. I got behind #135 and could not get by him. I tried low, middle and just could not make the pass. After several cars went back by us I decided to go even higher and it bit me. I got tied up in the cushion of turn 4 and several more cars got by us. I went back to passing cars and made it back up to the #135 and was finally able to pass him on the last lap. They wound up scoring us in 15th place. We thought it should have been 11th or 12th and thought they may have had a few lap cars out of place in the finishing order. But all in all, I love racing at Eldora and am somewhat pleased with our results.

This weekend we go to Midway for $5,000 to win show. This should be a jammed pack field of modifieds also. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

Saturday we went to the Finale at the Valley and they had 30 modifieds. We drew pill #2 in which I thought was a good pill draw but they decided to qualify. We still went out and set fast time with a 16.89. We started the pole of the 1st heat along side Joe Cox. Joe got the win but not without being pressured the entire time by us. We had to do another pill draw for the line up of the feature and we were to start 4th. During the late model feature the rain started and they had to send the cars off the track. We waited around for the rain to let up, and then several cars went out to get the track ran in and we were one of them. Needless to say we couldn’t see much of the car for it was covered in mud. Since the delay lasted quite a while, there were some cars that chose to go home. One of them was an outside pole sitter Jeff Woods. This moved us up to that spot. The 1st 2 starts we took the lead but a caution would line us up double file. The 3rd time we had to go single file and this put the pole sitter Darrin McDonald in the lead. We pressured him for the 1st 2 laps, but I hit a hole in turn 3 & 4 that allowed Darrin to pull away. We chased him down and caught back up to him, but were unable to pressure him for the pass. We got ourselves another 2nd place finish.

It is confirmed that we got both Championships in AMRA and Team #23 produced a proper big league celebration by dumping a cooler full of ice water on me after the feature! That’s some good friend’s right there and I sure appreciated the gesture. Although I some how think they got some enjoyment out of it! LOL

This weekend, we plan to go to Eldora for the UMP Nationals. Last years race had like 112 cars and we set 6th fastest time. Hopefully we’ll improve on that this year.

Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

I need to thank some key people that helped us obtain these 2 Championships. First is Tod Buckhalter at Hassy Chassis, for supplying us with the Hassy Chassis House car. Second is Tim Cooper who has spent many hours in the garage and many hours on the road going to the races. Jason Canepari who has helped to identify the various set ups that have helped us win races this year. Many fans that have become followers of KJ Motorsports, such as Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett, Carl and Sharon Walker, Ralph Whited, Michael Willoughby, Jake Cooper, Loretta Shortridge, Tom and Pam Lemon and of course Mom and Dad. Although Mom doesn’t go very much, I know she thinks of me often, because when it doesn’t rain out, I know she didn’t do a rain dance. And Dad, well there is not a bigger supporter of KJ Motorsports around. Hats off to Team #23 and team #44J whom we have built a good friendship over this past season and I am already looking forward to racing them in 2009. But Team #77, #23 & #44J brought it down to the wire for the point’s battle and I have the up most respect for all 3 of them and can appreciate everything they had worked for! Thanks for making this year an all round good year.

Next weekend, we will be at Ohio Valley racing the “Finale at the Valley”. Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

Saturday we went back to Ohio Valley where this time I drew pill #31 causing me to start 6th in my heat race. We managed to get to 2nd and raced the heat winner Rod Sayre pretty hard but we came up just short. But we did redraw for the feature and that put us on the outside pole. We took the lead from the get go and never looked back. The car was extremely good and we picked up win #9 for the year at 4 different tracks.

This weekend is a really big weekend and we will be at Skyline on Saturday and Sunday for 2 separate Road Warrior Races. Now here is what is on the line. I don’t believe I have spoken of this all year, but we are leading the AMRA National points and they end the last weekend of Sept. So that is in just 2 more weeks. We are also leading the AMRA Road Warrior Tour points and they end next Sunday. So we have a tremendous opportunity to win both championships in the same year. We’ll see how it goes and whatever happens just happens. But I will do my best to win and clinch these titles.

Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #25 Race #46 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 9-7-08

Saturday we went to Ohio Valley where I drew pill #1. We started on the pole of the heat and won the heat race. I then drew pill #10 which started us on the outside pole of the feature. We then went on lead every lap and get the win. The car was really good. Hopefully we can continue our good finishes for the rest of the season. I wanted to say thanks to Ralph Whited for sneaking down in time for the feature. She always brings me good luck!

Next weekend we will be doing Ohio Valley again. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #24 Race #45 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 9-1-08

This weekend was a 2 day Road Warrior Tour race at Tyler County Speedway paying $2,000 to win. They had 45 modifieds and they did group qualifying. We were fast time in our group and 3rd fast overall. We started on the pole of the first heat beside Louie Krushansky. Louie got the run off of turn 2 to take the lead. We pressured him for most of the race, but could not complete a pass. This would start us 5th in the feature. When the feature went to line up Louie was unable to for he had engine troubles. This moved us up a row to start 3rd. We ran 3rd for several laps following Jeremy Berwanger. The 4th place car started putting pressure on me, for Berwanger was holding us up. With about 10 to go or so, I finally stuffed it in the high side and went around Berwanger for 2nd. The leader, Brian Probst had nearly a straight a way lead. We were able to run him down and with about 5 to go went around him on the high side of turn 4. When I went down into turn 1 I attempted to settle down. Well, when you run the high side, it should be hammer down. My hesitation created a push in the car and I had to brake check to get the car turned. When I did that, Brian got back by me and then he moved into the high line and from there I applied as much pressure as I could, but fell short. Needless to say, my screw up cost us a win and also cost us $1,175. It paid $2,000 to win and 2nd place paid $825. Another 2nd which makes the 8th time this year. I suppose being the first loser isn’t a real bad thing, but I sure would like to get the wins!

Next weekend, Skyline is moving to Saturday’s for the rest of the year. So we won’t be going anywhere on Friday and we will go to Ohio Valley on Saturday.

Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #23 Race #43 & #44 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 8-24-08 Friday we went to Skyline and Dad continued his streak in drawing me a good pill. We started front row outside of the 3rd heat. We won the heat to start us 3rd in the feature. We took the early lead and managed a little distance. As the race went on Louie Krushansky was able to make the middle work and my high line was working my right rear tire. I knew the tire was getting hot and at that point my run for the lead ended. We managed to hold on to 2nd for a good solid finish.

Saturday we went to the Valley for the Topless race paying $1,200 tow in. We set 3rd fastest time. We started on the pole of the 3rd heat and won the heat. The pill redraw put us starting 3rd. We were running 3rd behind Bird Wilson and pressure him pretty good, but he had the line each time I tried to get under him. As the race was winding down I again worked my right rear tire too much trying to pass Bird. So we got a 3rd place finish. A solid weekend, but of course I prefer a winning weekend. Making their way to the Valley was co-workers Craig Mason and Andy Norman and their wives. Bryce Goodwin made his yearly debut and Michael Willoughby showed up again. Michael stated he felt like each time he shows up I don’t win. I don’t believe he’s the jinx because there are plenty of times I don’t win when he isn’t there. Could be I’m the jinx.. . . LOL

This weekend is another Road Warrior race at Tyler County Speedway. It’s a 2 day show, Friday and Saturday, and then the Hillbilly 100 is Sunday.

Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #22 Race #41 & #42 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 8-17-08 Friday we had a Road Warrior Tour race at Beckley Motor Speedway. It was our first visit there this year. They only had 19 cars and we set 2nd fast time to put us on the pole of the 2nd heat. We got the win and this put us on the outside pole of the feature. We did go on to win the feature in really strong fashion. The car was on the money for the track conditions. Just dad and I went down, but when times got rushed for us, Team #23 came to our aide and helped get us squared away. Although I learned that they were interested in each of them getting a third of the winnings, but there was 4 of them. Needless to say, I hope to repay the favor one day than to pay them with money. LOL Thanks for the help Team #23!

Saturday we had the car in the Parkersburg Homecoming parade for Ohio Valley Speedway. Dad drove the car and I pushed him with the 4 wheeler. We had a good time and I’d say all the kids that were there got plenty of candy. Then we headed to K-C Speedway. They had close to 30 cars or so and we drew a fair pill to start us 4th in the heat. When they dropped the green I followed the outside pole sitter into turn one. When I saw he didn’t go high, I shot to the highline. At the last minute in the middle of the corner he decided to go high and we hit and both ended up going off the track but did not bring out the yellow. Drove our way back to 5th but spun out causing us to go to the tail. Finished the heat in 6th. Cooper and I made some changes for the consi in which we were starting 7th. We came up to finish 2nd in the consi, just a lap short of possibly winning it. We were supposed to start 18th in the feature, but the scorers had me lined up in 20th. So we made our way from 20th to a 3rd place finish in 20 laps. Very pleased with the car.

I want to wish Tim and Lisa Cooper a Happy 21st Anniversary. They married for better or for worse. He couldn’t have done any better and she couldn’t have done any worse. . . . LOL

This weekend we go to Skyline on Friday and on Saturday we will be at Ohio Valley for the Topless race paying $1,200 to win. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #21 Race #39 & #40 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 8-10-08 Friday we went to Skyline for a Road warrior Tour race. We set fast time and won the first heat race. Really had high expectations for the feature starting from the pole and all. But with me driving I should have known better! It didn’t take very long for me to give up on the bottom and head to the high side. I couldn’t make it work like we had other times over there this season. Once I moved down to the middle, I was at least maintaining and racing the cars around me. We wound up finishing a disappointing 7th place. Not at all what I wanted, but then again, it was my fault we finished there.

Saturday we went to the Valley. I drew a good pill to start us outside pole of the 3rd heat. We won the heat and on the redraw we started 4th in the feature. I took a little time but we managed to take the lead and went on to get our 6th win of the season.

This weekend we go to Beckley for another Road Warrior Tour race and on Saturday we plan to go to K-C Speedway. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #20 Race #37 & #38 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 8-5-08 Friday we left for Brushcreek for a $1,000 to win show. They had a little over 60 cars which was a good car count for Friday nights show. We qualified 8th quickest overall and 2nd quick in our group. We started outside pole of the 3rd heat. We did not get the jump on the pole sitter, so we followed on the high side the entire heat race and finished 2nd. This started us 9th in the feature. The car wasn’t too bad, for we came up to 5th at one point, then the car started fading back. I couldn’t figure out why it started to be ill handling? Under caution I noticed a puff of smoke out the right side so I pulled off. The smoke was an oil leak and we also discovered why the car was ill handling, our 6th coil had come unhooked. That made me fell a little better.

Saturday was my 40th birthday and I was hoping for a Harley as a present. Instead all I got was a hard time from everyone who saw the banner that Kim had K-Graphics make! Our qualifying lap was not that good, for we ended up 4th quick in our group. We finished 3rd to put us in the show. We started 11th in the feature but we never really got the car dialed in for the track conditions that they had. We wound up finishing a disappointing 16th place. Our weekend was no where near what I expected it to be. After last years run, there were several people that predicted us to be up front and I didn’t come thru. Hopefully next year!

This weekend we have a Road Warrior Tour race at Skyline on Friday, and then we will be back to Ohio Valley on Saturday. We hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #19 Race #35 & #36 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 7-27-08 We started our weekend on Thursday by going to Muskingum County Speedway for $1,000 to win. Dad drew us a great pill to start us on the outside pole of the first heat. We got the win and this put us on the pole of the feature. I was somewhat hesitant for I really didn’t think the car was that good in the heat. I made some changes but as I somewhat figured I wasn’t that good. Part of the problem was our tire compound choice and we were also trying a new suspension part. I faded back several positions and at the halfway point decided to pull off for I was not going to gain any more money. So unfortunately we had a DNF.

Friday we changed the car around in hopes of finding the set up to get us back on track. We went to Skyline and since dad stayed home I had to find someone to draw my pill. I went to 13 year old Reilly Benson (sprint car driver Brian Benson’s daughter) to pull my pill. Did I ever make a good choice, for she got us the #1 pill. We started the pole of the first heat and won to put us on the pole of the feature. We took the early lead and I was running the light poles. Yes, I said I was running the very bottom. I’ll tell ya it wasn’t easy but I did stay there the entire race. With 2 laps to go, Rick Aukland passed us on the outside. That rarely happens for I am the one on the outside. But I was happy with the 2nd place finish.

Saturday we got up early to head to Stateline Speedway near Jamestown, NY. It was a 5 hour and 45 minute tow. We got the car unloaded and changed some things around. The track crew heavily watered the track and then we had a rain shower. One thing led to another and at 9:40 pm we were headed home. That’s an awful long way to get rained out, not including the $350 in diesel fuel. At this time we do not know when the make up date is.

Well this is the big weekend and one we have been waiting for a year now. It is the Harley race at Brushcreek Speedway which pays $10,000 to win or a new Harley Davidson. We finished 2nd last year and it was a heck of a race. I hope we can make another good race out of it again. I am expecting more cars this year and it definitely won’t be an easy one to win, but we’ll give it everything we have! If you want to see a great modified show, you should plan on making this trip. We have a $1,000 to win show Friday at Brushcreek and then the $10,000 to win on Saturday.

We hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #18 Race #33 & #34 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 7-20-08 Friday we went to Skyline hoping to redeem myself from last weeks 8th place finish. We started 4th in the heat and finished 2nd. This started us 4th in the feature. We ran 3rd for a short time then went back to 4th and finished in 4th. Car was better than last week, but still needs to be better on the slick.

Saturday we went back to the Valley and I drew pill #1 to start us on the pole of the 1st heat. We won the heat and redrew for our starting position in the feature. My luck ran out on pill draws and we started 5th. We got in 2 starts and each time there was a wreck. On the 3rd start our engine developed a miss and I pulled it to the pits. Our first assessment was not a good one and we thought we’d be down and out for a while. Sunday morning we got up and started to pull the engine and found it was less of a problem. We should have it fixed for this weekends racing with very little problems. Our plans for this weekend are to go to Zanesville on Thursday night, Skyline on Friday and Stateline Speedway in New York for $5,000 to win on Saturday.

As an early reminder Aug. 1st and 2nd we will be at Brushcreek Speedway for $10,000 to win or a new Harley Davidson motorcycle. Brushcreek is located in Peebles, OH and hopefully will be a great weekend.

Saturday was Ralph Whited’s B-day and I hope she had a good one!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #17 Race #31 & #32 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 7-13-08 Friday we went to Skyline and the night started out great when Dad drew us a #4 pill to start us on the pole of the 2nd heat. I felt like we would have a shot at winning the heat. I made all of the changes for a slick track except one. Tim and Jason both mentioned the one additional change and I said, we’ll just wait and make that one in the feature. Well I wish we would have made it because the car was too tight on entry. I was running 2nd to Jeremy Berwanger and I was forcing the car to turn and wound up spinning it out. Went to the tail and brought it back to 5th. We made the changes for the feature and were starting 9th. With our past runs at Skyline I felt good about having a good run. For some reason the car would not go, it would not hook up? We wound up finishing a disappointing 8th place. I left there scratching my head!

Saturday we went back home to Ohio Valley for double features. We started 3rd in the fog out feature and when the green flew I knew we were going to struggle. The car had no drive and we managed to hang on to a 4th place finish. So we made some changes for the heat race in which we were starting the outside pole. We luckily finished a 2nd place, but the car wasn’t that good! With a pill draw we started 5th in the feature. Jason and Tim made multiple changes just to see if we could find something. End result was that we were still not that good. We came off of turn 4 for the white flag and the right front lower ball joint snapped. Lucky we kept it out of the wall and were able to get it off the racetrack for a DNF. All in all a real frustrating weekend and we will be sorting thru everything on the car to see if we can identify any problems.

Saturday I found we had many visitors that came down to see me race. A group from work came down. My sister and her family and even my Mom who hasn’t been to a race in quite a while. Also saw Jimmy Simmons and his twin girls and Michael Willoughby. This was the Bubba Whited Memorial race for the mini wedges and the winner of the race was longtime friends of Mike and Ralph #25 Ronnie Pickens.

Definitely need to thank Tim and Jason for all of their hard work and effort! Without the 2 of them I don’t think I could do this! This weekends schedule will change and I’ll post it later. I do know Tyler will not be running on Thursday, they are scheduled for the regular racing night on Saturday. Once I decide what we are doing, I will let you know.

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #16 Race #29 & #30 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 7-7-08

Mother Nature won quite a bit this weekend! Thursday and Friday Road Warrior Tour shows were both cancelled fro the rain. Saturday we were supposed to go to I-77 for a Road Warrior Tour race, but the track cancelled the sanctioned race, for they were unable to pay the RWT purse. Based on the weather conditions and track conditions, we opted to stay close to home and run the Valley. I drew a pill to start us 5th in the second heat and we were able to come up to finish 2nd. Did the pill redraw to start us 3rd in the feature, but Mother Nature showed up and it wasn’t rain, it was fog. So we will have double features next week.

Somewhat against my better judgment Cooper persuaded me to go to Midway. They were having the Jim Dunn Memorial race for late models. They pay the mod’s $700 to win but they pull pills. Well the pill pull, I put it all on Cooper and I thought he let me down. We started 6th in the 2nd heat and I shot to the outside and took the lead about 3 laps into it. This started us on the outside pole of the feature. Took the lead about 2 to 3 laps into it and recorded win #5. Need to thank Cooper for talking me into it. Of course you may know he didn’t have to work too hard at convincing me. Although on the way home I met Bambi’s mom and she was introduced to my left rear truck fender and then the side of the trailer! That $700 to win sure seemed to dwindle away pretty fast. We got home and in bed at 2:03 am. I’ll be keeping the caffeine in me today!

This week we will be at Skyline on Friday and back to the Valley for double features. Saturday night will also be the Mike ‘”Bubba” Whited memorial for the mini wedges. I’ll be presenting the trophies with his wife Ralph! Hope to see ya there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #15 Race #26, #27 & #28 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 6-30-08 Wednesday night we went to Skyline for they were running the mod’s with Sprint cars. We started 4th in our heat and I believe we had a decent car, but I started driving like an idiot and just took us right out of the game. Wound up finishing 7th. This started us 14th in the feature, which really put us behind. We were able to come up and finish 7th. Car was better than 7th, I just started too far back and it was hard to make up ground on that slick racetrack.

 Friday we went back to Skyline and I told myself that I was not going to be an idiot. We again started 4th in the heat, but this time we went on to win the heat race. This started us on the pole of the feature. I fell to 4th pretty quick because I was stuck on the bottom. Once I moved to the high side I passed my way back to 2nd and was able to race the leader for several laps. At the checkers our front bumper was at the door of the winner. Made for a good race & I was pleased with the car.

Saturday we made the tow to Midway only to get rained out. We went back Sunday for the Road Warrior Tour race. It was raining when we pulled in the gate. The track was a mess & it took a good while to get it run in. My qualifying time was way worse than what the car was. We were 16th out of 28. We started 6th in the heat and finished 5th. The track was a one lane track and was very difficult to pass. For the feature we started 13th and I was pretty cautious for the first several laps. All that got me was passed by about 3 cars. I learned pretty quickly that no one else was being patient. Once we got spread out some I slowly made our way to an 8th place finish. I’m pretty sure we had a top 5 car, but I put us way behind again by having a bad qualifying run.

Next week is a big 3 day weekend of Road Warrior Tour racing. Thursday we will be at Tyler County Speedway, Friday is Skyline Speedway & Saturday we will be at I-77 Speedway. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #14 Race #25 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 6-23-08 I want to wish and early Happy Birthday to my sister Tammy Jo. This coming Saturday she will be . . . . . . . . Well, I’ll just let you ask her. I don’t want to get in trouble!

Friday we went to Skyline and dad drew us a #46 pill, which started us 5th in the 1st heat. He had a pretty good streak of drawing good pills, not sure what happened this week? The car was not as good as it could have been. It was loose on entry and it was just laying over on the right rear. We wound up finishing 4th in the heat which started us 7th in the feature. The car was good in the feature and feel like we had a top 3 car. We were making a pass for 5th around the outside of Roy Roush. Roy came up the track and ramped over our left front. This busted our left front tire, bent our shock and lower control arm and caused us a DNF.

Saturday we went to Midway for a Road Warrior Tour race. The weather rolled in and caused them to cancel before qualifying. They rescheduled for Saturday, June 28th.

This week we have a Wednesday show at Skyline. We will be running in support of the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars. Then we will be back to Skyline on Friday and back again to Midway for the Road Warrior Tour race Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #13 Race #23 & #24 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 6-15-08 Happy Father’s Day to my dad! I love ya! Also Happy Father’s Day to all the other dad’s that are out there!

Friday we went to Skyline and dad drew us a #16 pill, which started us 4th in the 2nd heat. This heat was loaded with competition and I was hoping for a good finish. At one point we took the lead and it was like the next lap or two we were running 5th. We fought our way back to finish 3rd and this would start us 5th in the feature. We made it up to 2nd bit we didn’t have anything for Mark Dickson and we had to settle for 2nd. Remember, if you ain’t first, 2nd ain’t that bad. . . .

Saturday we went to Tyler County for the Dickson Classic paying $1,000 to win. We set 4th fastest time and they rolled the dice to see how many cars would be inverted. They drew a 2, which started us on the pole of the 2nd heat. We finished 2nd to Dickson again, who was in another zip code. For the feature we started 4th and moved right into 2nd on the first start, but a yellow would have us do another double file start. We ran 4th for several laps until the 1st and 2nd car eventually dropped out with mechanical problems. This put Brian Probst and me to battle it out for the last 10 laps. We passed Brian on the high side of turn 2, but just as we did the yellow flew, putting us back to 2nd and we never got another chance at a pass. Again, if you ain’t first, 2nd ain’t that bad. Well I’m here to tell ya this 2nd stuff is really testing my patience. . . . .

This week we plan to go to Skyline on Friday and Saturday we will be heading to Midway for a Road Warrior Tour show. Hope to see you there!

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! Thanks again for your support,

KJ

KJ Motorsports Update #12 Race #21 & #22 By: Kenny Johnson Date: 6-10-08 I’d like to start off by wishing Keith Emrick of K-Graphics a Happy 50th Birthday!!!!! Friday we went to Skyline and dad drew us a #10 pill, which started us outside pole of the 2nd heat. We got the heat race win to start us on the outside pole of the feature. The track was slick, but had just a touch of moisture on the top. I know it’s hard to believe, but I went to the top and went on to get the win over John Burdette. John has been out of racing for a couple of years and was driving Mike McPherson’s car. We made a good race out of it and I sure enjoyed pal’ing around with him in the pits like the old days!

Saturday we went to the Valley and started 5th in the heat race. We managed to get to 3rd to start us 5th in the feature. Made it to 3rd and raced Ricky Venham for 2nd but could not make the pass. So we settled for the 3rd. I was disappointed with our run and hope to do better down there next Saturday.

Just wanted to mention that some guests showed up at the races this weekend and it was good to see them there. Loretta Shortridge, Michael and Michelle Willoughby, Dave Nicholson and his wife. Also keep longtime friend Steve Armentrout and Hilton Wolfe in your prayers for they are dealing with health issues.

Need to thank Tod and the gang at Hassy Chassis. Also need to thank Tim Cooper and Jason Canepari for their support thru the week in garage and at the track. Sponsors are K-Graphics, Racersmate, Dickson Racing Shocks, Balderson Construction, H&S Construction, Laurita Excavating, Billy Lloyd Racing Engines, Zemba Bros., Inc., Gene’s Trailer Sales, Wrisco Aluminum.

Also remember those that helped when they were here; Tom Willoughby, Bill Shortridge & Mike “Bubba” Whited.

This week we plan to go to Skyline on Friday and Ohio Valley on Saturday for the Mike “Bubba” Whited memorial race for the Mini Wedges.

Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us! Thanks again for your support,

KJ

Race: Skyline Speedway Opener 4/18/08
Track: Skyline Speedway
By: Kenny Johnson,21 April 2008

Update #4

Well I was counting on Mother Nature helping me out and canceling this weekend, but instead she decides to give Tyler County Speedway a break and allow them to get in their season opener. Tim Cooper and I finished the car up Saturday afternoon and we headed for Tyler. Car count was down for the season opener compared to past years. I believe they only had 13 modifieds. We set fast time with a 14.18, but we had to start 5th in the heat due to the roll of the dice. We came from 5th to 2nd in the heat race which started us 3rd in the feature. Dave Defibaugh took the early lead and we moved into 2nd and were able to hang on to a 2nd place finish. A respectable run, but we need to make some minor adjustments to be able to run with the leader. This weekend it appears we would be going back to Tyler on Saturday, but at this time do not know what we'll on Friday, possibly Elkins for their season opener. Keep checking the web site for updates.

I Need to give thanks to Hassy Chassis, Racersmate, Dickson Racing Shocks, K-Graphics, Laurita Excavating, Gene’s Trailer Sales, Zemba Bros., Balderson Construction & Jason Canepari & Tim Cooper for the hard work and dedication.

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,

KJ

After getting back from Florida and assessing the damage to the car, Hassy decided to build a new car. It was down to the wire for us to finish it to go to the Bluegrass Bash, which paid $6,000 to win. The race format was that they would have an open practice session on Friday night and Saturday they would go right into qualifying. We opted to leave Friday evening and miss hot laps. Now with having a brand new car we kind of second guessed our decision, but after we qualified, we felt confident that we had the car right. We were 3^rd fast in our group and start 3^rd in the heat. We took over 2^nd place and started chasing down the leader, which was Dave Hess Jr. His crew was telling him to stay high, which of course was my line. In the end Dave held onto the win and we finished 2^nd. This would start us 16^th in the 40 lap feature. The track was rough so we knew we would have to race smart and avoid cautions. I slowly worked my way around cars. From 16^th to around 7^th or so was the toughest to pass. But once we got to 7^th they got easier. We passed Dave Hess Jr. for 3^rd and Denny Schwartz and Kevin Weaver was 1^st & 2^nd. Now during all of this our car was overheating and I was spending a lot of time watching my gages. I was pressuring the 2^nd place car and was just about to pass him when I spun out off of turn 4. I restarted the car and the temperature gage increased and under caution I could not get it to go back down, so I pulled to the infield for a 13^th place finish. I was aggravated at myself for spinning out and also concerned as to why I am fighting heating problems. But all in all I was very pleased with the new car and feel we will be very competitive this year.

I need to thank Tod Buckhalter and all of the guys at Hassy Chassis that put this car together. Also need to thank Tim Cooper and Jason Canepari for working hard this week to finish the car up. Dad made the road trip this weekend and has now gotten the racing fever for 2008.

At this time I have no plans for this coming weekend. I will have to see what this week brings and what I find with our overheating problem

Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support,