Here is how our season turned out. We set fast time 9 times and now hold the track record at Muskingum County and Atomic Speedway. We won 30 heat races and 17 features. we finished 2nd-7 times, 3rd-3 times, 4th-5 times, 5th-1 time, 6th-1 time, 7th-1 time, 9th-2 times, 10th-1 time, 11th-2 times, 14th-1 time, DNF-5 times, DNQ-1. A pretty successful year, but we can identify something areas of improvement and we’ll work on that for 2012.

I want to thank Tim Cooper and Chad Nelson for giving up their summers to help. Without them, none of this would be possible. Also want to thank Todd Lambiotte and Jason Canepari for their help as well. Special thanks goes out to all of our sponsors, whether it be a business or individuals that provide us support, every little bit helps and is greatly appreciated!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to Skyline for a Road Warrior Tour race and the track was slick, so I was concerned for how we would do. We set 11th fast time and that started us on the outside pole, because they invert the top 4. We made a couple of changes for the heat and it worked. We won the heat in which that put us in the 4 car dash. We drew pills for starting and we drew the last pill, #4 and started 4th. We shot to the high side of 1 and 2 and took the lead in 3 and 4 and went on to win the dash. The car was pretty good and we started on the pole of the feature. We took the lead and stretched it out until a caution flew just past half way. Our tires must have cooled down some because we lost some of our drive and Chris Stotts passed us. We moved up to the high side and were moving in the right direction. Lap traffic became an issue and we chose the right line and passed Chris back and went on to get win #17. This ties our wins for last year and with any luck, we can get a few more.

This weekend we will be going back to one of our favorite tracks, KC Speedway. So we hope to see you there! To keep up to date the night of the race, follow us on Facebook under Kenny Johnson Motorsports.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to KC Raceway and because a lot of other tracks were closed down, KC had 48 modifieds show up. We set fast time and a new track record of 15.226. Car was HOOKED UP! At KC they invert the top 4 in each heat and we started 4th and got the heat win. Chad drew us a #1 pill for the feature. We took the lead on the first lap and went on to get win #15. The car was the best it has ever been there. I also want to thank all of the Highside Fans for making us feel so welcome there.

This week we will be at Beckley on Friday for $1,600 to win and Skyline on Saturday for a Road Warrior Tour race, so we hope to see you there. To keep up to date the night of the race, follow us on Facebook under Kenny Johnson Motorsports.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to Ohio Valley Speedway for the Faster Pastor race in which our Pastor, Mark Houser, participated in. Mark’s car had gotten a broken axle and made it very difficult to drive, but he drove it to the finish. We started on the outside pole of the 3rd heat and won the heat. I drew a #7 pill to start us on the outside pole alongside Andy Bond yet again. This time Andy would take the early lead and pull away from us while we maintained 2nd. I stayed on the high side which proved not to be the groove of choice for me. I finally moved to the bottom when I dropped back to 4th. I was attempting to advance and I got the car a little sideways off of turn 2 and a car behind me stopped to avoid hitting me. So they charged me with the caution and I went to the tail. There were only a few laps left and I finished a disappointing 14th.

This week we will be at Skyline on Friday and KC on Saturday, so we hope to see you there. To keep up to date the night of the race, follow us on Facebook under Kenny Johnson Motorsports.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to Ohio Valley Speedway for their Topless race also paying $1,200 to win. We set fast time and won our heat and Coop drew us a good pill to start on the pole of the feature. 3 laps into the race our right lower ball joint sheared, causing us a DNF. Not what we wanted, but things like that come with racing.

This weekend will be to Beckley Speedway on Friday and Ohio Valley on Saturday for the Faster Pastor race. My Preacher, Mark Houser, will be racing in it again this year. Keep watch on Facebook and Tim will keep everyone posted on how we progress through out the night. We 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 KC and we set 2nd fast time. They invert the top 4 in each heat, so we started 4th. There was an incident on the 1st lap that caused Mike Long to crash. It appeared I was the cause of it and Mike was not happy. I totally understand and have passed on my apologies, but that doesn’t fix his car, nor give him his spot back in the heat. We went on to win the heat and Chad drew us a 1 to start the pole of the feature. We went on to take the win, which made win #12 for the year. Again, I got to drive for Jamey Adams and we started outside pole of the heat race and won the heat. We started on the pole of the feature, right beside car owner Jamey Adams. Jamey took the early lead and I tried working him on the bottom. But finally had to put it on the high side to pass Jamey and get win #2 on the weekend in the Hobby Stock. I want to thank Jamey and his crew for allowing me to drive, I had a blast!

This weekend will be at Skyline on Friday for a Road Warrior Tour race and on Saturday, we’ll go to Ohio Valley for their Topless race paying $1,200 to win. Keep watch on Facebook and Tim will keep everyone posted on how we progress through out the night. We hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

7/22 we went to Skyline and started 5 in our heat and finished 4th. The car just wasn’t what it had been. We started 11th in the feature and finished 11th. We have struggled really bad in the slick and I have no clue why. Ever since our big wreck at I-77 over July 4th weekend, we have not run well in the slick. 7/23 we went to KC Speedway and set fast time, started 4th in the heat and finished 2nd. Started 4th in the feature and finished 2nd. The car still wasn’t what it needed to be. 7/29 we went to Skyline for a Road Warrior Tour race. We had 6th fastest time but they inverted the top 4 in each heat, so we started 3rd and finished 2nd. The car wasn’t too bad. But we got rained out. 7/30 we went to Thunder Mountain in Hanover, WV. It was a 3 ½ hour tow. They were paying $1,500 to win and we had 3rd fast time. Started 2nd in our heat and finished 2nd. Started 3rd in feature and ran 3rd for a long time, but eventually got passed and finished 4th. Got home at 6:35 a.m. . . long night! 8/6 went to Jackson County Speedway and set 3rd fast time. Started on the pole of the heat and finished 2nd. Started 5th in the feature and finished 3rd. Car needed to be better and we might have found something. 8/12 went back to Jackson and started 2nd in heat and won. Started 2nd in feature and won it also. Car was pretty good, but the driver needs to make some changes. 8/13 went to Ohio Valley and started on the pole of the heat and won and started on the pole of the feature and finished 2nd. Car was good, but was just a little lazy off the corner.

I want to thank Tim, Chad, and Todd for all of the hard work and dedication, without them, I couldn’t do it. Also want to thank Jason for coming to help on setting the car up. The car has improved over the last few weeks. This weekend will be at Skyline on Friday and I am undecided on where we will be going on Saturday. Keep watch on Facebook and Tim will keep everyone posted once we make our decision. We hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Tim and I stayed at Sean Schobelock’s house Friday night and got up Saturday to wash the car before going to Coughlin’s to display the car. Sean, Staci and Toby kept us up all night around the camp fire, and then Sean had us up at the crack of dawn working on our car. We took the car to Coughlin’s and had a good time there. Then we went to Rooster’s to eat with several fans from KC Speedway. After that it was off to the races at KC Speedway. We started 4th in our heat race and finished 2nd to start us 5th in the feature. Unfortunately we didn’t get to make it a lap. Got caught up in a spin and tore the entire right side off including the roof and a brand new right rear tire. So back to the sheet metal work yet again! Thanks to Sean & Staci for their hospitality and to Toby for pit crewing for us!

Friday July 15th we went to Skyline and started 4th in the heat race, took the early lead but got passed by Ricky Venham on the last lap to finish 2nd. Started 5th in the feature and ran 6th the first part of the race and wound up finishing 11th. I tried a different set up and I think it was proven not to be tried ever again!

Saturday we went back to I-77 to try and get the win that eluded us the last time we were there. We started the night off good by drawing pill #2 to start us on the pole of heat #1. We won the heat and started on the pole of the feature beside Ricky Venham. We went on to get the win over Ricky Venham for win #10 of the year. Although we have had some disappointing nights, we can’t complain about our season thus far.

This weekend will be at Skyline on Friday and I am undecided on where we will be going on Saturday. Keep watch on Facebook and Tim will keep everyone posted once we make our decision. We 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 Ohio Valley and drew pill #10 to start us on the outside pole of heat #2. We went on to win the heat, but the pill redraw put us starting 7th in the feature. We went on to get the win, but I only had to pass 2 cars to do it, for the others seem to take themselves out. Hate to see that, but we’ll take win #8!

Sunday we went back to I-77. We qualified a 14.10 to give us fast time. Started on the pole of the heat and won it to start us on the pole of the feature along side Vince Conrad. Vince took the early lead, but we eventually passed him and worked our way into lap traffic. My rear brakes had faded for I was running the cushion and was driving it in hard and using a lot of brake. So when it came time to maneuver in lap traffic, I couldn’t get the car turned. Vince passed me back in lap traffic. Once I got by the lap traffic, I went back to the high side and chased Vince back down. As I came off of turn 2 I got a heck of a run. Got up along side Vince down the back chute and just before we got into turn 3, I ended up in the wall, tearing up quite a bit of stuff. We limped it across the line to a 6th place finish. Have quite a bit of work done, but still have more to do to finish it.

We will be ready for the weekend. This weekend will be at Skyline on Friday and KC Speedway on Saturday. We 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 I-77 for a $1,000 to win Road Warrior Tour race. They had 25 cars and we set fast time. RWT now inverts the top 4 in each heat race. So we started 4th in the heat and past Booger Garnes on the last lap for the win. That put us in the dash and drew the outside pole for that. We won the dash to start us on the pole of the feature. Vince Conrad took the early lead but we managed to sneak around him on the high side and we went on to get the win! That was win #7 on the year and hoping for more!

Next weekend will be a 3 day weekend for racing. Our tentative plans are Skyline on Friday, Ohio Valley on Saturday and I-77 on Sunday. We hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Friday we went to Skyline and they had 25 cars. I drew pill #24 to start us 5th in the heat race. In hot laps the track was extremely slick and smooth. We made changes in the car to accommodate these conditions. Well after all of the hot laps & qualifying were over the turns rutted up and made for fast racing. We did not change the car back and it hindered us slightly but we got the heat race win. Feature time rolled around and we were starting 2nd along side of Andy Bond. Our car was working really well and we went on to get win #6 on the season.

Saturday we went to KC Speedway and they only had 16 cars, my pill draw skills have yet to prove themselves, for I drew #57 to start us 5th in the heat. We finished 2nd to Jeremy Berwanger and this would start us 3rd in the feature. Jeremy jumped out to the early lead and we got to 2nd but had nothing for Jeremy and had to settle for 2nd. Not a bad weekend, but not two wins like we’d like to have. But I’m not necessarily complaining!

This Friday is the 3rd Annual Greg Schilling Memorial at Skyline Speedway. If at all possible, I hope everyone can make it to this event. Not only is it a good race, but it’s also a fund raiser for the Greg Schilling Memorial Fund. Saturday we will be going to I-77 Speedway. We hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Friday we went to Skyline and they had 25 cars. I drew pill #20 to start us 4th in the heat race. The track was pretty racey and we went on to win the heat. This started us 3rd in the feature. Jess Hartman was on the pole and Robbie Evans was on the outside pole. Jess took the early lead and we followed. We finally got under Jess off of turn 2 and we went on to get win #5 for the year.

Saturday we went to Muskingum County Speedway and they had 31 cars for $1,500 to win. I drew a pill #1, but what a waste of a pill draw for qualifying. We qualified 7th fastest to start us on the outside pole of the 3rd heat. We went on to get the heat win, but had to draw another pill and I drew pill #7 to start us 7th in the feature. We were running third until the last lap and we got passed and finished 4th. Now, I left out quite a few details with the track conditions, rain, and rain out features and so on. But the gist of it is we got home at 5:10 am Sunday morning.

This weekend, we plan to go to Skyline on Friday and to KC on Saturday. We hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Friday we went to Skyline’s season opener. It’s hard to believe its June and they are just now getting their season opener in. I drew pill #24 and this started us 6th in the 2nd heat. We got the heat win and started outside front row of the feature beside Andy Bond. The track was slick and was a bottom groove track. We got shuffled back to 5th before I could get to the bottom. Once we did, we passed our way back to 2nd but Andy had to big of a lead to chase down and the race went caution free and we settled for 2nd.

Saturday we went to KC and they had 27 cars. I drew pill #70 to start us 8th in the heat race. My pill draw abilities really stink! We jumped to 3rd pretty quick and got right behind Bud Frazier and Bob Crace Jr. Going down the back chute a caution came out and Bud and I was not aware of it, Bob slowed down and Bud and I collided. Unfortunately Bud got a flat, but we were able to keep going. We finished 2nd to Bob Crace and that would start us 5th in the feature. We knew the groove would be on the top and we would have to make the bottom work. Well, we did just that and passed our way to the lead and then jumped to the high side! It was real exciting to win for all of the “Highside Fans” and it was dad’s first trip to KC in over a year and it was good to have him in victory lane.

We plan to go to Skyline on Friday and to Zanesville on Saturday for $1,500 to win. We hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday, the 21st we went to Muskingum County Speedway. They had 25 cars and in qualifying we set a new track record with a 17.10. Car was real good and we started on the pole of the 3rd heat beside Bart Hartman driving one of Jr. Nolan’s car. Bart had the preferred line and we raced him close for about the first 4 laps and we overheated our right rear tire. We did finish in 2nd, which started us 4th in the feature. Made a few small changes and put 3 new tires on and went to the chute. As they called for us to go on the track our left rear tire was flat. We came in and got is changed, but they said we had to go to the tail. We passed several cars pretty quick, but I was driving mad and yes, I drove off the end of turn #1. This is something I have done numerous times over the years at Muskingum County. I came back on down the back chute and had lost all of the positions we had gained. So now, I’m even madder and I go into turn 1 again and get the right side tires off the track, so I said the heck with it and headed to the pits with a DNF.

Saturday the 28th we went to Ohio Valley Speedway and we started on the pole of the 1st heat and won it. For the pill redraw we started 6th in the feature. We moved into 3rd quickly and were just waiting for an opening between the leader and 2nd place. But a racing incident occurred and I got into Tom Sigler’s left rear quarter. I was sent to the tail and we wound up with a 9th place finish. All in all disappointing for a Valley run, but that’s racing.

Sunday, May 29th was my mom’s birthday, so Happy Birthday Mom, love ya! We went to McCown’s Jackson County Speedway for a $2,000 to win show. Cooper drew us pill #50 and that caused him to fire himself. That put us starting 7th in the first heat, but luck would strike and we wound up starting 3rd due to some bad luck for some others. We wound up finishing 2nd in the heat and that put us in the redraw. We drew pill #2 to start us on the outside pole alongside Kevin Morehouse. We took the early lead and thought we just might have it, but Kevin made one heck of a move and went to the outside one car width and it paid off. He got the win and we finished a respectable 2nd. The track roughness has improved and I’d expect that we will see more improvements as the year goes along.

We plan to go to Skyline on Friday and KC on Saturday this weekend. We are looking forward to seeing several of the Highside fans at KC. On a sad note, Cassidy (Kim’s youngest daughter) was in an accident this weekend that gave her 2nd degree burns on the back of her left leg. She had been a real trooper thru the entire ordeal but does have some discomfort. She was brought to the Shriner’s Children’s Burn Center in Cincinnati. Please keep her and Kim in your prayers. Thanks!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

This weekend we intend on doing Skyline on Friday and we have yet to make a decision for Saturday. To keep up to date on our nightly results and up to date schedule, go to Kenny Johnson Motorsports on Facebook and Tim will provide updates as the night goes on.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we intended to go to K-C, but the weather directed us to go to Hilltop, in which we had double features to run. The track was packed hard and was slick from the get go. We started 7th in the rain out feature and stayed around 7th the entire race until about 3 laps to go and we lost 2 more positions and finished a disappointing 9th. I came in and totally changed the set up. Coop drew us a #22 pill to start us 5th in the first heat. We got 2nd and felt like the car had improved but still wasn’t enough. So I went even further with changes in hopes of making it better. Before the 2nd feature I had told Coop I think our original set up was the one we needed and I just needed to make a change to have helped the car that I overlooked. But we stayed with what I had put on it and proved my gut feeling to be correct. We started 5th in the feature and slowly worked our way to a 10th place finish. Tonight’s racing brought us back to reality for sure. It proved to me that we have a good car, but it’s only as good as the changes I choose and I did not make very good decisions tonight.

This weekend . . . . . . Well, I don’t think I am making any announcement for this weekend, maybe we can trick Mother Nature and she’ll cut us a break. To keep up to date on any race night, go to Kenny Johnson Motorsports on Facebook and Tim will provide updates as the night goes on.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

This weekend is dependant of Mother Nature and can change at the drop of the hat. But for now, we plan on doing 250 Speedway on Friday and Muskingum County on Saturday, so we hope to see you there. To keep up to date on any race night, go to Kenny Johnson Motorsports on Facebook and Tim will provide updates as the night goes on.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Tim Cooper has set up a Kenny Johnson Racing page on Facebook, so check it out. This weekend we plan to go to 250 Speedway on Friday and K-C Speedway on Saturday, so we hope to see you there.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

I want to thank, Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson, Jason Canepari and Todd Lambiotte for their help this winter. These guys get no compensation and just do it for the love of the sport! Thanks a lot! Also need to thank Jake Cooper and K-Graphics for the color scheme this year.

I’m hoping to have a real good newsletter next week, so keep checking in weekly from here on out to see what I might have to update you with.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

 With the help of Steve Leist at TNS Photos, we generated a portfolio to help obtain sponsorship for the 2011 season. We sent out many requests and received back many NO’s. But if you don’t ask, you don’t know. But we did get some new sponsors along with keeping some old ones. So to date, here is who will be supporting KJ Motorsports in 2011:

 • K-Graphics – Keith Emrick – 304-428-2685

• Outlaw Race Parts – www.outlawraceparts.com – 800-393-9951 - Ask for Doug

• Coughlin Automotive – www.coughlincars.com – Serving Central Ohio

• T&L Consulting – Tom & Pam Lemon – 304-588-4366

• TNS Photos – www.tnsphoto.net – Steve & Tasha Leist

• Wrisco Aluminum – www.wrisco.com – Russ Gray

• GP&S (Gaskets, Packing & Seals) - www.sealsolutions.com – 304-422-3880

• Larry Shaw Racecars – www.larryshaw.com – Kevin Shaw – 870-251-2966

• RAD – Race Against Drugs - www.ncprs.org – Jenni Cook – 386-760-2254

• H&S Construction – Joe Schilling – 740-984-0203

• AdverTax – www.advertax.com – Steve Leist – 740-775-2829

• Balderson Construction – Steve Balderson – 304-481-2484

• Lubeck Community Baptist Church – www.lcbc-wv.org – Join me every Sunday

• WOC Designs – Wayne Cornell – Designed and Maintains our web site

 I want to thank Dad & Mom, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch (compliments of Phil Welch), Tony & Bubba Branscom for their support throughout the season. Also the guys at the shop, whether they are full time or part time help, their help is always needed and appreciated; Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson, Jason Canepari and Brian Dennewitz.

This year we will have T-Shirts for sale. We have been getting requests for a few years now and thanks to T&L Consulting, we will be selling them. I’ll keep you all updated as to when they are ordered and when they arrive. I will also be working with T&L Consulting with a new idea I had for 2011. We will have a “KJ’s Highside Fan Club” and a “KJ’s Highside Kids Club”. As we get the details worked out I will pass on the info. and will have a tab added on the web page.

Other news in which some were aware of and others may not have been is Kim and I got married on 1-1-11. Ironic that the date some how relates to my racecar number. Which wasn’t intended to work out that way, but it did. I have been blessed with a great wife and great kids.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

First off I want to thank Tim Cooper for all of the help he has provided all season long. Tim spends a lot of hours in the garage and all his weekends at the races with me. He is a big reason for the success we had this year! Also want to that Chad Nelson and Jason Canepari for their help and Dad and Mom. I want to thank Jr. and Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports and Shaw Racecars for allowing us to race what has been a great racecar. Sponsors that have helped this year is K-Graphics, Balderson Construction, T&L Consulting, H&S Construction, Hammett Trucking and 2 sponsors we have picked up for the 2011 season is Outlaw Race Parts (www.outlawraceparts.com) and TNS Photos (www.tnsphoto.net). I want to welcome them to our team. I also can’t forget all of the “Highside Fans” that have followed us to numerous tracks. Many of them has left their home track to come and watch us race at another track. They all mean a lot to me and I appreciate all of them. Of course I can’t leave out Kim, for she doesn’t get to go to all of the races and there are many evenings thru the week that she is already in bed when I get in from the garage and she has yet to complain. We are actively looking for sponsorship for the 2011 season. If any of you know of anyone interested in helping our race team, please let me know and I can set up a meeting with them.

I plan to go to West Virginia Motor Speedway this weekend in hopes that someone may ask me to drive. If not, I’ll be spectating. If any other news comes up, I’ll send out a new update! Thanks to all for a great season!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

We plan to race this car one more time and that will be this Saturday at K-C Speedway for $1,200 to win. So we hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

This Saturday we plan to go to K-C Speedway for a Road Warrior Tour race paying $1,200 to win. So we hope to see you there!

Keep Kim in your thoughts and prayers, for she had surgery this past Friday and will have a few weeks of recovery.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Thanks to the Lemon family for the use of their vehicle all weekend. This weekend we are at Ohio Valley Speedway on Saturday. So we hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

This weekend is a big weekend for us at the Harvest 50 at Skyline Speedway. We will be racing Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So we hope to see you there!

Other news is we picked up a new sponsor for 2011 and they are Outlaw Race Parts. Please go to www.outlawraceparts.com and if you are a racer check out the low prices and if you are a fan, order some racing apparel and let them know you saw their name on our car. I’d like to welcome Outlaw Race Parts and owner Doug Johnson to our team! Just a reminder that the car we have been running for 2 Brothers Motorsports is for sale and is a great car and Jr. Nolan would make someone a great deal. Call Jr. at 740-391-2900.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Friday we went back to WVMS for $2,000 to win. 40 some cars showed up and we set 8th fastest time to start us outside pole of the 4th heat. Because the engine was a little sluggish I decided to put more gear in it. It did bring the car to life and we won the heat race. Started 4th in the feature and moved right into 3rd behind Jr. Nolan and Jared Landers. Jr. dropped out with overheating problems and Jared Landers was sent to the tail for spinning a lap car. This put us in the lead and surprisingly we went on to get win #16 for the year. I never would have thought we’d get a win against the competition that was there and to be honest, if Jr. or Jared would not have had bad luck, we probably would not have won. But we’ll take the win for sure!

After cleaning up the oil mess again on Saturday, we went back to WVMS. We set 10th fastest time and they inverted the top 4 in each heat. This put us right where we wanted to be on the outside pole. We started right beside car owner Jr. Nolan and we took it into turn 1 just a little deeper than he did and that got us the lead and we went on to get the heat win. This started us 3rd in the feature and the inside line was not the ideal place to be. We fell to 6th place before we got to the high side. Once on the high side we started getting the car going good and we passed for 5th and was reeling in 4th, when I had to pull off because the oil pressure was fluctuating from all of the blow by the engine has. I feel we could have gotten a top 5, but we still have races to run this year and I definitely did not want to hurt the engine.

Again had an oil mess to clean up and get things ready for the 100 lapper, $10,000 to win show at Tyler County. They had 60 some cars and was group qualifying. We sure had a tough group of cars with names like Bobby Kitchens, Rick Aukland, Dave McWilliams and Corey Conley. We were 4th fastest in our group, but we were all close. They inverted the top 4 and that put us starting on the pole. Now here is where I made a HUGE mistake. With the track being slick I used our Skyline mentality on tire choice and we went soft on tires. Well, that was totally wrong and it costs us big time, for we wound up finishing 5th in the heat race. Very big mistake! We started 7th in the consi and finished 5th. They were only taking the top 3, but we knew all along that we had a provisional for the high AMRA point man. So we got in the show started 23rd and at one point were in 7th. But we had changed 2 tires at different times along the way and wound up finishing 10th. All in all a respectable run and I was very pleased with the car and set up once we got the right tires on it. Along with the help of Cooper, I want to thank Louie Krushansky’s and Mike McPherson’s crew for their help during the feature. Coop could not have done it by himself.

All in all a pretty decent weekend, although it feels like it took a year or so off my life, for it was a very tiring weekend. This weekend Skyline is running on Saturday and this will be the last point s race and if all goes well, I think we will win the points championship at Skyline. Skyline will be our only race this weekend. So we hope to see you there! For those that read our newsletters, we are now searching for sponsorship for 2011. If you have a contact or know of a business that would be interested in advertising with our race team, please get a hold of me.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to the Valley to finally get in the Topless race and also the Faster Pastor race. Mark Houser (my pastor) drove Steve Brown’s car and started front row outside. Mark is the type to hold back and let others receive all the glory. So he finished 6th. That’s my reason he finished 6th, of course his daughter not letting him off the hook that easy. For she said she could have out ran him on foot. . . LOL But it was a fun night for all involved. For the topless race, they had 37 modifieds and we were 2nd fast time. Started on the pole of the heat and won it. Cooper drew us another great pill to start us on the pole of the feature. We took the lead and we had gotten pressure from Phil Jeffries, Ricky Venham & Jimmy Fordyce but were able to hold each of them off and get win #15 for the year. It was a really good night with church members being there to see our win and also some High Side Fans from Chillicothe, OH (The Caplinger Family and the Branscom’s) made the trip down rather than going to K-C Speedway. Having the fan support that we do, really means a lot. Just like the sponsors we have. . . I want to thank Jr. and Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports, Shaw Racecars, K-Graphics, Balderson Construction, Billy Lloyd Racing Engines, H&S Construction, T&L Consulting, Bill & Patty Welch, Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett, Wayne Cornell of WOC Designs, TNS Photos, Carl and Sharon Walker and of course Mom and Dad. It would be near impossible to race without the support of these people. Also need to thank Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson and Jason Canepari for the many hours they put in at the track and at the garage.

This is a huge racing weekend coming up. We will be at Mineral Wells for a make up race on Thursday where we start 7th. Then we are there Friday and Saturday for 2 complete shows paying $2,000 to win each. Sunday we go to Tyler County Speedway for 100 lap race paying $10,000 to win. If our wining streak or even just our running good streak can continue it will be a great weekend. So we hope to see you there! For those that read our newsletters, we are now searching for sponsorship for 2011. If you have a contact or know of a business that would be interested in advertising with our race team, please get a hold of me.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to K-C Speedway to get rained out just as we were turning into the track. WOW, Mother Nature sure does like messing with us.

This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday and Ohio Valley Speedway on Saturday for the Topless Race and the Faster Pastor Race. So we hope to see you there! For those that read our newsletters, we are now searching for sponsorship for 2011. If you have a contact or know of a business that would be interested in advertising with our race team, please get a hold of me.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to the Valley for the Topless race paying $1,200 to win and also the Faster Pastor race, in which my Pastor from Lubeck Community Baptist Church was participating. But Mother Nature thought better of us getting to race. All we got to do is hot lap and get our cars muddy. They have rescheduled this race for Aug. 28th. Also want to say thanks for some High side Fans from KC coming down to watch, the Caplinger families and Bubba Branscom and his brothers. Hope they can make it back down on the 28th!

This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday and KC on Saturday. So we hope to see you there! Also want to give a shout out to Wayne Cornell “WOC Designs” for maintaining and keeping our web site up to date! For those that read the updates, drop a note on our guestbook.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we headed over to Brushcreek where they had 51 cars. We had an issue while qualifying in that our radiator cap came off and we lost most of our water. So I did not get a completed lap. We were 7th quick in our group. We finished 6th in our heat to start us 4th in the consi. They were only taking the top 4 to the feature. We fell back to 5th and I put it to the high side and of course slammed the wall bending up our decking and stuff, but we made it back to 4th and made the show. Started 24th in the feature and made our way to 14th until having to pull out with a DNF due to the engine overheating. Happy to make the feature, but sure would have liked to start the night off better. I want to thank Tom and Pam Lemon and their sons for all of the help and this weekend we’ll see T&L Consulting on the side of the car. I also want to give a shout out to TNS Photos out of Chillicothe. Check them out at www.tnsphoto.net

This weekend we go back to Beckley for a Road Warrior Tour race and then back to Ohio Valley for the Topless Race paying $1,200 to win. So we hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we were all set for the topless race at Ohio Valley Speedway. But some rain showed up and they decided to cancel. We hopped in the truck and made a bee line for K-C Speedway. We made it there in time and were able to get the roof on the car, change gears and change the set up. All in time for the rain to start there and for us to get rained out yet again!

This weekend you’ll find us at Beckley Speedway on Friday for $1,000 to win and then on to Brushcreek Speedway in Peebles, OH on Saturday for $10,000 to win or a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I’m pretty anxious to race at Brushcreek! So we 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 KC for fan appreciation night and for double features. They had 29 cars and we set 2nd fast time. Started on the pole of the heat and won it to start us on the outside pole of the feature beside Rob Stambaugh. We managed to take the lead and get the win. The rules for the 2nd feature were that all lead lap cars were inverted for the start of the 2nd feature. We started 11th and in 5 laps were running 4th, the car was awesome. On lap 6 I got impatient and made a move that potentially costs us another win. I made it 3 wide for the lead going down the back chute. 1st and 2nd was on the track and I, of course, was off the track. We may have had a nose ahead of them, but when it came time to get into turn 3 and I needed to be back on the track, the other 2 cars would have nothing of it and I ended up way down off the track near general admission. Fortunately I never hit anything and we were able to tack the tail. We had 14 laps to work my way back up to the front. It went green the rest of the way and we made it to a 4th place finish. If we could have won both features, they were paying a $500 bonus. Essentially I blew $1,100 by not being patient. It may have put on a show for the fans. . . but it sure costs our team some money. . . The “High Side Fans” were on their feet for both features and I want to thank all of them for their support!

Thanks to Jr. and Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports, Kevin Shaw of Shaw Racecars, Keith Emrick of K Graphics, Billy Lloyd of Billy Lloyd Racing Engines, Steve Balderson of Balderson Construction, Joe Schilling of H&S Construction, Tom and Pam Lemon of TLConsulting, Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson, Jason Canepari and Dad. Of course Kim for all the support and allowing me to spend the time that’s needed in the garage. We also met a race fan recently at Skyline, Phil Welch and he has asked to have his mom and dad’s name to be on the car. Bill and Patty Welch. Thanks for the support! This weekend we are keeping it close to home. Friday we will be back to Skyline and Saturday heading down to Ohio Valley for $1,200 to win topless race. So we 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 Tyler County for another Road Warrior Tour race. They had 21 cars and we were 9th fastest. I was not pleased with my qualifying run and felt like it was more me than the car. We started 3rd in the heat race and finished 3rd. Again, not pleased with the performance. We started 9th in the feature and finished a disappointing 11th. This is the worst I had felt in the car all year long. Not sure if I have something wrong or was just not able to get it dialed in. But this week we’ll have to go over it and see if we find anything.

This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday and to K-C on Saturday. K-C is fan appreciation night and will also be double features. We start the 2nd feature inverted from how we finished the first feature. It should make for some interesting racing. So we hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Now for our night, Cooper finally drew a bad pill and we started 6 in the heat race. We managed to come up to finish 2nd to start us 3rd in the feature. Mikey started 4th beside us. Mikey took the early lead and looked to be really fast. I finally managed to get to the high side and was able to take the lead and we went on to get the win, but not without getting some late race pressure from Mikey. The win was bitter/sweet for me, for I would have loved to see Mikey win on this night in particular, but I did not give it to him. I also don’t believe he would have wanted to win that way either. We got win #10 for the season.

Saturday we went to KC and again Cooper’s pill draw skills have diminished. We started 6th in the heat again and had a strange run in the heat. We were as far back as 6th and as high up as 3rd. We just could not get an open race track. Needless to say on the last lap the last turn we got a right rear flat and wound up finishing 5th, which forced us to run the consi. We managed to win the consi and started 17th in the feature. We came up to 10th after passing Jason Montgomery. But a yellow flag put Jason back in front of us and he took the high line that we had been running. Needless to say we had worse finish for the year, 11th place. I did knock the back deck and quarter panels off which does happen at KC.

I want to wish race fan Pam Lemon a Happy Birthday on Saturday July, 10th. This weekend we will be going to Road Warrior Tour racing at Elkins on Friday and Tyler County on Saturday. So we hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Friday we went to Skyline and they had 17 cars. Jess drew our pill and did us no favors, for we started 6th in the heat. But we did get the heat race win to start us on the pole. The track got slick and I figured we’d be in great shape. But as it turned out we finished a 4th. That was our worst finish at Skyline this year.

Saturday we stayed close to home and went to Ohio Valley Speedway. They had 15 cars and we started 5th in our heat race. We wound up crossing the line 1st when the checkered flew, but I guess they felt I jump started the race and they penalized me one position. The top 2 in each heat redraw for their starting spot in the feature and Coop got us the pole position. We went on to lead every lap and pick up win #9 for the year.

This weekend we will be at Skyline on Friday and heading back over to K-C on Saturday. So we hope to see you there! I’d like to thank Jr. and Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports and Larry Shaw Racecars for providing a real nice racecar. Billy Lloyd Racing Engines for providing great power. Thanks to everyone who helps and for making this season so far a great one!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday, we headed to K-C again, which they had 35 cars. We started 4th in the heat right behind Sean Schobelock. Sean took the early lead and was able to hold onto the lead and get the win, we got 2nd. We started 5th in the feature & passed our way into 2nd, behind Jason Montgomery. I tried several things to make a pass and in the end it cost me a position. We finished 3rd again. Two solid runs for us! This weekend, we plan on going to Beckley for a Thursday night show paying $1,000 to win, then to Skyline on Friday and back to Ohio Valley on Saturday. I hope everyone has a good 4th of July and hope to see you at the races.

Couple of things to note, Monday the 28th is my sister’s birthday and on Friday, July 2nd, Kim’s son Shawn will be in on leave from the Air Force for a few weeks.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we headed on over to K-C. There was only one problem, we didn’t make it there. The old Dodge laid down on us and we were on the phone trying to find a ride! Just as we got the truck unhooked from the trailer, Alice Keefer in the AMRA van drove by at the right time. We were able to hook up and were able to get to the racetrack. Of course, that was our #1 concern; we’d worry about getting home later. LOL We started 5th in our heat race and finished 2nd to track points leader Brian Whiteman. This started us 3rd in the feature. Brian Whiteman and Sean Schobelock started on the front row, with Brian taking the early lead. We worked the low side and made the pass for the lead on lap 3. I then went to the high side for a few laps and learned that the bottom was faster. So we went back to the bottom and got win #8 for the season. In victory lane I apologized to all of the “High Side Fans” for not running my normal wall scraping line, but the win was great! All of the fans at K-C are great and I love racing there. A fan I haven’t seen in a while came to the pits afterwards to say hi. Bruce Caplinger, whom I met him and his family a few years ago over there. The last I spoke to him (last year) he informed me his father was ill. I had not gotten any contact info. from him and looked for him the rest of the season so that I could send a get well card or something. Well, Bruce informed me that his father had passed. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make contact to thank him for being a fan! It’s good to meet and know our fans. As a racer, we do it because we like it and we want to win. But when the fans let you know that appreciate watching you, we start racing for the fans as well! Thanks to all of you! I want to thank Brian Wolfe for towing us home. He went out of his way to get the car and trailer home and wouldn’t take a thing for it! Thanks a lot! I also want to thank Jr. & Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports, Larry Shaw Racecars, Keith Emrick of K-Graphics, Joe Schilling of H&S Construction, Steve Balderson of Balderson Construction, Tim Cooper, Chad Nelson, Jason Canepari, Dad, Tom and Pam Lemon & Family, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Kellie, Jess and last but definitely not least, Kim! Without each one of them and many others, my racing would not be what it is. THANK YOU!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday, Mother Nature won out! Probably a good thing, cause the carrier bearing came out of my truck and was unable to fix it on Saturday. This weekend, again, we plan to go to Skyline and K-C providing Mother Nature cuts us a break. So we hope to see you there! For those that read these updates, I want to mention that June 25th will be a special night. It will be the running of the Greg Schilling Memorial Race at Skyline Speedway. I would really like it if everyone could come on this night.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Friday we went to Skyline and they had 21 cars. Coop drew us a #12 to start us 3rd in the 1st heat. We got the win in the heat race and this started us on the pole of the feature along side Larry Bond sub’ing for Jeremy Berwanger. We took the early lead and never looked back and picked up the win. Although I was told by many, that if there was one more lap Booger Garnes would have passed us. . . . There have been many of nights I needed one more lap, but regardless when the checkered falls the race is over. This was win #5 on the year.

Saturday Mother Nature was winning everything, but I-77 in Fairplains had blue skies and 88 degrees. So we headed out in the rain and sure enough drove to blue skies. They had 21 cars and we set fast time with a 14.22. We were in the chute for our heat race and the rain came. It was about a 10 minute shower, then cleared up and was nice again. It took a couple of hours to get the track ran in and we went back and ran our heat race. We took the lead in our heat and won it. Started on the pole of the feature beside Ricky Venham and went on to lead every lap and win it. I was very happy with the car and engine, everything was working really well! I also want to thank 2 Brothers Motorsports and Shaw Chassis for a really good car!

This weekend we will be going to Skyline and K-C Speedway, providing Mother Nature doesn’t over rule our decision. So we hope to see you there! For those that read these updates, I want to mention that June 25th will be a special night. It will be the running of the Greg Schilling Memorial Race at Skyline Speedway. I would really like it if everyone could come on this night.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we went to Tyler for another make up feature. This one we started 7th but it wasn’t long we took over 2nd and was chasing down the leader, until we had engine problems. This was an engine we had just put in to give the other engine a break. But it was detrimental and we were unable to continue the rest of the night. On the way home Coop and I discussed back and forth as to what we were going to do for the next night. Such as put the other engine in? Take the night off from Sunday’s race? (I really didn’t want that to happen). But Jason Canepari offered up his car for us to go to WVMS to race the Dickson Classic.

Sunday we got Jason’s car ready and headed out to WVMS. They had 32 cars and we qualified 11th fastest. Pretty pleased with that and started 3rd in our heat race. We moved into 2nd pretty quick and it wasn’t until the last 50 feet that we wound up finishing 3rd. Started 11th in the feature and ran around 10th the first 23 laps until I jumped the cushion and got a right rear flat. All in all we learned some things with Jason’s car and our tire selection. I really want to thank Jason for giving me an opportunity to drive his car.

If everything works out, we should be at Skyline on Friday and K-C on Saturday. We hope to see you there. R

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Friday’s racing was rained out and Saturday’s entire racing was called off except K-C Speedway. They had 40 cars and we started 6th in our heat race. The track was a little rough from the heavy rains they got the night before. So I went to the high side above the rough and took the lead and went on to win the heat race. This started us on the pole of the feature along side of Adam Jordan. Adam took the early lead and again I was forced to the high side to take the lead back then I moved to the low side where it was a little smoother. We managed to take the win and the $600 pay day. We met up with some new fans Bob Morris and company and visited some old fans, Tony “Sucker Man” and crew. K-C has some great race fans and aren’t bashful about letting me know they like watching me race. Sure makes me want to go back! Thanks to all of you!

Well, if Mother Nature cuts us some slack this weekend, we will be doing double features at Skyline on Friday and again double features at Tyler County on Saturday and then on to West Virginia Motor Speedway on Sunday for the Dickson Classic. So if you can make it all 3 nights you can see 5 features. I hope we can keep it maintained all weekend. So we 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 I-77 Speedway to the 2nd RWT race of the year. They had 28 cars and we managed to set fast time with a 14.50. This started us on the pole of the first heat along side Booger Garnes. We took the lead on lap one and never looked back. Started on the pole of the feature beside Jeremy Berwanger and Rod Sayre was behind us. We again took the early lead and were running the high side where it was a little smoother, but the entire track seemed to be getting rougher and rougher and our car did not manage it very well. Rod passed me with like 7 or 8 to go and we tried different lines to make a pass, but could not make it happen. Rod took home the $2,000 and we had to settle for 2nd place money of $550. That made the loss hurt even worse. . . LOL

Sunday we headed out to WV Motor Speedway for the Mark Balzano Memorial race. They had around 20 modifieds and I screwed up and drew my own pill instead of having Kim or Tim draw it. I drew #52 and this started us 6th in the 1st heat. We managed to work our way in to 3rd and was pressuring 2nd place Kenny Riddle. But when a caution came out, WVMS rules for restarts are double file. This put us starting 2nd row inside and Riddle lugged it down to a crawl on the start and we bogged and that allowed Chris Stotts to pass us back again so we finished 4th. This starts us 7th in the feature, but we got rained out. I am not aware of the make up dates as of yet, but will let you know in a later news update!

I want to thank everyone for all of their help and give a call out to Wayne Cornell whom maintains the web site. I have been getting lots of comments and also a lot of people using it to check the latest news and what our schedule is. This week we plan to go to Elkins on Thursday, Skyline on Friday, this will also be a make up feature too and Tyler County on Saturday for a Road Warrior Tour race. So we hope to see you there!

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Saturday we were suppose to go to Tyler for our make up feature, but weather conditions forced them to cancel. So we took off and went to K-C Speedway. They had 34 cars and Tim Cooper again drew us a good pill, #8. We started on the outside pole of the 4th heat and got the heat race win to start us 4th in the feature. I messed up on the start and dove to the bottom of turn 3 only to have me sitting in 4th place. I passed for 3rd and worked Jason Montgomery for 2nd until about 4 to go when I was able to get by him for 2nd place. With only 4 laps left it wasn’t enough to give Doug Adkins a run for the money. 2nd place isn’t bad, but wins sure would be better.

We are supposed to go to WVMS for open practice on Tuesday night, but the weather forecast doesn’t look to good right now. So we’ll have to wait and see. Friday we will be going to Beckley for a RWT race and then to I-77 for another RWT race on Saturday. Then Sunday we will be at WVMS for their opening day. So a big 3 day weekend if Mother Nature cooperates with us. Hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

All of Saturday’s racing got rained out. So next weekend we plan to go to K-C Speedway on Friday and Saturday. They are paying $1,000 to win on Friday and $2,000 to win on Saturday. We hope to see you there! On a sad note, Keith Emrick of K-Graphics mother-in-law passed away Thursday night. Please keep Keith and Connie in your prayers.

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

Thanks again for your support, KJ

I’d like to thank 2 Brother’s Motorsports, K-Graphics, H&S Construction, Larry Shaw Race Cars, and Balderson Construction for all of their support.

Next week we plan to go to Skyline on Friday and Eastside Speedway in Virginia for a Road Warrior Tour Race. We hope to see you there! Remember! To make this work, support those that support us!

Thanks again for your support, KJ

Next Saturday we’ll be heading to K-C Speedway for the first 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

Thanks to everyone who has helped get us to this point thus far!

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

KJ

I want to thank Tod Buckhalter at Hassy Chassis for several good years of racing and I want to thank Jr. and Tommy Nolan of 2 Brothers Motorsports and Kevin Shaw of Shaw Chassis for allowing me to come on board and be a part of their team. We intend to run the same Shaw Chassis for 2010. It is nearly complete and will soon be decal’ed and ready to race. I want to thank Billy Lloyd Racing Engines and Kanawha Valley Maintenance for the efforts and support! Our support this year will be 2 Brother’s Motorsports, Shaw Chassis, K-Graphics. Also receive some help, whether it be in money or labor, Billy Joe and Wanda Hammett, the Lemon Family, the Cooper Family, Jason Canepari and of course Dad and Mom. Really anxious to get he season kicked off and hope to get several wins.

On Feb. 14th I asked Kim to marry me and she said yes. So it looks like on 10/10/10 we will be getting married. She picked the date. I reminded her that racing season is still going on. She informed me that is where she wants to be in years to come on our anniversary. So everyone now knows and everyone can help remind her of it. LOL

As of now April 2nd is the first race and it will be at Skyline. Then April 3rd we will be heading to Tyler County.

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

KJ

This weekend we plan to go to Skyline on Friday and 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

 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,