Inside Line Promotions - BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (March 18, 2019) - The last half dozen years have been extremely trying for Chase Johnson, who has climbed from the depths of depression following an unimaginable crash that took the lives of his cousin, Marcus Johnson, and Dale Wondergem Jr.
Johnson rediscovered his passion for racing and with it his zest for life by strapping back into a race car months after the 2013 crash. His mission has been to honor his cousin and Wondergem Jr. at each race.
Last Saturday marked the sixth anniversary of the horrible crash and it was the first time Johnson has competed on the same day as that fateful event.
"Every time I race it's in memory of Marcus and Dale," he said. "Saturday was the first time I've raced on the anniversary. You have a lot of different emotions running through you on a night like that and I did my best to keep my emotions in check and to focus."
Johnson did more than that as he won a heat race before powering from sixth to capture his second career non-wing sprint car feature triumph during a USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series event at Bakersfield Speedway.
"To win made it even more special of a day," he said. "I'm really glad it ended up like that.
"We got to fourth pretty quick after a good start. Then I picked them off one by one. We had a lot of yellows and red flags. There weren't long green-flag runs. I made most of my passes on restarts. I got to the lead faster than I expected. I think we took the lead on Lap 7. The rest of the race I was running up top and I had a couple of guys poke their nose underneath. I had to move my line around to protect the lead and adjust to how the track transitioned."
The win capped a stellar weekend for Johnson, who did double duty by racing in both his non-wing sprint car as well as a midget for Morris Motorsports the previous night at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif.
Johnson qualified second, advanced from fourth to second in a heat race and finished second in the non-wing sprint car A Main.
"I thought we were going to be in pretty good shape," he said. "We got the early lead and led the first two laps. Then we went into turns one and two and the car biked up pretty bad. We let two cars go by us. That was a big bummer. I tried to recover the best I could. I'm still happy with running second, but it would have been better to win in both cars."
Johnson was victorious in the midget feature. He opened the competition by qualifying second quickest before charging from fifth to second in a heat race. Johnson lined up on the outside of the second row for the main event and he took the top spot midway through the race before pulling away for his second career midget triumph.
"It was a great weekend overall," he said. "This was a weekend when we first put the schedule together we wanted to take advantage of a lot of racing in the same city. I'm really glad we were able to get the win for Del (Morris) in the midget. I was bummed running second in the sprint car because I felt like we had a car that could win, but the next night we were just as fast if not faster and we were able to put the whole night together."
Johnson is scheduled to return to action this Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., during the Ocean Outlaw Showdown and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., during the 49er Gold Rush Classic presented by Riebes NAPA Auto Parts with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
QUICK RESULTS -
March 15 - Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif. (midget) - Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 1 (4).
March 15 - Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif. (non-wing sprint car) - Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 2 (2).
March 16 - Bakersfield Speedway in Bakersfield, Calif. (non-wing sprint car) - Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 1 (6).
UP NEXT -
Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., for the Ocean Outlaw Showdown and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., for the 49er Gold Rush Classic presented by Riebes NAPA Auto Parts with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.ChaseJohnsonRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChaseJohnson24
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chase.Johnson.Racing1
APPAREL -
Johnson has new t-shirts and hoodies for sale at his race trailer at every race he competes in this season. T-shirts are $25 each and hoodies are $35 apiece.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - PitStopUSA.com
PitStopUSA.com is an online motor sports superstore that offers more than 40,000 different circle track parts, supplies, tools and accessories from more than 400 of the premier brands in the industry. PitStopUSA.com specializes in racing safety equipment and is proud to offer the widest assortment anywhere. For more information, visit http://www.PitStopUSA.com.
"Pit Stop USA has been a huge supporter of mine since the beginning of my sprint car career in 2010," Johnson said. "Pit Stop USA not only makes sure that I have the correct safety equipment needed, but offers only the best products we bolt onto our race cars. They have made race shopping easy with their great customer service and a top of the line website. I couldn't be happier to represent the online motor sports superstore."
Johnson would also like to thank Fire Suppression Engineering, Newman Freeman Racing, Johnny Franklin's Mufflers, Flowmaster, Woodland Napa Auto Parts, VanLare Steering Repair, Wesmar Racing Engines, Wings Unlimited, Schoenfeld Headers, Bell Helmets, LRB Race Products, Champion Machine, Swift Metal Finishing and Chevron Pro-Gas for their continued support.
Johnson rediscovered his passion for racing and with it his zest for life by strapping back into a race car months after the 2013 crash. His mission has been to honor his cousin and Wondergem Jr. at each race.
"Every time I race it's in memory of Marcus and Dale," he said. "Saturday was the first time I've raced on the anniversary. You have a lot of different emotions running through you on a night like that and I did my best to keep my emotions in check and to focus."
Johnson did more than that as he won a heat race before powering from sixth to capture his second career non-wing sprint car feature triumph during a USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series event at Bakersfield Speedway.
"To win made it even more special of a day," he said. "I'm really glad it ended up like that.
"We got to fourth pretty quick after a good start. Then I picked them off one by one. We had a lot of yellows and red flags. There weren't long green-flag runs. I made most of my passes on restarts. I got to the lead faster than I expected. I think we took the lead on Lap 7. The rest of the race I was running up top and I had a couple of guys poke their nose underneath. I had to move my line around to protect the lead and adjust to how the track transitioned."
The win capped a stellar weekend for Johnson, who did double duty by racing in both his non-wing sprint car as well as a midget for Morris Motorsports the previous night at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif.
Johnson qualified second, advanced from fourth to second in a heat race and finished second in the non-wing sprint car A Main.
"I thought we were going to be in pretty good shape," he said. "We got the early lead and led the first two laps. Then we went into turns one and two and the car biked up pretty bad. We let two cars go by us. That was a big bummer. I tried to recover the best I could. I'm still happy with running second, but it would have been better to win in both cars."
Johnson was victorious in the midget feature. He opened the competition by qualifying second quickest before charging from fifth to second in a heat race. Johnson lined up on the outside of the second row for the main event and he took the top spot midway through the race before pulling away for his second career midget triumph.
"It was a great weekend overall," he said. "This was a weekend when we first put the schedule together we wanted to take advantage of a lot of racing in the same city. I'm really glad we were able to get the win for Del (Morris) in the midget. I was bummed running second in the sprint car because I felt like we had a car that could win, but the next night we were just as fast if not faster and we were able to put the whole night together."
Johnson is scheduled to return to action this Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., during the Ocean Outlaw Showdown and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., during the 49er Gold Rush Classic presented by Riebes NAPA Auto Parts with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
QUICK RESULTS -
March 15 - Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif. (midget) - Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 1 (4).
March 15 - Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif. (non-wing sprint car) - Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 2 (2).
March 16 - Bakersfield Speedway in Bakersfield, Calif. (non-wing sprint car) - Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 1 (6).
UP NEXT -
Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., for the Ocean Outlaw Showdown and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., for the 49er Gold Rush Classic presented by Riebes NAPA Auto Parts with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.ChaseJohnsonRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChaseJohnson24
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chase.Johnson.Racing1
APPAREL -
Johnson has new t-shirts and hoodies for sale at his race trailer at every race he competes in this season. T-shirts are $25 each and hoodies are $35 apiece.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - PitStopUSA.com
PitStopUSA.com is an online motor sports superstore that offers more than 40,000 different circle track parts, supplies, tools and accessories from more than 400 of the premier brands in the industry. PitStopUSA.com specializes in racing safety equipment and is proud to offer the widest assortment anywhere. For more information, visit http://www.PitStopUSA.com.
"Pit Stop USA has been a huge supporter of mine since the beginning of my sprint car career in 2010," Johnson said. "Pit Stop USA not only makes sure that I have the correct safety equipment needed, but offers only the best products we bolt onto our race cars. They have made race shopping easy with their great customer service and a top of the line website. I couldn't be happier to represent the online motor sports superstore."
Johnson would also like to thank Fire Suppression Engineering, Newman Freeman Racing, Johnny Franklin's Mufflers, Flowmaster, Woodland Napa Auto Parts, VanLare Steering Repair, Wesmar Racing Engines, Wings Unlimited, Schoenfeld Headers, Bell Helmets, LRB Race Products, Champion Machine, Swift Metal Finishing and Chevron Pro-Gas for their continued support.
