101 Racecars! Three wide battle for the win in the Stock Car race! Side by side lap after lap Sport Compact battle for what was advertised as $250 to win and the Knight Family made it $500 to win! A trick question sort of, “How many Johnsons were racing tonight for an order of free chili cheese fries?”. Funnel cakes, two fisted drinkers, a raffle, cool temperatures, jalapeño ketchup, oh what fun we had this past Saturday night at I-35 Speedway.
Now before we get to all that fun, you know the week leading up meant lots of grass mowing, lots of grass mowing, lots of grass mowing. This time of the year we are in prep mode for the USRA Nationals which means mowing the camping area north of the track. This past week was summertime weather, so you know the grass was growing. So, mow, mow, mow we did! Clean, clean, clean we did also.
The question of how many Johnsons were racing tonight went out on Facebook with the first person to the Trackside Bar and Grill with the correct answer would received a free order of chili cheese fries. Most people answered with the number 4 but the true answer was 5. You had Mike Johnson driving the #20 Vintage Car, Austin Johnson driving his #98 A Mod, Houston Johnson driving the #97 A Mod and Grand National, and Mike Johnson Jr. driving the #99 Grand National. All were in competition on this night and all four of those Johnson drivers are related – Mike Sr. and his three sons. But wait there was fifth Johnson in competition, Matt Johnson, drove his #1T A Mod to a fifth-place finish, and as far as we know he is not related to the Mike Johnson clan. So, the correct answer for the free chili cheese fries was five Johnsons’ were racing! Now want to add even more fun, does the horizon include Mike Johnsons’ grandsons Mike and Matt in racecars, which would make this Matt related? Then you could have Mike Sr. racing with sons Junior, Austin, and Houston, with grandsons Mike and Matt, hmm, maybe the Johnson family alone is the future of racing or at the very least a good television show along the lines of the former television show Dallas.
What great racing! Talk about Fun! You know it was fun inside the car for the stock car class to have a three car sometime three wide battle for the win! Austin O’Neal at 15 years old battled side by side with veterans Tim Shields and Billie Hoover to pull out the win. Exciting! The 20 lap Sport Compact feature was super exciting with a lap after lap battle between 17-year-old Dakota Girard and veteran David Miller III with each leading different laps by the bumper of their car! Once again, the younger racer prevailed and thank you Mike Knight Family for putting up the $500 to win for this race, everyone in the sport compact class should be sending thank you notes to Mary Knight!
Did you know the Trackside Bar and Grill had a cheeseburger special and you could put jalapeño peppers and jalapeño ketchup on it? I was told they were delicious by several in the Bar and Grill when I went for a tour during intermission. Saw numerous fans enjoying the funnel cakes and interviewed a two-fisted drinker with two different brands until his wife/girlfriend took the second brand making her a two-fisted drinker! Yep we have fun at I-35 Speedway every Saturday night.
And now back to more behind the scenes work as we prepare for the USRA Nationals on October 4, 5, 6, 2018.
