First-year owner still top driver

LITTLE ROCK — Jason Johnson is having an ultra successful year on the national sprint car ranks, but he’s used to that.

Johnson, of Eunice, La., has 21 victories this season, the fourth time in the past five seasons that he has topped 20 victories. And heading into this weekend’s 23rd annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway,Johnson is trying to secure his second Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series national championship.

This year, however, is special.

For the first time, Johnson and his wife Bobbi are writing the checks this season, his first as an owner/driver.

“We feel like its a huge accomplishment,” said Johnson, who has four ASCS victories this season. “It takes a lot of help and we have a large group of great people helping us out. I wouldn’t trade this season for anything in the world.”

The top three finishers in Thursday night’s preliminary feature secured spots in Saturday’s main event, as will the top three finishers in tonight’s prelim. The rest of the field will be set in heats and qualifying races Saturday night.

Johnson holds a 72-point lead over Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, Okla., in the ASCS standings heading into the event. Since becoming an ASCS-sanctioned event, the Short Track Nationals has been the final race of the season. This year, however, the touring regulars still have races remaining at Las Cruces, N.M. (Nov. 12-13), Tucson, Ariz. (Nov. 18-20), and Las Vegas (Nov. 26-27).

So Johnson said he is concentrating on running well this weekend against what is expected to be one of the most talented fields in the nation.

“[I-30 Speedway] is a tough track, and it took me a long time to get where I could run well there and like running there,” said Johnson, who took a Short Track Nationals title in 2006. “Those corners are so different and there’s just a lot of things there that you can only learn through getting laps on the track.

“You win one and you always want another. And this is one of the most prestigious events on our circuit. You can’t win enough of those kind of races.”