Bad luck hits Freedom Car at Toledo
By James V. Carroll - September 14, 2010
Driver Jerick Johnson shares a 76 Freedom Car hero card
with a young fan during an on-track autograph session at
Toledo Speedway Sunday. Photo by James V. Carroll
There are good days in the racing business and bad. It was all bad Sunday at Toledo Speedway for Jerick Johnson and The American Legion/David Law Firm 76 Freedom Car.
Johnson's opportunity for an up-front qualifying position was rained out Saturday, and his opportunity for a top-10 finish in the Northwest Ohio Ford Dealers 200 race was dashed by a blown right front tire and resulting damage to a sway bar.
"I know they call it just one of those bad luck racing things," Johnson said after his disappointing 20th-place finish. "But surely there has to be some good luck racing things out there too."
Due to rained-out qualification attempts on Saturday, Johnson started the ARCA 100-mile race on the inside of row 13. Johnson maneuvered his Chevrolet to 19th place before the right front tire blew. The resulting green flag pit stop quickly shuffled Johnson toward the back of the 32-car field. After returning to the half-mile paved oval, Johnson realized the flat tire caused the suspension to drag along the track, shearing the right front sway bar.
"We never recovered after the sway bar broke," Team Johnson Motorsports owner Jack Johnson said. "We had a top-10 car today - maybe a top-five car. It took us too long to rig a fix and get back on the track. After that, we just run laps."
Johnson's 20th-place finish at Toledo did not alter his Championship or Hard Charger points standings. He is 18th in Championship points and second in the Hard Charger category.
The 76 Freedom Car is tentatively scheduled to race Saturday in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic at Salem Speedway in Salem, Ind., and is entered to compete Sept. 30 in the ARCA Kansas Lottery 150 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kans. The Kansas race will be televised live at 5 p.m. ET on SPEED.
Johnson's opportunity for an up-front qualifying position was rained out Saturday, and his opportunity for a top-10 finish in the Northwest Ohio Ford Dealers 200 race was dashed by a blown right front tire and resulting damage to a sway bar.
"I know they call it just one of those bad luck racing things," Johnson said after his disappointing 20th-place finish. "But surely there has to be some good luck racing things out there too."
Due to rained-out qualification attempts on Saturday, Johnson started the ARCA 100-mile race on the inside of row 13. Johnson maneuvered his Chevrolet to 19th place before the right front tire blew. The resulting green flag pit stop quickly shuffled Johnson toward the back of the 32-car field. After returning to the half-mile paved oval, Johnson realized the flat tire caused the suspension to drag along the track, shearing the right front sway bar.
"We never recovered after the sway bar broke," Team Johnson Motorsports owner Jack Johnson said. "We had a top-10 car today - maybe a top-five car. It took us too long to rig a fix and get back on the track. After that, we just run laps."
Johnson's 20th-place finish at Toledo did not alter his Championship or Hard Charger points standings. He is 18th in Championship points and second in the Hard Charger category.
The 76 Freedom Car is tentatively scheduled to race Saturday in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic at Salem Speedway in Salem, Ind., and is entered to compete Sept. 30 in the ARCA Kansas Lottery 150 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kans. The Kansas race will be televised live at 5 p.m. ET on SPEED.
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