Freedom Car prepares for ARCA race
By James V. Carroll | The American Legion - February 4, 2010
American Legion/David Law Firm 76 Freedom Car driver Jerick Johnson and his ARCA series car outside the Team Johnson Motorsports garage in Mooresville, N.C. The car does not have its racing colors yet.
Photo by James V. Carroll
Jerick Johnson, driver of The American Legion/David Law Firm 76 Freedom Car, and his Team Johnson Motorsports crew are in Florida this week preparing for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway. The 80-lap race is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and will be televised live on SPEED.
The Daytona race is the first of 10 Automobile Racing Club of America contests in which Johnson is scheduled to compete during 2010. The step up in racing circuits follows a successful racing season that culminated in Johnson’s winning of the 2009 ASA Late Model Challenge Series Rookie of the Year trophy. He also finished ninth in total championship points for the 2009 season.
Competing in the ARCA circuit isn’t Johnson’s and Team Johnson Motorsports’ first experience with the steel-bodied, 3,400-pound ARCA race cars. Johnson drove two ARCA races in 2002 and five NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series races in 2007.
The ARCA series is considered by most in the racing business as the NASCAR “farm system.” Those teams that achieve success in ARCA many times move up to Nationwide or Sprint Cup competition.
In addition to a busy schedule at the track, Johnson and the 76 Freedom Car team will make a number of appearances at local American Legion posts while in Daytona, including:
Edgewater, Fla., Post 285 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday
Holly Hill, Fla., Post 120 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday
Johnson and the 76 Freedom Car team will also attend a Daytona 500 Party at Lady Lake, Fla., Legion Post 347 at 1 p.m. and a Super Bowl Party at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.The David Law Firm and the 76 Freedom Car team will host an invitation-only dinner for veterans service officers at The Villages, Fla., on Wednesday.
“We are confident that we can be very competitive here at Daytona,” Johnson said.
“We’ve learned a lot during ARCA and Busch races that we have run in the past. And more recently, we are very satisfied with tests we ran in our ARCA car at Daytona late last year.”
The American Legion/David Law Firm 76 Freedom Car race team is a program of The American Legion, for the purpose of raising awareness of the programs conducted by The American Legion across the country in support of veterans, our nation’s military and their families. The racing program is also geared to attract the next generation of American Legion members.
The 76 Freedom Car is also an excellent sponsorship fit for The David Law Firm of The Woodlands, Texas. The firm has helped countless military veterans receive just compensation for mesothelioma and other lung cancers related to asbestos. The firm also provides related educational information in response to inquiries from all 50 states.
To learn more about American Legion Racing, go to www.americanlegion.org. For information on hosting an American Legion racing event, contact Team Johnson Motorsports at (704) 877-0151 or by e-mail at info@teamjohnsonmotorsports.co
http://www.legion.org/racing/6240/freedom-car-prepares-arca-race
