IRWINDALE, California — There were high hopes and plenty of bundled nerves going into the Toyota All-Star Showdown. All the team and driver, Chris Johnson wanted was a chance to compete with the best of the best. And to do that they had to qualify in to the race.
With the challenges of the weather threatening the chances to qualify on Friday, the team wasn’t sure what to expect. As the weather cleared just enough on Saturday, the team prepared to qualify. With the first lap not to be desired…. We held our breath for final qualifying run. With a 18.299 Chris Johnson received his first Coor’s Light Pole award. The excitement between the team was ecstatic!
Starting on the pole is any driver’s dream. But for Chris Johnson is was more than that. This was only his third Camping World West series race, and to achieve the pole at the Toyota All-Star Showdown was more than expected.
Unfortunately as the race went on, Team Cass Racing’s opportunity was cut short with three wrecks and the final one on lap 141, broke the steering, and were completely done. Owner Jim Cass stated, “I was a nervous wreck going into this race…. And after qualifying there were no words to describe the feeling of achieving pole. I knew we could do it… but actually doing it was another story (tearful). It’s disappointing we wrecked because we had a car to contend with, but on the other hand I was pleased about how far we came. Also I was so proud of the team as a whole because when the time came they stepped up and gave it there all.”
In speaking with driver Chris Johnson he shared his view and thoughts about his first Toyota All-Star Showdown event:
“ First off I’d like to thank Toyota Speedway of Irwindale for all their efforts in preparing the track. They did a great job all weekend! Also one of my first time sponsors, Red’s Salsa from Semi Valley, CA.
I’d also like to thank the fans for showing up. Besides the rain and cold, the economy is enough to keep one home. If it weren’t for our fans, we wouldn’t have a place or reason to race. Your attendance is appreciated.
My team and I felt honored to have the opportunity to race against such established teams. The field was full of talent from all over our nation, with East coast, West coast, Canada, Mexico, and Australia. It was a great chance for us to showcase our talents as a team, both on and off the track.
I would like to thank my team for all their hard work, and late nights to make this happen. After all, I’m the lucky one behind the wheel. Their efforts paid off when it came time to qualify, which put us on the pole just a couple hundredths off the track record. My crew was also behind our short-lived success during the race, which was terminated due to racing incident.
We had lost a lap and would restart near the back of the field. This would only breed trouble for us. We were able to make up ground up fast, passing one or two cars a lap, which put us in position to earn the “free pass” when the next caution waived. Now that we were on the lead lap, our hopes were lifted and we saw a chance to salvage our finish. Once again, we were wrapped up in a wreck involving the leader Brian Ickler and veteran Ron Hornaday Jr. This time the damage appeared to be only cosmetic so we opted to stay out of the pits to try and save track position.
Our luck had now expired. After a slow paced restart, we had set our goals to make it to the 200 lap break to make minor adjustments, new shoes, and fuel. A lap and a half into our run, we were tagged from the rear entering turn one. Suffering heavy damage far too bad for tape and zip ties, our night had ended.
Though some would say it ended on a bad note, I say it leaves us wondering “what if?” I think our team will use this to our advantage as fuel to feed the fire behind us to press on for the ’09 season. Though we are still in need of a sponsor, I feel we will harbor success no matter where we go. We must remember the power of intention; there is nothing we can’t do, if we put our minds to it.”
Best of luck to all the teams this race season ….. Race Hard!
For more information on Team Cass Racing please visit : www.teamcassracing.com
