KALISPELL, Montana — For ARCA West Mac’s Series points leader, Brian Johnson Jr., this weekend’s Bill Clark Can-Am Memorial at Montana Raceway Park is just another step in his goal of racing on the ARCA Re/Max or NASCAR Camping World Series in the future.
Coming off a third place run last weekend at Sun Valley Speedway to the father and son duo of Pete and Shane Harding, Johnson is not fazed by the level of competition he’s been facing in Western Canada or the Pacific Northwest.
“Coming from the Midwest (Johnson hails from the state of Illinois) I have run against some tough competition and guys back East say if you want to get some great experience you need to run (in the Midwest). I know that Pete (Harding) is good and that the competition this weekend in Montana will be tough but my goal going into this two-day show is to win but if we get a top-3 finish in Friday’s (Best of the West) race and keep a hold of our points lead on Saturday it’d be very exciting when you look at the guys we’ll have to race against to do that,” Johnson said.
“This will be the toughest race we’ll run all year except for the Slinger Nationals (held in Wisconsin, where Johnson finished 12th),” the Illinois native added.
Traveling from the Midwest to run in Western Canada has been rewarding for Johnson. With just three races to go in the 2009 season, the team’s goals are being reached and those not yet obtained are within grasp.
“When we started the season our goal was to win the championship and have four or five race wins. Right now we’re leading the points, have two wins and have three races to go to get two or three more.”
Winning an ARCA West championship may spring Johnson to higher levels of racing, he noted.
“Next year I’d like to do something back East whether it’s on the ARCA Re/Max or NASCAR Camping World series which leads to my life goal of racing at the highest levels. To get there this is my first year trying to reach that in the ARCA program. I have run in the ASA Midwest Series (where Johnson finished 10th overall in 2007) and I have tested some ARCA
(Re/Max) and Camping World cars. Right now we’re trying to get the ARCA West championship then we’ll see how things work out.
“I do know we’ll be going to (the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown weekend) Irwindale in January and we’ve talked about running a Re/Max or Camping World race later this year but we’re focused on this weekend and adding to our points lead.”
Driving the SUPERSEAL Chevrolet for Ted Hubert and even having a chance to win the championship has been a humbling experience for Johnson. At the end of the 2007 season driving was going to give way to working on race cars but the chance encounter with Hubert’s team has led to a potential late model title-something Johnson is grateful to have in front of him as
2009 draws to a close.
“I live about five minutes from where Lefthander Chassis is located and (current teammate) Dean (Craig) bought a car there and I came up to Canada to crew chief for him and got him running in the top-5 consistently. One day I tested a car for (Ted) and it’s been going ever since. Ted contacted me over the winter about testing some cars and now we’re running to see if we can get that championship.
“I was done with racing after 2007 and I figured I’d done enough but now this opportunity is here and I couldn’t ask for a better situation to be in with Ted and SUPERSEAL behind me.”
Johnson has become a frequent flyer in his quest to win the 2009 ARCA West championship, he added.
“Take last week for example. I flew from the Midwest to Vernon (British
Columbia) on Thursday and returned home on Sunday at 2 a.m. then turned around and flew to Canada again to work on car Tuesday and will head to Montana Friday then fly home on Sunday. I don’t mind the traveling a bit right now even though I’m not home a lot because we’re having a great season so far.”
Friday’s race is a 100-lap shootout featuring Johnson, Craig, Ryan Fisher and Ron Dexter representing SUPERSEAL against the likes of Gary Lewis, Shelby Thompson, Mark Owens, Bodie Morton, Alex Lessor and 2008 ARCA West champion Wes Rhodes as they battle for a $5,000 winner’s check and a $16,000 total purse in the “Best of the West” showdown.
ARCA West Mac’s Series competitors take to the high-banked Montana Raceway Park on Saturday night for a 150-lap event with over $15,000 in purse available. Many of Friday’s teams are entered for both days of racing in the Kalispell Toyota Tundra International Challenge to honor Bill Clark.
For more information log onto www.montanaracewaypark.com or call (406) 257-RACE (7223). Tickets are available online and the race weekend will be broadcast with live audio and video on the track’s website.
