BALDWIN PARK, California — The day for Position One Motorsports began with a lot of uncertainties: a newcomer to racing who had never raced a stock car and a newcomer to a series. For Dutch actor Sebastian Labrie, his only experience in a stock car was just a couple of hours of practice the day prior. For Rod Johnson Jr., a Champion in the Late Model series last year, this was his first points race in the Super Late Model (SLM) series. Both drivers were looking to make their 2011 racing debut a successful affair. As it would eventually turn out, the night would be considered a resounding success for Position One Motorsports and its drivers.
"The battle for 1st was eventually settled by lap 11 when, after a restart on account of a yellow flag, RJ stormed through to the front and never looked back. "
After two practice sessions in which he posted respectable times, Labrie, who was in the Position One Motorsport # 03 S2 entry for the weekend, took to the track for his qualifying session. The Dutchman, whose racing debut was part of a Dutch TV show called “Try Before You Die”, approached the track and laid down two quick laps which put him in the 4th out of 7 spots on the timesheets with a time of 20.529. The order was later shuffled and Labrie was informed that he was going to start in the front of the pack.
Labrie’s race start began thrillingly when he missed a shift and was relegated to the 8th spot. Not one to get dismayed, Labrie climbed his way back and soon began jostling for position and by lap #5 he found himself in the 6th spot. Labrie began a 2-way battle with the #50 of Trevor Huddleston and the two came together and spun. Labrie’s move put him in the back of the pack, while Huddleston’s race was unfortunately over. Once again, Labrie charged from the back, showing no signs of panic. He scooted up once again to the 5th spot, while narrowly escaping two on-track incidents. With one lap left in the race, he hustled himself to 4th. Labrie’s move left the crowd gathered at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale applauding the flying Dutchman’s last lap effort.
Rod Johnson Jr. was being closely watched by speedway locals, as the 21 year old has enjoyed success in all of the series he has participated in from the King Taco Speed Truck series to last year’s Late Model series, where he went on to win the championship. This year’s venture to the SLM series was a question mark. Though he does own the SLM track record, when he ran an astounding 17.571 lap at last year’s California Classic. Still, despite that notoriety, Johnson enters this season with a clean slate. All question marks would be definitively answered at the conclusion of the night.
As the clouds began to darken and the winds began to pick up, Johnson entered the track for his qualifying session. All cars had already put in their qualifying laps and now it was Johnson’s time. He exploded onto the track and hammered down his first lap and with that he propelled himself to the top of the timesheets. Another lap solidified his P1 effort and Johnson earned himself and the team the first pole position of the year.
After the final order was set, Johnson would start the race in the 4th spot. As the green flag dropped, Johnson rocketed his way to the 2nd spot by the completion of the 1st lap and by lap #2 Johnson was working the low line in order to take the lead away. The battle for 1st was eventually settled by lap 11 when, after a restart on account of a yellow flag, RJ stormed through to the front and never looked back. By lap #18 Johnson extended his lead to 4 car lengths and never looked back. Despite the additional caution periods and the ensuing restarts, Johnson was never fazed, nor in danger of losing the lead. Johnson carved his #03 King Taco/Sunrise Ford car around the ½ mile track and eventually won the race by a comfortable margin while simultaneously answering the question of whether he was going to be able to be competitive in the SLM series.
Rod Johnson Jr., Driver No. 03 - “It was definitely nice to prevail and get this monkey off my back. In the past, I have come close to winning but whether it was an unfortunate track event or some other unfortunate circumstances, I was not able to get the win, but tonight was great. The car was incredible and the crew did an amazing job this weekend. I would like to thank our sponsors King Taco, Sunrise Ford, Eibach Springs, Ron’s Rear Ends, Jan’s Towing, DJ Safety and everyone who contributed to this great night!”
ABOUT POSITION ONE MOTORSPORTS
Based in Baldwin Park, CA, Position One Motorsports enters its 4th year of stock car competition at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. In the past 3 years of competition, the team has garnered a Championship in the S2 division in 2009, 1 win and multiple top-10s with drivers Mackena Bell, Sergio Pena, Randel King, and Luis Martinez Jr. For 2011, Rodney Johnson Jr and Taylor Miinch will pilot the team’s Super Late and Late Model division cars respectively. You can follow Position One Motorsports on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PositionOne and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Position-One-Motorsports/102821856470447 .You can also visit the team’s website at www.position-one.com
