Jason Johnson made it two in a row Saturday afternoon at the Jackson Nationals (Dave Biro - DB3 Imaging)
JACKSON, MN – June 9, 2018 – Two completely different track surfaces, but the same result (as last night) for Jason Johnson at Jackson Motorplex during the 40th Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals rain make-up from Thursday night. Johnson passed Jacob Allen on Lap 15 and held off a resilient charge from Allen to score back-to-back World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series victories. Brad Sweet charged from ninth on an excellent daytime racing surface to finish third in the non-stop Feature.
Jacob Allen won the Sears Craftsman Dash, earning the pole for the 30-lap Feature. Allen surged to the lead and led the opening lap, in search of his first career World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series victory.
Allen reached heavy traffic by Lap 8 with Pittman and Johnson in tow. Daryn Pittman threw a massive slider on Johnson for second, but the Eunice, LA native turned his No.41 back underneath to maintain the runner-up spot.
Johnson and Pittman both closed in on Allen as the young Hanover, PA native had his hands full in traffic on the daytime surface. Pittman took another shot at Johnson on Lap 13 in turn four, but Johnson again returned the favor to maintain second. Pittman lost momentum through turn one and Tim Kaeding, back aboard the Lunstra Motorsports No.3, stole third from the 2013 Outlaw Champion.
While that battle for third was taking place, Johnson pounced on Allen down the backstretch and got underneath the Shark Racing No.1A off of turn four to lead Lap 15. Allen was then challenged by Tim Kaeding and the duo would go back and forth battling for the runner-up position for the next handful laps.
Allen hopped the cushion on Lap 18, relinquishing second to TK for the time being. Allen and Kaeding would continue to wage war, exchanging the runner-up position at the line for three consecutive laps. Allen would solidify himself in second on Lap 24 as Brad Sweet dove underneath Kaeding to steal third and give Allen some breathing room.
Johnson continued to lead, but Allen looked like a poised veteran around the bottom reeling Johnson back in. Allen was quicker in turns three and four, but Johnson was able to distance himself just enough in turns one and two to maintain an advantage and score the victory for the second consecutive night.
“We have a really good balance, and things are clicking right now. A little luck doesn’t hurt either, and we got that in the Dash draw,” Johnson said in Victory Lane.
“I was trying to pace myself at the beginning, and then, once I got to the lead, I had to gauge myself off the lapped cars,” Johnson added before saying he hopes to be in Victory Lane one more time this weekend during the AGCO Jackson Nationals finale.
Allen settled for second for the second time this week and was upbeat as usual. “My guys give me a great car, and driving against these guys is tough,” Allen said before receiving a huge ovation from the crowd.
Defending AGCO Jackson Nationals Champion Brad Sweet completed the podium. “The big picture is tonight. I have a great race team, and this was the best I’ve felt all week,” Sweet said before praising the Jackson Motorplex track crew for their efforts in the afternoon racing program.
Logan Schuchart edged Pittman by a nose to take fourth. David Gravel picked up the KSE Hard Charger honors coming from 21st to 12th.
Heading into the final night of the AGCO Jackson Nationals, Jason Johnson, Brad Sweet, Daryn Pittman and Brian Brown are locked into the Sears Craftsman Dash. The 40th Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals at Jackson Motorplex conclude this evening with the $40,000 to win Feature. If you can’t make it to the track, be sure to watch every lap LIVE at DIRTVision.com.
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson [2][$10,000]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][$5,000]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [9][$3,000]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$2,700]; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman [6][$2,500]; 6. 3-Tim Kaeding [8][$2,200]; 7. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7][$2,000]; 8. 83-Cory Eliason [5][$1,800]; 9. 24-Terry McCarl [3][$1,600]; 10. 21-Brian Brown [15][$1,450]; 11. 83H-Justin Henderson [14][$1,300]; 12. 5-David Gravel [21][$1,200]; 13. 15-Donny Schatz [22][$1,100]; 14. 2KS-Austin McCarl [10][$1,000]; 15. 2-Shane Stewart [17][$950]; 16. 18-Ian Madsen [24][$900]; 17. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [4][$850]; 18. 11K-Kraig Kinser [23][$750]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [11][$725]; 20. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg [13][$700]; 21. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [16][$700]; 22. 55-Brooke Tatnell [20][$700]; 23. O9-Matt Juhl [19][$700]; 24. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier [18][$700]; Lap Leaders: Jacob Allen 1-14, Jason Johnson 15-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 5-David Gravel[+9]
Qualifying Flight-A: 1. 12-Lynton Jeffrey, 12.69; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman, 12.732; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.855; 4. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.857; 5. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.876; 6. 21-Brian Brown, 12.879; 7. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg, 12.899; 8. 83-Cory Eliason, 12.921; 9. 2-Shane Stewart, 12.924; 10. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.929; 11. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.002; 12. O9-Matt Juhl, 13.018; 13. 5-David Gravel, 13.078; 14. 16-Travis Whitney, 13.246; 15. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.304; 16. 7-Carson McCarl, 13.401; 17. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 13.473; 18. 14-Jody Rosenboom, 13.517; 19. 4X-Eric Schulz, 14.01; 20. 14K-Tori Knutson, 14.632
Qualifying Flight-B: 1. 3-Tim Kaeding, 13.009; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.029; 3. 24-Terry McCarl, 13.06; 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 13.065; 5. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.103; 6. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 13.173; 7. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 13.18; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.206; 9. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.223; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.318; 11. 7W-Tasker Phillips, 13.353; 12. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.368; 13. 20-Brant O'Banion, 13.53; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 13.545; 15. 13-Clyde Knipp, 13.563; 16. 64-Scotty Thiel, 13.58; 17. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier, 13.625; 18. O5-Colin Smith, 13.924; 19. 83H-Justin Henderson, 14.456
Heat #1 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 4. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg [4]; 5. 2-Shane Stewart [5]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 7. 5-David Gravel [7]; 8. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [9]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8]; 10. 4X-Eric Schulz [10]
Heat #2 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 9-Daryn Pittman [1]; 2. 83-Cory Eliason [4]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 5. O9-Matt Juhl [6]; 6. 14-Jody Rosenboom [9]; 7. 7-Carson McCarl [8]; 8. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 9. 16-Travis Whitney [7]; 10. 14K-Tori Knutson [10]
Heat #3 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 24-Terry McCarl [2]; 2. 3-Tim Kaeding [1]; 3. 2KS-Austin McCarl [4]; 4. 83H-Justin Henderson [10]; 5. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier [9]; 6. 13-Clyde Knipp [8]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 8. 7W-Tasker Phillips [6]; 9. 17B-Bill Balog [5]; 10. 20-Brant O'Banion [7]
Heat #4 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson [2]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5]; 5. 55-Brooke Tatnell [3]; 6. 64-Scotty Thiel [8]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 9. O5-Colin Smith [9]
Sears Craftsman Dash (6 Laps): 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson [1]; 3. 24-Terry McCarl [4]; 4. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [3]; 5. 83-Cory Eliason [6]; 6. 9-Daryn Pittman [5]; 7. 2M-Kerry Madsen [8]; 8. 3-Tim Kaeding [7]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer: 1. 5-David Gravel [5][-]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3][-]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9][-]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [1][-]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [2][$300]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [4][$250]; 7. 19-Brent Marks [12][$225]; 8. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [8][$200]; 9. 16-Travis Whitney [7][$200]; 10. 7W-Tasker Phillips [6][$200]; 11. 14-Jody Rosenboom [15][$200]; 12. 64-Scotty Thiel [16][$200]; 13. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [13][$200]; 14. 7-Carson McCarl [11][$200]; 15. 13-Clyde Knipp [14][$200]; 16. 20-Brant O'Banion [10][$200]; 17. 4X-Eric Schulz [17][$200]; 18. 14K-Tori Knutson [19][$200]; 19. O5-Colin Smith [18][$200]