REMEMBERING AND HONORING THOSE THAT SERVE: THE LOUISIANA WARRIOR RACES TO A SIXTH PLACE FINISH AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY IN THE MEMORIAL DAY SPECTACULAR TO CELEBRATE OUR HEROES

LAWRENCEBURG, INDIANA (May 28, 2018) – To cap off the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Jason and the JJR #41 team were one of 34 competitive sprint car teams that were in the pit area at Lawrenceburg Speedway for the Memorial Day Spectacular. The covered grandstands were packed with appreciative fans to watch the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series – The Greatest Show on Dirt – do what they do best at the 3/8-mile, high banked clay oval.

The Eunice, Louisiana native was the first car out for time trials aboard the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 Maxim. He was at the front of the staging lane and entered the track off turn four. After building up to speed, he took the green racing under the flagstand. He had his Kistler Engines/Engler Machine & Tool power on display as he crossed the timing stripe in 12.012 seconds on the first lap. He stayed on the hammer and ran through the bump developing in turn one before exiting turn two and charging down the backstretch. As he came off turn four, he could see the checkers waving and improved his time to 11.947 seconds. When Greg Wilson, the final driver to take time trials, completed his two laps, the quicker of Jason’s two laps ended up fourth quick overall. David Gravel set quick time at 11.835 seconds while Kyle Larson was second quick at 11.847 seconds and Paul McMahan came home third with a lap of 11.890 seconds.

It is never easy to qualify for a World of Outlaw feature. Nevertheless, your first attempt to do so is in the ultra-competitive WoO heat races. When the 10-lap heat race lineups were posted, the Ragin’ Cajun would start from the pole position in the MVT/Waco Metal #41 in the fourth heat race with Donny Schatz to his outside in row one. Parker Price-Miller, Ian Madsen, Joey Saldana, Cale Conley, Jason Sides and Greg Wilson would round out the starting field. When the green flag waved, Jason and Donny drag raced down the front stretch. Entering turn one Johnson was on the low side with Schatz on the high side riding the cushion. They were side-by-side down the back chute with Schatz finally gaining the advantage in turn four to lead lap one. Jason used his KSE Racing Products to steer his way in second place as Ian Madsen was trying to track him down. Schatz would take the heat race victory after 10-laps of speed over Jason with Madsen coming home third, as Price-Miller and Conley secured the final two transfer positions.

Making his way into the Sears Craftsman Dash, Jason headed to the stage for the draw to see where he would start in his MVT branded P1 Performance Racegear driver’s suit. He was the last driver to pull a number out of the Craftsman toolbox, but it was a good one as it was the #1, which put him on the pole to start the event. He would share the row with Paul McMahan as David Gravel and Donny Schatz made up row two. Row three was comprised of Sheldon Haudenschild and Brad Sweet with the fourth and final row made up of Shane Stewart and Kyle Larson. Eight laps and no looking back as the finishing order sets the feature starting lineup for the first four rows. Jason brought the beautiful red Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 to the green as the roar of the top eight drivers cars at speed filled the air in Southeast Indiana. It was McMahan seizing the lead over Johnson, who made incidental racing contact with Schatz at the start finish line as they were coming to the green flag on lap one, with complete chaos between the remaining drivers behind him. A yellow flag was displayed for debris on the track. McMahan chose the top side of the speedway for the restart with the Ragin’ Cajun on the inside. McMahan again took the lead as Schatz and Johnson battled for the runner-up spot. McMahan took the Sears Craftsman Dash win over Johnson’s #41 with Schatz, Larson and Gravel rounding out the top five with the remaining finishing order completed by Haudenschild, Stewart and Sweet.

It was time to celebrate Memorial Day with the best in the business doing what they love to do at Lawrenceburg Speedway for the Memorial Day Spectacular in the 35-lap feature event. With weather brewing to the South, the officials kept the show moving along in an attempt to beat the incoming precipitation. Jason would start from the outside of row one for the showdown under the lights in Indiana as the sun started to set. He climbed into his Fibreworks Composites fitted seat and locked in his Max Papis Innovations (MPI) steering wheel. He was ready to go racing at Lawrenceburg Speedway in front of all of these great fans in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Fischer Body Shop #41 Maxim. When the four-wide salute to the fans was completed, the drivers lined up two-by-two in the starting order as they paced around waiting for the signal to go . . . the green flag. The next time around it was waving in the air and Jason took advantage of it driving into the lead but it was negated by a yellow flag, They tried again and this time the Ragin’ Cajun drove hard on the high side of turn one as McMahan maneuvered in on the low side to take the lead. With one lap completed, Brady Bacon came to a stop with a flat right rear tire. Jason would restart second when racing resumed as the green lights were back on. A 3-car battle for the runner-up position ensued between Schatz, Larson and Johnson with Jason moving back to fourth. He then was in a battle with Sheldon Haudenschild for position when Haudenschild attempted a slider and flipped after hitting the cushion in turn four. After the red flag stoppage, with three laps in the books, Jason restarted fourth with McMahan leading followed by Schatz and Larson. It was pure chaos as his talented competitors engulfed the driver of the forty-one as they raced for the position cleanly. When the dust settled somewhat, Jason shuffled back to the seventh position and had his elbows up. He maintained his position in the running order at the midway point as Ian Madsen was right behind him. With seven laps to go, second running Kyle Larson lost it in turn four and collected fourth running Paul McMahan to bring out the yellow. Jason restarted from the sixth position and drove the MVT/Valvoline #41 hard into turn one on the inside of the racing surface after they went back to green. With five laps to go he was running fifth as Brad Sweet led the field. With three laps to go, Ian Madsen shredded a right rear to bring out the yellow. The teams would start single-file as they came back to the green flag.  Parker Price-Miller would make the pass on the forty-one for fifth with a slider in turn four to get by Johnson. Sweet would take the win over Donny Schatz as Gravel, Stewart and Parker Price-Miller rounded out the top five. Jason came home sixth to record a solid finish at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Memorial Day – a special day to celebrate all of our heroes that serve our country and fight for our freedom every day past and present!

A Wild One at Lawrenceburg Speedway Ends with the Louisiana-Born Racer Coming Home with a Sixth Place Finish!

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