A SOLID TOP TEN RUN IN THE GERDAU MAGIC CITY SHOWDOWN AT NODAK SPEEDWAY FOR JASON AND THE JJR #41 TEAM

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA (August 23, 2015) – Jason and the JJR #41 team were back at it on Sunday night at Nodak Speedway in the Gerdau Magic City Showdown. There were 27 cars in the pit area and the grandstands were full of fans. This three eighths mile oval is a fun place to race and Jason was hoping to put on a great show in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Valvoline #41 Maxim on this beautiful night in North Dakota.

For the first time in a long time the ball that rolled out during the pill draw for the Rocky Mount, Missouri resident was a low one as it had a “3” on it. That meant he would be at the top of the left hand side of the time trial sheet versus the bottom right. When all the pills were drawn, the Louisiana chauffeur would push off second for his two time trial laps aboard the Priority Aviation Services, LLC/K&N Filters Maxim. His first attempt around the oval yielded a lap of 13.773 seconds. He stayed on the hammer and improved his second lap turning in a time of 13.600 seconds, which turned out to be eighth overall on the night. A good start to the evening for the driver of the forty one.

Next up were the three heat races. Jason would roll out for the second heat and lineup on the outside of the front row in the Fischer Body Shop/Kenny’s Components machine alongside of pole sitter David Gravel. When the green flag waved over the field, Gravel led the field into turn one with Jason right behind. The field battled for positions throughout all eight laps with Gravel taking the win ahead of Jason, Shane Stewart, and Brad Sweet with Casey Mack rounding out the top five. His runner up finish would lock him into the A-Main with a starting spot just behind those making the Dash.

For the 35 lap feature event, the Louisiana speedster would lineup in the 11th starting spot aboard the Jonestown KOA/KSE Racing Products #41 beside Joey Saldana’s #71M. Jason was hoping for a little magic in the Gerdau Magic City Showdown with the sun setting in the background and the silhouette of the paced grandstands as the backdrop. Paul McMahan and Donny Schatz made up row one. Kerry Madsen and Shane Stewart inhabited row two. Row three was all KKR as Brad Sweet and Daryn Pittman occupied the row. And, Jason Sides and David Gravel were in row four. It was race time in North Dakota! McMahan jumped out to the lead early as Jason held his position in the early going. Jason was grappling and exchanging positions 9 through 12 throughout the race. Schatz inherited the lead on lap 12 when McMahan had a tire going down, but not for long as Brad Sweet took command of the top spot on lap 18 and led for a while before having tire issues with Schatz retaking the lead. When Schatz crossed the finish line, Jason brought home the Priority Aviation Services, LLC/Fischer Body Shop Maxim in the tenth spot to ear his second top ten in North Dakota after his fourth place run at River Cities Speedway on Friday night. A consistent and good weekend for the JJR #41 team!