JOHNSON BRINGS THE 2017 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SEASON TO A CLOSE AT THE TEXTRON OFF ROAD WORLD FINALS WITH A 24TH PLACE FINISH AFTER A HARD FLIP ENDED HIS NIGHT IN CHARLOTTE

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA (November 4, 2017) – It is a long season that is filled with highs, lows and numerous challenges. You don’t make it through the season without the support of your family, friends, sponsorship partners and fans. Jason and the JJR Marshall Racing team were at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the final night of racing on the 2017 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series schedule – the Textron Off Road World Finals finale.

With qualifying for Saturday night being completed on Thursday evening where Jason was the ninth quickest driver in Flight B aboard the Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/Valvoline #41 Maxim with a lap of 12.828 seconds. All that was left to do was to run the qualifying races and the final feature of the season at the World Finals.

Piloting the Jonestown KOA/Schoenfeld Headers #41, Jason would start from the inside of row two in the third starting position with Dave Blaney to his outside in the #71M. The front row of Bill Balog and Ryan Smith brought the field to the green flag for the last World of Outlaws heat race of the year with Balog taking the lead at the start. He was the rabbit and everyone else was giving chase with Smith and Johnson trying to build speed and track him down. With only three transfer spots available finishing in the win, place and show positions were critical. After eight laps, Balog took the heat race checkers ahead of Smith and Johnson with Chad Kemenah and Blaney rounding out the top five.

As the field staged for the final feature of the season, Jason rolled the Priority Aviation Services, LLC #41 Maxim onto the 4/10-mile oval at The Dirt Track at Charlotte ready to race the 30 lap finale. He would line up on the outside of Brad Sweet in row nine. Brian Brown and Ryan Smith split as row two comprised of Donny Schatz and Daryn Pittman pulled up to create the famous four-wide salute to the fans as the remaining rows behind followed suit in an incredible show of gratitude to the fans. It has been a great season for the sprint car stars that travel coast-to-coast entertaining the fans, but at the heart of this sport is the diehard fans. After the pyrotechnics were done they realigned in the tradition two-by-two starting order and came to the green flag. It was Ryan Smith shooting into the lead over Brown, but Brown retook the lead on lap two before Brad Sweet spun to bring out the first caution flag. Jason was running the bottom and restarted from the 15th spot and went to work from his Fibreworks Composites custom fitted seat with 28 laps to go. Brown would take the lead with Donny Schatz now chasing as Jason used his MPI steering wheel to move up to tenth in the running order by lap four after start eighteenth. Another yellow, this time for two separate incidents – one for Ian Madsen who got  into the turn two wall and one for Shane Stewart, Parker Price-Miller and Jac Haudenschild who tangled on the front stretch – brought the field back together. Jason would restart from tenth spot in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 with Joey Saldana to his inside. He was looking to continue his fast forward momentum, but unfortunately he got upside down in a vicious multi-car crash with Sheldon Haudenschild in turn two that also collected Shane Stewart, Greg Hodnett and Jac Haudenschild. He took a series of hard hits but fortunately he was uninjured, just shaken up as he rode back to the pit area in the ambulance with the medical staff. He was scored with a 24th place finish. Certainly not the way Jason wanted to end his 2017 season, but as this dirt road ends a new one will begin as 2018 is just over the horizon. David Gravel went on to win the event with a last lap pass on Donny Schatz who came home second with Brian Brown, Kerry Madsen and Bill Balog rounding out the top five to bring the checkered flag over the 2017 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series season.