JOHNSON SETS QUICK TIME AT THE DIRT TRACK AT LAS VEGAS ON NIGHT ONE OF THE FVP OUTLAW SHOWDOWN BEFORE BRINGING HOME A 5TH PLACE FINISH IN THE FEATURE

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (March 3, 2016) – After arriving in Las Vegas, known to many as ‘Sin City’, Jason and the JJR boys were ready to get their Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Pro Powder Coating #41 Maxim Racing machine on the move in the desert. There were 38 cars lining the pit area and everyone was ready to put on a show at The Dirt Track in Las Vegas on the first night of the FVP Showdown.

For the pill draw, which is always a gamble, the “3” pill rolled out of the holding ball and down the chute for Jason and the Priority Aviation Services, LLC #41 team, which at the end of the day was the second lowest pill drawn on the night. After Rico Abreu completed his two laps, Jason fired up his Kistler Engines motor and brought it up to speed. When he stopped the clock after his first of two laps, the stopwatch showed 14.579 seconds. He stayed hard on the throttle and improved the second time around with a lap of 14.311 seconds. When the checkered flag flew over Kerry Madsen, the last qualifier of the night, Jason’s time was quick time for the night. It was his second quick time of the young 2016 season, but the first with the World of Outlaw Craftsman Sprint Car Series as the first one was with the All Star Circuit of Champions back on February 11th in the DIRTcar Nationals.

Next up was the 8-lap heat races. Jason would get rolling from the pole position in his Waco Metal/Jonestown KOA entry. Brad Sweet shared the front row with Jason with a formidable duo behind them with Donny Schatz and Danny Lasoski in row two. When the caution lights were turned out and the pace car left the track, the green flag waved and Jason and Sweet raced wheel-to-wheel around one and two and down the back chute. Sweet took the lead with the Ragin’ Cajun giving chase at nearly 120 mph. Sweet would go on to take the win with Jason crossing the line 2.6 seconds behind. Danny Lasoski finished in third position with Donny Schatz in fourth and Terry McCarl rounding out the top five.

Advancing into the Dash event for the third consecutive time in WoO competition, Jason would parade the Priority Aviation Services/Auto Meter Maxim around the half-mile oval from the 5th starting position. With a wave of the green flag the quiet sounds of the desert were filled with the sound of horsepower as the six lap dash to the finish was on. Brad Sweet took the lead and was being chased by Brian Brown. Jason slid backwards at the start as he was mired in a battle for the seventh position with Kerry Madsen. Brown would take the win as Jason finished in the eighth spot.

After a number of laps on the track’s racing surface, the track had slicked off as the sprint cars rolled onto the speedway for their 30-lap feature event. Jason would start on the outside of row four beside Kerry Madsen. Brian Brown and Brad Sweet paced the field from the front row and when the Toyota pace car pulled off the track the competitors lined up nose-to-tail in their two-by-two arrangement to start the high speed event. When the green flag was shown, Jason got up on the wheel in the Fischer Body Shop/K&N Filters #41 Maxim and quickly worked his way into the top five by the end of the second circuit. Brian Brown was leading Joey Saldana, Brad Sweet, Daryn Pittman and Johnson, but the battle for positions was ferocious. Rico Abreu and Jason were battling it out for the fifth position when Dominic Scelzi slowed to a stop coming off turn four with the 2015 WoO Rookie of the Year holding down the fifth position with 17 laps to go. On the restart, Jason got shuffled back to eighth, but stayed up on the wheel and drove back up to sixth at the halfway point of the race. Race Leader Brian Brown brought out the caution with a broken front axle and Jason found himself right back in the fifth position for the restart. When racing resumed, he got his Hoosier Racing Tires rolling and brought the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 machine across the finish line with a fifth place finish behind Joey Saldana, Daryn Pittman, Brad Sweet and Shane Stewart. His second straight top five finish and fourth top five so far this year. A great run for the forty one on night one of the FVP Outlaw Showdown!