Many rising talents in the motorsports world can pinpoint that one race in their career that first showed their true potential behind the wheel.
Kyler Johnson may have just had his.
At first, he was a bit disappointed with a runner-up finish in the American Sprint Car Series’ return to I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park last Saturday night. But the 22-year-old native of Quinter, KS, had a lot to be proud of, leading 20 laps of the main event on a track he’d never raced before, banking his career-best national Sprint Car series finish.
“It’s definitely a bitter defeat leading up until the last two laps, but then it’s also something great to look back on,” Johnson said. “It was our first time leading real laps in an ASCS Feature, on a track (type) that we’re normally not that dominant on. I definitely take it as a huge learning [experience] for this team and definitely a positive note, for sure.”
Though the Series travels across several regions of the country to compete, smaller and higher-banked ovals are not common to the national circuit. Johnson gained a lot of Sprint Car experience on the larger ovals before joining the Series’ full-time roster as a rookie in 2022 and has not been shy about his desire to perform better on the smaller circuits.
However, I-55 was a breakthrough. A breakthrough not only for his versatility in the seat, but for his developing career as a whole.
“It definitely showed that we’re capable of leading laps against a very strong field like we run against,” Johnson said. “And, basically, we’ve got our short track package where it needs to be. There’s definitely some fine-tuning that still needs to be done, but just in the last couple months, we’ve made gains on our short track package and our whole package all around.”
His confidence and comfort in the car are not the only indicators of his improvements this year. He’s been getting the job done on the track better than ever lately.
In his first three seasons as a full-time American Sprint Car Series schedule chaser, Johnson compiled only five top-five finishes in 81 starts combined between the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons. In 2025 alone, he’s garnered six top-five finishes in 23 starts.
In those 23 races, he’s made significant jumps in performance as well. His first 11 Feature starts produced only two top-fives and three top-10 results with an average finish of 12.5. His last 12 races have seen a great turnaround, collecting five top-fives, nine top-10s, and an average finish of 6.5.
So, what’s been the difference maker? The addition of Kyler’s brother, Kahne Johnson, to the team in late July has been a big help, taking up crew chief duties on the Double Diamond Farms No. 45x.
“It’s really been huge, being able to just work with a consistent crew,” Kyler said. “Because my dad doesn’t have to focus so much on the crew chief side, our engines are getting tuned better. He’s able to feel the car better, and everything’s clicking now.”
Engine power has been one of the No. 45x team’s biggest pieces to their performance puzzle over the last several seasons. It’s another improvement Johnson can both feel in the seat and see in his lap times.
“It took years to get our engine program to where it is now,” Johnson said. “I’m very thankful for Brice Kuntz. He’s been able to help us get these two really good Don Ott Racing Engines, and it’s completely turned our program around. Even last year, when we got the engines, it took us several races to get set up with more horsepower. The car is so much more free now that it was just with the extra horsepower behind us.”
He’ll need the horsepower for the next two Series events at Salt City Speedway, Oct. 10-11, in his home state of Kansas. Johnson finished fourth there with the Series in May and is looking forward to returning to a familiar venue.
“I grew up watching races there as a kid at the Hutchinson Nationals,” Johnson said. “We had really good speed there in May, and it’s another half mile. We tend to be pretty fast around half miles, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The near flat, 1/2-mile oval is a historic venue, having hosted auto races in the town of Hutchinson as far back as the 1930s. Kyler’s father, CJ Johnson, owns several Feature wins in a Sprint Car at the track and has been around to watch his son’s career travel to new heights.
“He’s definitely proud, I’d say,” Kyler said. “We were at a point there before Knoxville where something needed to change. Getting the whole family back together and having my brother around now makes it a lot more fun for him as well, taking some stress off him. Any time the car that he owns is running fast, it makes it a lot easier on him. It makes him proud, I’d say.”
Tickets for the American Sprint Car Series’ two-day event at Salt City Speedway, Oct. 10–11, are on sale now — click here to purchase.
If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
