(Photo by Lisa Dynes Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – RAPID CITY, S.D. (July 18, 2017) – Johnny Herrera scored a second-place finish on Saturday night after overcoming mechanical problems the previous evening at Black Hills Speedway during a Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour doubleheader.
Herrera’s weekend at the Rushmore Rumble appeared to be off to a solid start on Friday evening when he raced from sixth to third place in his heat race before his engine began to sour.
“We started out really well for the weekend,” he said. “We had pulled a new car out and had a fresh motor. We were moving forward in the heat race when we had our motor lay down about Lap 4 or Lap 5 and we ended up dropping back and finishing about where we started.”
Herrera and crew then hurried to change engines before starting 16th in the feature.
“Then we had to thrash changing engines since they were rushing the program because they were worried about weather,” he said. “We buttoned up the car just in time for the feature and I wasn’t able to get a good look at the track. I tightened it up a bit, but I didn’t make my changes big enough. We got a great start and moved up a number of spots, but then the rubber came in and the race was basically over. All in all, it wasn’t a bad night for us considering the way it started with the motor change.”
Herrera ended the night with a charge from 16th to ninth place.
Saturday night went much smoother and resulted in a solid runner-up result for Herrera, even though he was forced to use a tired engine.
“I had to run ‘Old Faithful’ again that night,” he said. “I had 28 nights on that motor. I hate to run a motor with that many nights on it, but I only have two motors and the other one was broke.”
Herrera started sixth and finished second in his heat race. That locked him into the feature redraw.
“We probably would have won our heat if we had another lap,” he said. “Then my wife drew us the No. 5 for our starting position in the feature, which was the best she could’ve drawn.
“I was able to move forward and eventually got by Matt Covington for second around Lap 20, but we had a yellow then and they had to revert back to the last lap and that put me back behind him on the restart. I was able to pass him again on the restart, but Aaron (Reutzel) had already gotten too far ahead to have a chance at challenging him for the lead.”
Herrera will have a rare weekend off before his next scheduled race on July 29 at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.
“I’m taking our engines to Ostrich Racing Engines this week to have one repaired and the other freshened,” he said. “Then we’ll hopefully be set for the rest of the season.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 14 – Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, S.D. – Heat race: 5 (6); Feature 9 (16).
July 15 – Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, S.D. – Heat race: 2 (6); Feature 2 (5).
SEASON STATS –
30 races, 3 wins, 14 top fives, 26 top 10s, 28 top 15s, 28 top 20s
UP NEXT –
July 29 at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, and July 30 at Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa, with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.JohnnyHerreraRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnnyHerrera2
APPAREL –
Herrera has t-shirts available for sale at his race trailer and at http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com/shopping.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Champion Brands
Champion Brands, LLC, is a globally recognized industry leader in specialty lubricants for more than 58 years. Champion also produces and blends more than 300 products including fuel, oil and engine additives and lubricants for the automotive, heavy truck, agricultural and specialty markets. For more information, visit http://www.ChampionBrands.com.
“I’ve been with Champion for several years and they have been one of my biggest supporters,” Herrera said. “They are great people to work with and their products are second to none.”
Herrera would also like to thank Morton Excavating, Competition Suspension, Mesilla Valley Transportation, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Ostrich Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, Hoosier Racing Tire, Schoenfeld Headers, Maxim Chassis, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Simpson Race Products, Outlaw Wings, Weld Wheels, Finish Line Coatings, Semi-Crazy Truck Wash, Smiley’s Racing Products, CSR Garage and Heidbreder Foundation Services for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
