Win # 7 for Rod Johnson Jr and 3rd for Position One Alum Randel King on a bittersweet night.
 
October 2, 2011 (Baldwin Park, CA) – With 6 wins, 6 pole positions and 7 top-3 finishes in the span of eight races, Position One Motorsports rookie Rod Johnson Jr has simply dominated the Lucas Oil Slick Mist Super Late Model division at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale this year.  Having previously won the Late Model division in 2010 and the King Taco Super Truck Series in 2009, RJ came to this weekend’s race leading this division’s championship by 22 points over Ryan Partridge. 

It was thought that this was going to be the last race of the season however, track officials unexpectedly informed all competitors on Saturday that the season would be extended until the November California Classic.  The decision by the track came as a disappointment and shock to the team, especially since plans were made regarding the future of the team.  Despite the unexpected news, there was a lot on the line and RJ and the rest of the team were gunning to have a strong end to the season.

The team was also joined this weekend by last year’s Position One Motorsports Super Late Model racer Randel King.  Despite not having driven competitively this year, Randel was looking forward to getting behind familiar surroundings and whipping his #30 entry around the 1/2 mile track for the 75-lap event.  By the end of the night it was obvious that the lack of seat time would not hamper King’s racing skills in any way whatsoever.

 Officially it was Autumn, but the 90°F temperature weather suggested otherwise.  Having spent Friday at the track practicing, RJ and the team arrived Saturday in good spirits and looking forward to the day’s activities.  After one practice session that brought forth a 1st and a 2nd place on the timesheets for RJ and Randel respectively, both drivers entered qualifying with confidence and that confidence would pay off.  King would go on to qualify in the 6th spot with a 18.133 sec best lap time, while RJ grabbed the 2nd spot with a time of 18.023, just missing the pole position time by 0.005 seconds.
 
The race was an action packed event that got the crowd on their feet a couple of times throughout the course of the 75 laps.  RJ was on a quest for the win and that quest immediately began after the green flag dropped.  The 21-year old got alongside the 1st place of Ryan Partridge and the battle for the lead began. The pace of these two racers was so furious that they began to lap cars by lap #9.  RJ spent most of the time in the initial phase of the race keeping Partridge’s spotter busy, as he would run alongside the left rear of Partridge at every turn.  On lap #51, after a caution, RJ rocketed off turn #4 and overtook Partridge for the lead and immediately put a distance of 3 car lengths between him and the 2nd place car.  Two more cautions would temporarily diminish RJ’s lead but at every restart the #03 King Taco entry would retake the lead and RJ would ultimately go on to cross the checkered flag in first, solidifying his extraordinary year’s effort with his 7th win of the season.
 
Randel King’s performance was equally as strong as his teammate’s.  King took the start and immediately advanced one position to 5th.  He looked strong, and at every turn looked to be gaining on 4th place.  His well-executed laps and fast lap times allowed him to claw his way to the 4th place of Kevin Thompson.  Randel and Thompson would race side by side and on lap #18 a slide by Thompson allowed King to take the 4th spot.  Comfortably in 4th, King was not done.  His performance would take him to as high as 2nd in the race, but another brush with Thompson would send him back one position.  With the race drawing to a close, King and Partridge would fight side by side in a battle that delighted the crowd. In the end, King would take the 3rd place finishing spot, putting an exclamation mark on what was a very impressive top-3 performance from Position One Motorsports.
 
The team is currently selling its #03  race-winning Super Late Model.  All interested parties should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.
 
Rod Johnson Jr – Driver #03 – “I’m very happy for the team on this win.  The success of tonight and the whole season came as a result of the team’s collective efforts.  They worked so hard this year and to go out like this, on top, is a testament to their efforts, however, that being said I am extremely disappointed in the track’s last minute decision to extend the season.  Plans have been made and financial decisions were made on this being the last race of the season and for this to be changed at the last minute is wrong.  You can’t move the goal line at the end of the season like that.”
 
Randel King – Driver #30 – “ I cannot thank everyone enough.  The car was great and the work that the Position One Motorsports crew did to get this car to race like that was incredible.  Luis Martinez gave me a great opportunity to race this weekend and I am really appreciative of that.  The race was awesome.  Kevin Thompson and I got together a couple of times but once I got past him I think we could have had a great fight among Position One Motorsports teammates but that was not to be, so I am content with 3rd.  We showed what hard work and determination could do.”