Johnson Wins Again at Toyota Speedway

Mike Johnson of Covina captured his fourth straight feature win in the Auto Club Late Model series at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday. The win was Johnson’s fifth of the season. Johnson guaranteed he would win every remaining race after winning on July 25 and so far he has followed through. Johnson took the lead from pole-sitter Travis Motley on lap two of the race. Motley, from Tucson, Ariz., led his first lap ever in the division and held on for a career best second place. Rookie Beau Debard of Reno, Nev., finished third. Points leader Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills finished sixth after being involved in a lap one incident that also included Johnson, Travis Irving, Debard, and reigning series champion Tim Huddleston. Huddleston, a driver from Agoura Hills, sustained the most damage and finished 14th. The result allowed Johnson to move into second in the Late Model standings, just 26 behind Joanides with four races left.
Rod Johnson Jr. of Canyon Country won his sixth race of the season in the King Taco Super Trucks division. The win was also his second straight. Johnson took the lead from Grant Hebner of Fallbrook on lap seven and never looked back. A last lap incident involving Hebner and Jeff Peterson of Riverside severely altered both the finishing order and the standings. Coming to the checkered flag, Hebner slid up the track into Peterson in a battle for second. The two bounced off the wall, allowing Ryan Partridge to sneak bye for second. Peterson came home third, while series points leader and two-time champion Pat Mintey Jr. of Quartz Hill went from seventh to fourth. Hebner ended up fifth, while Mason Britton and Ron Peterson both lost spots, finishing sixth and seventh. Had the finishing order not changed, Johnson would have taken the lead in the Super Trucks standings, Jeff Peterson would have maintained second and Mintey would have fallen to third with Ron Peterson not far out in fourth. As a result of the crash, Mintey maintains a slim lead of six points, with Johnson in second and Jeff Peterson just eight points back of the leader in third. Ron Peterson sits fourth, 18 points from the top spot, with just two races left.
Dallas Montes, a rookie from Bakersfield, won his third consecutive race in the Legends Cars. Montes passed Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma with two laps remaining to take the win. Scheidemantle held on for second, while series point’s leader Ryan Reed of Bakersfield finished third. Reed holds a commanding 56-point lead over Brandon Toy of Bakersfield with three races remaining in the season.
Dalton Kuhn of San Marcos captured the South West Tour Truck race. Kuhn passed overall series points leader Christian Copley of Santa Ynez with two laps left after Copley had a right front tire go flat. Copley held on for second while bouncing off the wall twice on the final lap. Jeff Williams, the three-time defending series champion from Newbury Park, finished third. Kuhn holds a 14-point lead over Copley for the track championship with two races left on the schedule.