IRWINDALE – RJ Johnson, in his debut for Position One Motorsports, won the NASCAR Super Late Model season opener at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.
Johnson, a two-time track champion at Irwindale, won in dominating fashion, taking the lead on lap 12 and pulling away for his first Super Late Model win at the track.
Jack Madrid and Jason Pattison collided on lap 73 of the 75-lapper. Pattison, who was running in third place at the time of the crash, hit the wall between Turn 1 and 2 and did not finish the race. Johnson won the race on a green-white-checkered flag finish.
Johnson, a driver from Canyon Country, won the NASCAR Late Model championship at Irwindale last year and the Super Trucks championship at the track in 2009.
Ryan Partridge of Rancho Cucamonga was second, followed by Kevin Thompson of Conroe, Texas, in third. Thirteen cars started the Super Late Model opener.
Andrew Porter of La Verne won the S2 stock car race, but was disqualified when his car did not pass post-race inspection.
It would have been the first win of his career at Irwindale. He was disqualified for having illegal shocks on his car.
Andrew Anderson of Lancaster was awarded the win. He was followed by Jace Meier of Las Vegas in second.
The race featured Sebastian Labrie, a Dutch actor and driver from Holland. His entry in the race was filmed for a Dutch reality TV show, “Try Before You Die.” He came in third in the 10-car race.
Christian McGhee of La Verne won the Bandoleros race. He was followed by Ricky Schlick of Claremont in second and Brandon Weaver of Baker in third.
Haley Deegan, the daughter of freestyle motocross rider and X Games champion Brian Deegan, was entered in the race. She finished 13th.
Chad Schug of Oak Hills won the Legends Cars race. He is the reigning Legends Cars champion at the track and won one race last year. He had five runner-up finishes in 16 races in 2010.
Eric Gunderson of San Diego was second, followed by Brent Scheidemantle of Alta Loma in third.
