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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series
- #77M R.J. Johnson wins at Southern New Mexico Speedway. File Photo by Patrick Shaw / Backed-In Photography.
START TO FINISH, R.J. JOHNSON WINS AT SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO SPEEDWAY
By Lance Jennings
LAS CRUCES, NM – SEPTEMBER 1, 2014... Leading all thirty-laps, R.J. Johnson of Phoenix, Arizona won the second round the USAC SouthWest-NMMRA Sprint Car “Border Tour.” Saturday’s $1,500 triumph at Southern New Mexico Speedway was Johnson’s eighth win of the campaign. “The Kid” Tye Mihocko, “The Magic Man” Mike Martin, Josh Pelkey, and “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. rounded out the top-five drivers.
Racing Bill Michaels’ #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, R.J. Johnson won the night’s first 10-lap heat race and the scored the feature win from second. Ranked fifth in the nightly passing points, the defending champion sailed to his nineteenth career USAC SouthWest victory. Heading to Tularosa, Johnson has ten heat race victories, one hard charger award, twenty-two top-10 finishes, and 134 feature laps led to his credit.
Peoria, Arizona’s “The Kid” Tye Mihocko had one of his best nights of the season with a second place run from sixth. Piloting the family owned #5 RSS Industries / Old World Brewery RSS, Mihocko ran second to Johnson in his heat race and was the night’s high point driver. “The Kid” left Southern New Mexico Speedway with two heat race victories, one semi-main win, one hard charger award, and twelve top-10 finishes.
After scoring fifteenth at El Paso, “The Magic Man” Mike Martin of Yuma, Arizona rebounded to take third at Las Cruces. Driving his #16 PPG Professional Paints / Desert Building Materials Maxim, Martin won the night’s third 10-lap heat race and ranked second in passing points. Heading to Tularosa, the former Hall of Fame Classic winner has one feature win, three heat race victories, two semi-main wins, one hard charger award, fifteen top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led.
Peoria, Arizona’s Josh Pelkey raced to fourth at Southern New Mexico Speedway from eighth. Piloting Robbie and Gaye Allen’s #12 ABC Body Shop / Napa Auto Parts Maxim, Pelkey won the night’s fourth heat race and ranked eighth in passing points. The 1997 ASCA Champion has three feature wins, four heat race victories, two hard charger awards, twenty-three top-10 finishes, and 54 feature laps led on the season.
“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. of Buckeye, Arizona sliced his way to fifth at Las Cruces after starting tenth. Racing the Massey Motorsports #50 RSS Industries / MP Environmental RSS, Davis ran second to Matt Rossi in his heat race and placed tenth in passing points. The five-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion left Las Cruces with three feature wins, twelve heat race victories, one semi-main win, nineteen top-10 finishes, and 102 feature laps led.
Phoenix, Arizona’s Shon Deskins earned his first “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a seventh place run from sixteenth. Driving his #20 MP Environmental / Spike Chassis entry, the veteran driver was third in his heat race and sixteenth in passing points. Heading to Tularosa, the May 3rd Prescott Valley winner has six heat race victories, seventeen top-10 finishes, and 59 feature laps led on the season.
Matt Rossi of Phoenix, Arizona won the program’s second 10-lap heat race. Piloting the family owned #02 Apache Scapes / Advanced Engine Components Spike, Rossi ranked seventh in the nightly passing points and scored fourteenth in the main event. Matt left Las Cruces with three heat race victories, two hard charger awards, eleven top-10 finishes, and 28 feature laps led on the season.
Peralta, New Mexico’s Ronnie Smith took the victory in the night’s first 12-lap semi-main. Racing his #19R Flash Auto Engine & Dyno / Tim Palmer Graphic Design entry, Smith was fourth in his heat race and scored twenty-first in the main event.
Stephen Nix of Santa Fe, New Mexico claimed the program’s second 12-lap semi-main. Driving the #52NM Hal Burns Trucking / Kuckmen Pump & Power machine, Nix ran fifth in his heat race and scored eleventh in the feature after starting eighteenth.
The USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series thanks Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Tire, Racers Advantage Store, and the Hose Advantage Store for their support. For more information on the group, visit www.southwestsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SouthwestSprintCars).
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USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS (co-sanctioned by NMMRA):
August 30, 2014 – Las Cruces, New Mexico – Southern New Mexico Speedway – “Border Tour"
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps)
1. R.J. Johnson (#77M Michaels), 2. Tye Mihocko (#5 Mihocko), 3. Michael Curtis (#11C Turner/Wheeler), 4. Ronnie Smith (#19R Smith), 5. Stephen Nix (#52NM Nix), 6. Robert Herrera (#9 Herrera), 7. Danny Lee (#7X), 8. Kristy Smith (#4L Smith), 9. Katherine Aragon (#42 Aragon). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps)
1. Matt Rossi (#02 Rossi), 2. Charles Davis Jr. (#50 Massey), 3. Josh Hodges (#74X Hodges), 4. Brian Hosford (#32B Weber), 5. Randy Smith (#26 Smith), 6. Michael Fanelli (#38 Fanelli), 7. Dillon Tanner (#11W West), 8. Stephen Spiak (#17X Spiak), 9. Matthew Cardienas (#7M Cardienas). NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps)
1. Mike Martin (#16 Martin), 2. Andy Reinbold (#19 Underwood), 3. Jesse Baker (#22 Baker), 4. Matt Ziehl (#36DD Ziehl), 5. Don Grable (#148NM Grable), 6. Asa Kesterson (#18 Kesterson), 7. Tyler Jackson (#2 Jackson), 8. Derek DeMartino (#995 Derek DeMartino). NT
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps)
1. Josh Pelkey (#12 Allen), 2. Nick Aiuto (#27 Aiuto), 3. Shon Deskins (#20 Deskins), 4. Bo Baker (#22NM Baker), 5. James Hatch (#41NM Hatch), 6. David Dykes (#55NM Dykes), 7. Kyle McCutcheon (#7L McCutcheon), 8. Joseph Hernandez (#5H Hernandez). NT
FIRST SEMI: (12 laps)
1. Ro.Smith, 2. Grable, 3. Fanelli, 4. Kesterson, 5. Cardenias, 6. Spiak, 7. Kr.Smith, 8. Lee. NT
SECOND SEMI: (12 laps)
1. Nix, 2. Tanner, 3. Dykes, 4. Hatch, 5. Aragon, 6. Herrera, 7. McCutcheon, 8. DeMartino. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. R.J. Johnson (2nd), 2. Tye Mihocko (6th), 3. Mike Martin (5th), 4. Josh Pelkey (8th), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (10th), 6. Josh Hodges (11th), 7. Shon Deskins (16th), 8. Bo Baker (12th), 9. Jesse Baker (13th), 10. Randy Smith (15th), 11. Stephen Nix (18th), 12. Don Grable (19th), 13. Brian Hosford (9th), 14. Matt Rossi (7th), 15. Michael Curtis (1st), 16. Nick Aiuto (3rd), 17. Dillon Tanner (20th), 18. Michael Fanelli (21st), 19. Kyle McCutcheon (23rd), 20. Matt Ziehl (14th), 21. Ronnie Smith (17th), 22. David Dykes (22nd), 23. Andy Reinbold (4th), 24. Katherine Aragon (24th), NT.
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**Hernandez flipped during fourth heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 R.J. Johnson.
HARD CHARGER: Shon Deskins (16th to 7th)
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