After a month off from the ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW), Eric Johnson Jr. scored a career-best fourth-place result at Madera Speedway on Saturday night. The driver of the No. 19 Pacific Office Automation Chevrolet SS started his night in the 17th position after not being able to qualify to rally and secure his first-career top-five finish.
Johnson Jr. was able to charge through the field and found himself in the seventh position when adversity struck past halfway.
When the drivers were staged due to a red flag on lap 97, track crew noticed an oil trail following to the No. 19 Chevy. Johnson Jr. discovered that an oil line came loose resulting in him going into the pit area to receive maintenance under red flag conditions.
After a 35-minute red flag segment, Johnson Jr. made it back on track as the field went back to green. After restarting in 12th-place a lap down, he was able to find pace again and earned the Lucky Dog award to rejoin the lead lap for the remaining 30 circuits.
The 21-year-old driver was in the eighth-position when a caution came out once more on lap 146. In an overtime restart Johnson Jr. gained three spots on the final lap after a late dive into Turn 3. From starting in the back of the field to begin the day, Johnson Jr. earned his career best finish with the AMSW by crossing the line in the fourth position.
Eric Johnson Jr. Quote:
“You couldn’t replicate tonight again if you tried. After losing a motor in practice and starting in the back, we had to push forward from the jump. The guys worked hard to keep me level headed as I searched for any holes I could find along the way. Unfortunately we had an oil line come loose that trapped us a lap down but to be able to get that lap back, run back through the field, and finish 4th, that’s a statement these guys and I really needed. There was no quit in our No.19 POA team tonight. Most importantly non of it would be possible without all of our partners.”
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