C J Johnson Claims URSS “Firecracker 1000” Win at DCRP 

The United Rebel Sprint Series Triple Header weekend continued Saturday as the Rebels took to the Dodge City Raceway Park high-banks for the Budweiser “Firecracker 1000.”  Twenty teams pulled through the pit-gate to do battle for bragging rights as well as the $1,000 winners check. When the checkered flag flew it was Quinter Kansas C. J. Johnson taking home the hard fought victory.

Dodge City Kansas’s Johns Colbert led the field to the green flag and jumped out to the early lead as Richie Dewell, Keefe Hemel, Barry Crane and CJ Johnson rounded out the top five at the end of lap one. Colbert held his ground as Dewell tried repeatedly to take the point away as Hemel joined the fight on lap three. Hemel took over the runner-up spot on lap five and started to put the pressure on Colbert for the lead. Colbert’s lead would come to an end as he slowed entering turn two and came to a stop on the backstretch with engine woes to bring out the nights first caution.

 On the restart, Hemel led the field to the green with Dewell, Crane, Johnson and Smokey Fairbank in tow. Behind the leaders the battle heated up or the sixth spot with Ray Seemann, Jason Martin and Taylor Milton all turning up the heat on Don Steiben holding the position. Seemann and Martin made the pass on Steiben for the position on lap eight, young guns Tanner Mullens and Taylor Milton now applying the pressure on Steiben.

Up front Dewell was using the high-line trying to take over the point as Hemel stuck to the low-line and held his advantage. Barry Crane was in his own battle with Johnson for the third spot as the pair diced their way through the corners looking to make up ground on the leaders. Jason Martin used the highline to take away the sixth spot from Seemann on lap ten and set his sights on Fairbank.  The trio of Martin, Seemann and Fairbank would swap the fourth through sixth spots for the next four laps until Martin found the cushion and took fourth position on lap fifteen. Fairbank and Seemann were soon joined by Mullens to do battled for the fifth spot. Mullens took the position on lap sixteen.

Up front Dewell had caught Hemel and the pair were in a drag race down the back-shoot with Dewell taking the point away using the top on lap seventeen. Hemel settled into the second spot but was soon battling Johnson for the position. Johnson took the runner-up spot over on lap eighteen and set his sights on Dewell. Johnson made quick work of Dewell to take over the point and started to pull out to a slight lead. As the pair encountered lapped traffic, Dewell started to real in the leader slightly with third place Crane joining him as they made their way to the front.

Crane used a lapped car to claim the second position on lap twenty three, and as the leader took the white flag, Smokey Fairbank came to a stop at the exit of turn two with Cody Caldwell having no place to go made contact with Fairbanks stalled car and flipped. As the field came through turn two the caution flag waived, Johnson and Crane squeaked through the melee, but Dewell had no place to go as Caldwell’s car came to a stop in his path ending Dewell’s third place run for the evening.

On the restart, Johnson once again took the lead and never looked back as he took checkered flag and the $1,000 Winners Check followed by Crane, Martin, Mullens and Hemel to round out the top five. However in post race tech, Crane was DQ’ed.

The Keizer Aluminum Wheels “Hard Charger Award” went to Brian May who came from his nineteenth starting spot to finish in the ninth position. 

Heat Race Winners were: #1-CJ Johnson, #2-Brian Herbert and #3-Don Steiben

 A-Main: 1-CJ Johnson (45X), 2-Jason Martin (36), 3-Tanner Mullens (02), 4-Keefe Hemel (11), 5-Ray Seemann (72), 6-Brian Herbert (97), 7-Taylor Velasquez (21), 8-Taylor Milton (91X), 9-Brian May (8), 10-Ty Williams (1), 11-Tyker Knight (11K), 12-Don Steiben (6), 13-Justin Chaffin (69), 14-Richie Dewell (112), 15-Cody Caldwell (80), 16- Steve Dalton (12D), 17-Smokey Fairbank (2), 18-John Colbert (79C), 19-Tobby Shield (007), Lance Davis DNS

Heat Race #1: CJ Johnson, 2-Ray Seemann, 3-Keefe Hemel, 4-Taylor Velasquez, 5-Justin Chaffin, 6-Cody Caldwell, 7-Brian May

Heat Race #2: 1-Brian Herbert, 2-Barry Crane, 3-Richie Dewell, 4-Smokey Fairbank, 5-Steve Dalton, 6-Taylor Milton, Ty Williams DNS

Heat Race #3: 1-Don Steiben, 2-Jason Martin, 3-Johns Colbert, 4-Tanner Mullens, 5-Tyler Knight, 6-Tobby Shield, Lance Davis DNS