R.J. Johnson tops opening nite of ASCS Arnold Memorial

[NickHolt]

R.J. Johnson over ASCS Canyon Region in Hank Arnold Memorial Opener

 

by Lonnie Wheatley

 

Tuscon, Arizona (September 4, 2010) – R.J. Johnson collected his third American Sprint Car Series Canyon Region feature win of the year by topping Saturday’s opening night of the annual Hank Arnold Memorial at USA Raceway.

 

R.J. Johnson topped the opening night of the Hank Arnold Memorial Saturday at Tucson's USA Raceway. Dennis Brownfield photo.

 

 

The Phoenix shoe advanced from fourth to take top honors in the 30-lapper aboard the Mountain Valley Performance Ford-powered Michael Brothers No. 77m Sherman chassis.

 

Johnson was chased to the stripe by 13th-starter Stevie Sussex, with defending series champion and current points leader Charles Davis, Jr., Mike Martin and Chris Bonneau rounding out the top five.

 

Josh Pelkey rebounded from a heat race flip to race from 17th to sixth after winning the “B” Main, with Ronnie Clark, Jeff Slinkard, Mike Rux, Jr., and Nick Aiuto completing the top ten.

 

Martin, Brandon Lane and Jeremy Sherman won Saturday night’s heat races.

 

The Hank Arnold Memorial wraps up with another full night of ASCS Canyon Region competition at Tucson’s USA Raceway on Sunday night, with the green flag set to fly at 6:45 p.m.

 

ASCS Canyon Region Results from Perris Auto Speedway:

 

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 16-Mike Martin, 2. 77m-R.J. Johnson, 3. 6-Ronnie Clark, 4. 62-Stevie Sussex, 5. 78-Chris Bonneau, 6. 61-Jeff Slinkard, 7. 32b-Brian Hosford, 8. 12-Josh Pelkey, 9. 62x-Bill Mitchell.

 

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 9-Brandon Lane, 2. 93-Justin Quinn, 3. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 7k-Bruce St. James, 5. 90-Lance Norick, 6. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 7. 8az-Jordan Stetson, 8. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 9. 20-Shon Deskins.

 

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21-Jeremy Sherman, 2. 48t-Thomas Ogle, 3. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 4. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 5. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 6. 96-Carson Ditsch, 7. 6c-Rex Calderwood. DNS: 17-Michael Colegrove.

 

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 12-Josh Pelkey, 2. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 3. 96-Carson Ditsch, 4. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 5. 6c-Rex Calderwood, 6. 8az-Jordan Stetson, 7. 32b-Brian Hosford. DNS: 62x-Bill Mitchell, 20-Shon Deskins, 17-Michael Colegrove.

 

"A" Feature (30 Laps): 1. 77m-R.J. Johnson, 2. 62-Stevie Sussex, 3. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 16-Mike Martin, 5. 78-Chris Bonneau, 6. 12-Josh Pelkey, 7. 6-Ronnie Clark, 8. 61-Jeff Slinkard, 9. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 10. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 11. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 12. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 13. 21-Jeremy Sherman, 14. 7k-Bruce St. James, 15. 93-Justin Quinn, 16. 9-Brandon Lane, 17. 90-Lance Norick, 18. 96-Carson Ditsch, 19. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 20. 48t-Thomas Ogle.

 

ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Charles Davis, Jr. 1,533, 2. Mike Martin 1,372, 3. R.J. Johnson 1,362, 4. Jeremy Sherman 1,356, 5. Josh Pelkey 1,330, 6. Andrew Reinbold 1,289, 7. Ronnie Clark 1,210, 8. Dalten Gabbard 1,071, 9. Brian Hosford 1,001, 10. Justin Quinn 981.