Monday, September 15, 2003 Mac Johnson Wins Bronson Super Late Models!! by Rick Warren The Super Late Models returned to the high banks of Bronson Motor Speedway Saturday night, for the fourth of the Coca Cola Six Pack Series. It looked like a perfect night for racing, with the hot sun gone down, and temperatures dropping to a very comfortable point. When Qualifying was done, it was Aric Almirola who was the fastest qualifier. As it turned out however, after the drivers had drawn for inverting the starting order, it was Robbie Smith and Mac Johnson starting from the front row. As the heat races were finishing, mother nature threw a monkey wrench into the works with a rain shower, that delayed the show for about 90 minutes. After the rain stopped, and the track drying process was completed, two of the tracks regular divisions ran their feature races, in an attempt to lay a little rubber back on the track for the Late Model race. When the Late Models finally made their way to the front straight for the start of the feature, everybody was ready for some racing. The track was still a little green, and the first attempt at a start was a no-go as the field got tied up in the fourth turn before a lap was completed. The next attempt was a good one, with Johnson powering to the lead with Robbie Smith tight on his bumper. Jim Smith, Patrick Williams, Brock Oglesby, Wayne Anderson and Aric Almirola were all nose to tail behind the leader as the race developed. The track was not as good as it had been earlier, and most of the cars ended up being a little bit tight in the corners, so track position was critical in this 30 lap sprint. Johnson was opening a slight lead, as Smith had his hands full holding off the repeated attempts of Jim Smith to drive under him off the corners. Robbie Smith finally slipped enough to allow Jim Smith to go by on the inside, with Patrick Williams following thru the opening. Smith Caught Johnson with 3 laps remaining, but Johnson had his car on a rail, and Smith never found an opening to attempt a pass. The race ended with Johnson taking the win by a half car length over Jim Smith. The jubilant Johnson picked up the checkered flag, and proceeded to do a Winston Cup style Burnout on the front straight, to the delight of the hardy fans who had waited out the rain to see this race. In the Winner’s Circle, Johnson was still excited, and recounted the first lap incident. When contact was made, it seems that his tachometer fell into his lap, and not really having a place in the racer to store it, he drove by the pit gate, and handed his tach to a track official. It also seems that when the tach broke off, it damaged his radio wiring, and Johnson had no communication with his spotter. Johnson said since he didn’t have a spotter or a mirror, he just figured somebody was trying to pass, and drove every lap like it was the last one. Hard, real hard. Jim Smith drove an excellent race to finish second, followed by Patrick Williams, Robbie Smith and Brock Oglesby. The Sportsman Division had a wild race. Terry Cater took control early, as Arthur Conquest, Robbie Cooper, Kimbo VanAernam, and Kyle Maynard all fought for position behind him. The battle for second was furious, with Conquest and Cooper leading the charge. On lap 12, the cars of Cooper and Conquest made contact off turn 4, with Conquest sliding out of control backward through the infield at a high rate of speed, finally hitting a dirt bank to prevent contact with the infield light poles. Conquest’s car was badly damaged, but to the relief of all, Arthur emerged from the bent racer uninjured. The race resumed with Cooper restarting from the rear, and making a big charge thru the field. Cater held on for the win, followed by a fast closing Rob Cooper, and Kimbo Van Aernam. The Mini Stocks were ready for some racing as well. When the green flag fell, Don Faunce took the early lead, with Clint Foley hot on his bumper. Foley and Faunce were going at it hot and heavy, while behind them Jeff Barnes, Tom Jones and Billy Smith were having their own battle. Foley managed to drive under Faunce off turn two and take the lead, but Faunce was not going away without a fight. Faunce worked Foley hard, and at one point had a fender on Foley going into turn one, but was never able to make the pass to retake the lead. Foley held on for the lead, followed by Faunce, and Billy Smith. The Pure Stock Division once again showed why they are one of the fan favorites, with another exciting race. Lots of hard racing, with some bumping, banging and trading paint has become the trademark of this exciting division, and tonight was no exception. Arthur Conquest, showing no ill effects from his spectacular crash in the Sportsman division, worked Cliff Erhardt and Michael Baker first inside, then outside, until he managed to get the line on them, and pas them for the lead. Tommy Ausburn, Edward Allen and Bobby Johnson all had good showings, working toward the front, from deep in the pack. Conquest was able to bring home the win, and salvage what had started as a bad night for him. Baker ran a very strong second. Kevin Hodge continued to pad his point lead in the V-8 Bomber division, by working around Emmett Bottoms on the outside, to take the win. Bottoms finished a solid second, followed by David Dinehart. The 4 Cyl. Bombers saw Harold Barup make it 2 in a row, as he won a hard fought race, making a late race pass of Edward Frances for the win. FINAL RESULTS 09-13-03 Super Late Models 1. # 6 Mac Johnson 2. #32 Jim Smith 3. #57 Patrick Williams 4. #01 Robbie Smith 5. #88 Brock Oglesby 6. #84 Wayne Anderson 7. #14 Aric Almirola 8. # 1 Dale Sanders 9. #29 Don Parkinson 10. #28 Dwayne Hitchcock Sportsman 1. #3 Terry Cater 2. #98 Robbie Cooper 3. #69 Kimbo VanAernam 4. #27 Kyle Maynard 5. #13 Eddie Sapp Mini Stock 1. # 7 Clint Foley 2. # 2 Don Faunce 3. #00 Billy Smith 4. #60 Tom Jones 5. # 5 Jeff Barnes Pure Stock 1. #78 Arthur Conquest 2. #02 Michael Baker 3. #69 Tommy Ausburn 4. #23 Edward Allen 5. #16 Bobby Johnson 6. #07 Frank Buchanan 7. #75 Cliff Erhardt 8. #32 Nevin Gainey 9. #12 Chris Cater 10.#17 Jason Holbrook V-8 Bomber 1. #37 Kevin Hodge 2. #96 Emmitt Bottoms 3. #79 David Dinehart 4. #00 Michael Holbrook 5. # 8 Gerold Bryant 4 Cyl. Bombers 1. # 3 Harold Barup 2. # 6 Edward Frances 3. #64 Clark Pittsley 4. #11 John DeGeorge 5. #23 John Hagans Have an opinion on this story? 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