Eric Johnson Jr. earned his career best result in the ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW) finishing seventh position after his strong run at Sonoma Raceway. The driver of the number No. 19 Pacific Office Automation Chevrolet SS stormed from the back of the field after facing a transmission issue in practice to earn his second top-10 of the season. Johnson Jr. scored a career-high single race point total of 37.
Johnson Jr. had an impressive start moving up to 17th position when the first caution of appeared on lap seven. He kept the same pace until a caution on lap 23 bringing the field down pit road. Johnson Jr. also made a stop to add fuel and receive service from his team. Johnson Jr. came out of pit road in seventh-place and returned to action on lap 27.
With a heavy caution-filled second half of the race, Johnson Jr. battled with others in the top-10. He was holding the eighth position until a caution flag was shown once more on lap 63. In the overtime restart Johnson Jr. had a quick jump helping him cross the line at Sonoma in seventh position.
Eric Johnson Jr. Quote:
“Our guys faced one struggle after another today but truly never gave up till the very end. After some early transmission issues we knew I was going to have my work cut out for me as we’d have to start at the tail of the 30 plus car field. We made a point to stay aggressive all day long and smartly pick our way forward if the opportunity presented Itself. Luckily we were able to make some changes at the half way point that I think really kept us in the fight. I just need to thank all my guys for their hard work. A 7th place finish hasn’t never felt more like a win than this one after all we battled today.”
McAnally Hilgemann Racing PR
