Eric Johnson Jr. finished 12th at Shasta Speedway after dealing with mechanical issues. The driver of the No. 19 Pacific Office Automation Chevrolet SS moved up to a race-high eighth position before an axle broke in the late stages of the event. Johnson Jr. was able to return to action to earn points and keep his seventh position in the ARCA Menards Series West championship standings.
Johnson Jr. missed practice due to engines woes and was forced to start at the tail of the field. The La Center, Wash. native was able to fire up and start Saturdays 150-lap feature and moved to eighth-place within the first 30-laps. He maintained his position until just after the halfway point when the rear axle broke and forced the 20-year-old driver to the pit area. Johnson Jr. returned to the field with a few laps remaining to bring his No. 19 across the line in 12th-place.
Eric Johnson Jr. Quote:
“Today just wasn’t our day. At no fault of anyone, we fought unforeseen mechanical failure after mechanical failure. Unfortunately when you loose both practice and qualifying at a track you’ve never seen it’s hard to know what to expect. Sadly, we never even had a fighting chance as we broke an axle before the halfway point which costed us any shot we had at a good night. Hopefully our luck turns around soon so we can get this Pacific Office Automation Chevrolet up in the mix.”
McAnally Hilgemann Racing PR
