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Johnson Motorsports Pulls in Top Finish at W.E.ROCK West Series Opener
April 18, 2008 –Rookie driver Nicole Johnson of Johnson Motorsports secured a top finish at the W.E.ROCK Western Series opener in Perris, CA over the weekend. The Las Vegas based husband-and-wife team of Frank and Nicole Johnson officially kicked off its rookie season with a respectable fourth place finish in the team’s Campbell Enterprises built Pro Modified rock buggy.
The much-anticipated Perris Raceway competition was the largest W.E.ROCK event ever for the Pro Mod class, drawing in 24 teams from the western United States. Many seasoned veterans of the sport recently made the jump from the Unlimited to the Pro Mod class this year. “With so many talented drivers such as Tracy Jordan and Jason Scherer now in our class, we realize we are up against the world’s best teams this year,” stated Frank Johnson. “We’ve got a capable vehicle and Nicole is quickly improving as a driver,” he added.
In typical W.E.ROCK fashion, the weekend’s courses were designed to push both vehicle and driver to the extreme. The terrain on A4 in particular would prove to be a mental game every bit as much as a test of each vehicle’s capabilities. Only five Pro Mod teams successfully completed the 90 degree sheer 14’ bonus drop aptly dubbed “The Gripster”, one of the steepest walls ever seen in competition.
“Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t listen to my mom and take up knitting and tap dancing,” joked Nicole before the event after taking a first peek at the insane drop-offs that would prove to be important in securing placement in Sunday’s Top 6 Shootout. “My parents were there supporting us and I just kept telling my mom that I had no intention of driving off the bonus drop. But it was the last course of the weekend, and when I got to the top of the big climb, I realized I had only 30 seconds left. I decided the only way to finish the course was to fly off the cliff. I tightened down my shoulder straps, threw it in second gear and went for it! I immediately had to check on my mom to make sure she wasn’t having a heart attack!”
The successful drop proved to be just the ticket into the Shootout. Standing in fifth place and one final round to go, Frank and Nicole quickly formulated a strategy and moved up in placement to finish the weekend taking an impressive fourth. A very pleased Frank added, “We are happy with our performance this weekend and exceeded our goals.”
In the weeks leading up to the competition, W.E.ROCK ran a poll on its website asking which rookie driver would do best in Perris. Nicole Johnson not only won the poll with a whopping 53% of the votes, she also lived up to the expectation and is quickly proving to be a driver to watch this year.
More information about Nicole Johnson can be obtained from the Johnson Motorsports team website, www.johnson4x4.com, or by email at nicole@johnson4x4.com
