Second Podium Finish at Miller Motorsports Park for Johnson and Mason.
Airing Sunday October 12th at 11:00am EST on SPEED
http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/date/2008-10-12
After qualifying 17th in New Jersey and finishing 2nd in a BMW Z4 M-Coupe, I was in a Ford Mustang FR500C in Miller Motorsports Park (SLC - Utah) with a different codriver who qualified 19th and this time we also made it to the podium finishing 3rd. This marked my 4th podium of the season and 3rd straight podium. Unforutnately I wasn't battling for the win like in New Jersey, but I was barely in the top 10 with less than 20 minutes to go and through more exciting passes, wrecks, and crazyness, I was able to fight to a podium once again. Be sure to check this race out on SPEED as well. Grand Am Koni Challenge has brought very entertaining and exciting racing lately and I have been glad to be a part of that excitement and entertainment.
Thanks for the support!
-Billy
Tooele, Utah. (September 25, 2008) -- After a podium finish together on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, Canada, Billy Johnson and Ray Mason stand on the podium together again after a strong charge to the front in the No. 52 Rehagen Racing, Columbus Truck, ROUSH Ford Mustang FR500C.
This is the fourth podium for Johnson this season and marks his third-straight podium. Billy finished 2nd in New Jersey for Motorsport Technology Group in the No. 18 BMW Z4 M-Coupe after an intense last-lap battle with Craig Stanton, and finished 3rd at Trois-Rivieres in the No. 52 Rehagen Racing Mustang with Ray Mason.
With the anticipation of minimal yellow flags during the race, the team focused on a setup that would be good for long stints. While the handling came in later on in the race, it was less than ideal for a 3 lap qualifying session resulting in Mason qualifying in the 19th position. At the start of the race, Mason was quickly in the top 10 which he held for half the race before turning the car over to Johnson under green flag conditions. Johnson took over the controls and one by one, worked his way through the field to another podium finish.
"We were looking to have a strong car at the end of the race" said Johnson, "our car's handling got better while the rest of the field started to fall away. Ray did a great job as usual working through the field and keeping the car in one piece for me. I would like the thank Rehagen Racing and Ray for the opportunity to drive for them again. Dean Martin and the whole crew at Rehagen Racing did a fantastic job preparing the car and were a pleasure to work with".
This fourth podium places Johnson in 9th in the driver standings and only 19 points from the lead. This year Billy has driven with five different co-drivers, three different cars (BMW, Porsche, and Ford), and two different teams. No other driver in the top 10 has driven for multiple teams in multiple car makes. The fact that Billy has been the highest finishing Ford at Miller and the highest finishing BMW at New Jersey and Mosport shows what a talented and adaptable driver he is. Billy looks forward to joining Andrew Davis back in the No. 18 Motorsport Technology Group BMW Z4 M-Coupe for the season finale VIR 6-Hour race where they look to finally sit atop the podium.
-credit: Johnson Racing
Airing Sunday October 12th at 11:00am EST on SPEED
http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/date/2008-10-12
After qualifying 17th in New Jersey and finishing 2nd in a BMW Z4 M-Coupe, I was in a Ford Mustang FR500C in Miller Motorsports Park (SLC - Utah) with a different codriver who qualified 19th and this time we also made it to the podium finishing 3rd. This marked my 4th podium of the season and 3rd straight podium. Unforutnately I wasn't battling for the win like in New Jersey, but I was barely in the top 10 with less than 20 minutes to go and through more exciting passes, wrecks, and crazyness, I was able to fight to a podium once again. Be sure to check this race out on SPEED as well. Grand Am Koni Challenge has brought very entertaining and exciting racing lately and I have been glad to be a part of that excitement and entertainment.
Thanks for the support!
-Billy
Tooele, Utah. (September 25, 2008) -- After a podium finish together on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, Canada, Billy Johnson and Ray Mason stand on the podium together again after a strong charge to the front in the No. 52 Rehagen Racing, Columbus Truck, ROUSH Ford Mustang FR500C.
This is the fourth podium for Johnson this season and marks his third-straight podium. Billy finished 2nd in New Jersey for Motorsport Technology Group in the No. 18 BMW Z4 M-Coupe after an intense last-lap battle with Craig Stanton, and finished 3rd at Trois-Rivieres in the No. 52 Rehagen Racing Mustang with Ray Mason.
With the anticipation of minimal yellow flags during the race, the team focused on a setup that would be good for long stints. While the handling came in later on in the race, it was less than ideal for a 3 lap qualifying session resulting in Mason qualifying in the 19th position. At the start of the race, Mason was quickly in the top 10 which he held for half the race before turning the car over to Johnson under green flag conditions. Johnson took over the controls and one by one, worked his way through the field to another podium finish.
"We were looking to have a strong car at the end of the race" said Johnson, "our car's handling got better while the rest of the field started to fall away. Ray did a great job as usual working through the field and keeping the car in one piece for me. I would like the thank Rehagen Racing and Ray for the opportunity to drive for them again. Dean Martin and the whole crew at Rehagen Racing did a fantastic job preparing the car and were a pleasure to work with".
This fourth podium places Johnson in 9th in the driver standings and only 19 points from the lead. This year Billy has driven with five different co-drivers, three different cars (BMW, Porsche, and Ford), and two different teams. No other driver in the top 10 has driven for multiple teams in multiple car makes. The fact that Billy has been the highest finishing Ford at Miller and the highest finishing BMW at New Jersey and Mosport shows what a talented and adaptable driver he is. Billy looks forward to joining Andrew Davis back in the No. 18 Motorsport Technology Group BMW Z4 M-Coupe for the season finale VIR 6-Hour race where they look to finally sit atop the podium.
-credit: Johnson Racing
Unfortuantley they cut out 3 of my good passes, the best being the double-pass of the green #83 Porsche of Craig Stanton and the #55 Mustang of Scott Maxwell going into turn 1.
