NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series News Release:  Contact – ROBY HELM – (865) 207-4157

December 17, 2015

NeSMITH/CHEVY SUPER SERIES LATE MODEL CHAMP JOHNSON REACHES MILESTONE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                CHATTANOOGA. TN – Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN has reached a milestone today.  After winning his unprecedented third straight NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series and his second straight Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series National Championships, the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee celebrates his 60th birthday today.

                So what does Johnson do on a birthday where most drivers are well into retirement?  What he does every day, including birthdays.  He’s in the shop getting ready for the 2016 racing season.  Though the 40 seasons that Johnson has raced, the jet black hair has given way to a more silver tint, but even though there’s snow on the roof, the competitive fire still burns within.

                “I’m proud to be 60-years-old,” Johnson said.  “I’m in good health and I still want to race and make history.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to pick and choose my battles a little more carefully.  It is a little harder to put the hours in to stay competitive, but I still figure out a way on how to do it.”

                A lot has changed in the sport of dirt late model racing during Johnson’s career; changes that Johnson hasn’t let go unnoticed.  Through the years, Johnson has learned to roll with the changes.

                “When you get to be 30-years-old, reality begins to set in because before that, you think you’re immortal,” Johnson said.  “I had a bad crash and broke my arm in 1992.  It was the first time I had been in an ambulance and the first time I had ever been in a hospital.  It was then that I realized it was a privilege to be able to race.”

Johnson said that experience changed the way he looked at not just racing, but life itself, and racing was Johnson’s life.  It always had been coming from a racing family with a nationally-known father, Joe Lee Johnson that won the first NASCAR World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960.

“I came back from that crash and started winning races again right away, but I learned I needed to take things more seriously,” Johnson said.  “After your career gets to the 30 year mark, you realize that you probably won’t get to do this for another 30 years.”

In the first 30 years of Johnson’s racing career, he was winning big races like the Dirt Track World Championship Race twice, and many other crowd jewels of the sport, plus a pair of Southern All-Star Dirt Late Model Championships.  It was a successful 30 years that earned Johnson a spot in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

Just when it seemed Johnson’s career was in its twilight years, the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series came along with dirt late model powered by the Chevrolet Performance 604 Engine, built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications, and recharged his competitive batteries.

The amazing thing about what one could call the second half of Johnson’s career was dirt late model technology was changing on a daily basis, but Johnson continued with an “old school” approach when it came to the components on his race car.  For most of the past 11 seasons, Johnson won races and championships with race cars that had seen many previous seasons.

“In the past ten years or so, it seems like we hear the word technology more and more,” Johnson said,  “Not only has the technology changed, but the questions regarding what to do with it on race day has changed as well.”

Since everyone was on a level playing field under the hood where experience and knowledge took precedent over cubic dollars, Johnson found a new niche in the sport.  In the first 11 years of the series, Johnson is its winningest driver with 26 wins, and he has also led the most career laps having paced the field for 665 laps.

In 2013, Johnson chased the NeSmith Dirt Late Model Series points, an effort that he had not done in many years.  Johnson won the National Championship that season, and followed that up with his second straight title in 2014 to become the third driver in series history to win two straight championships joining David Earl Gentry and Eric Cooley.

No driver had won three NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championships, let alone three straight.  Johnson was ready to make more history with the series in 2014.  After one win, eight top five finishes, and 16 top ten finishes in 21 races, Johnson picked up his third straight NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship.

The sister series of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series with dirt late models powered by the Chevrolet Performance CT525 Engine came along in 2013.  The CT525 Engine was based off the production LS3 engine, and Chevrolet Performance chose Johnson as its Research and Development Driver for three years prior.

Johnson began winning races with an engine built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications against dirt late model powered by specialty-built engines costing four times more.  Remember that guy from Chattanooga that won all of those big super late model races in the 1980s and 1990s?  He’s back!!

After finishing third in the inaugural 2013 Chevy Super Series point standings, Johnson came back to win the 2014 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series National Championship.  He started out the 2015 in spectacular fashion to set the stage for a second straight title.

On March 21, 2015, the Chevy Super Series opened its third season at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN.  Johnson’s car rolled a tire off the wheel in Qualifying, so he had to take a provisional and start 23rd for the 50-lap main event.  Johnson kept the capacity crowd on their feet as he worked through the field.  He took the lead on lap 35 and went on to win the race.

It was his only win of the 2015 season, but by the end of the season, Johnson was once again the top point getter, and he earned his second straight $10,000 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series National Championship.

“I was more fortunate to win the NeSmith Series and Chevy Super Series Championships this year than the other years,” Johnson said.  “This year we had more consistency than performance, while the other championships we had more performance than consistency, but everything just clicked.”

Johnson said as long as his health is good, he will keep on racing.  Youth is not his enemy, but rather the fuel that powers his longevity in the sport.

  “As long as my health holds out, and I have the desire and the ability to win races and championships, I’ll keep on racing because I know I won’t make a good spectator.” Johnson said.  “During the first half of my career, I began to notice that I was racing with the sons of the guys I started racing with.  This season, I began to notice I was racing with the grandsons of the guys I started racing with.”

Even though its three-time National Champion turned 60 today, the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series is also geared towards young drivers.  Johnson competed this season against many drivers under the age of 18 that were a part of the Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series, and that included 12-year-old Tyler Clem, 13-year-old Cruz Skinner, and 13-year-old Will Roland.

“Racing with young kids like Tyler Clem, Cruz Skinner, Will Roland and other drivers 18 and young doesn’t make me feel old,” Johnson said.  “Those kids make me feel young and keep me going.  Cruz Skinner sent me a text today to wish me a happy birthday and asked me if I was going to retire, so he could take over.  I told him retirement wasn’t happening anytime soon.”

Someone posted a saying on Facebook today that was just right for the driver known as the Chattanooga Flash on his 60th birthday.

“You Don’t STOP Racing Because You Get OLD.  You Get OLD Because You STOP Racing!”

For more information and rules about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing.  Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month.  You can follow us on Twitter @NeSmithRacing.

NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain and Performance Dealer six years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast.  Chevrolet Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  Beyea Headers is the NeSmith Late Model Hard Charger Sponsor.  Sunoco Race Fuels is the Official Race Fuel of the NeSmith Late Models.  Panama City Cycles is the Official ATV Provider of the NeSmith Late Models.  AR Bodies is an Associate Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models.  NeSmith Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2015 are CrateInsider.Com, Integra Racing Shocks, Image Screen Printing, and Gresham Race Parts.  2015 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars. 

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