Last night felt just like Sunday night, August 7, 2016. On that night two years ago, I combed through various social media websites trying to gather information about Bryan Clauson’s condition following his terrible crash in the Belleville Midget Nationals just the day before. On that Monday morning, I woke up to tragic news delivered by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Clauson was gone.
Last night, around midnight in South Carolina, I searched Twitter and other social media outlets hoping to find good news about another driver: Jason Johnson. The “Ragin’ Cajun,” as he was affectionately known thanks to his proud Louisiana roots, first caught my attention watching Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series races on MAVTV. Johnson won five championships in the ASCS and anytime I turned on one of their races on my TV, he was certain to be a contender for the win.
Over the past three and a half seasons, though, Johnson has been a regular in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series driving the #41 for the team he owned. The World of Outlaws are widely considered to be the premier series for sprint car racing and Johnson integrated into the series smoothly. After going winless in 2015 after missing races due to injury in a crash at Placerville Speedway, Johnson captured four wins each in 2016 and 2017 in addition to two wins just two weeks ago in preliminary features leading up the Jackson Nationals. Plus, Johnson had two wins in the series as a part-timer in 2003 and 2005.
The Louisiana driver’s most thrilling victory came in the 2016 Knoxville Nationals where he outdueled a nine-time Knoxville Nationals winner at the time, Donny Schatz, to capture a thrilling checkered flag for his self-owned race team. As a fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the battle between the two and it made me respect both competitors more for how hard they raced. Johnson’s performance in that 50-lap race was enough to establish his place as a legendary figure in sprint car racing, but he kept racing and looking for more victories behind the wheel of his #41.
Last night at Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin, it appeared he would be adding another win to his World of Outlaws total. He recorded quick time in qualifying and led three of the first 17 laps after starting thanks to the Craftsman Dash. On the third lap 18 restart, though, the unthinkable happened. While racing with Daryn Pittman down the backstretch for the lead, the two drivers locked wheels and a vicious crash occurred, one I don’t want to describe. Quickly, safety crews arrived on the scene and took Johnson to the local medical center. The race finished and Pittman, somberly, captured his fifth checkered flag of the season. Everyone’s thoughts were with Johnson, though.
As I sat in my bed looking through social media at around midnight last night, I read statements from several sources and Johnson’s outlook seemed bleak based on their wording. I watched the crash two times and it looked awful, which made me regret watching it. But hope and faith were still there for a recovery for the Louisiana driver. His wife, Bobbi, had a positive statement before I went to sleep and I hoped to wake up to better news. As I woke up, though, the morning resembled August 8, 2018, as the news of Bryan Clauson’s death broke. Unfortunately, the announcement was the same: Jason Johnson was gone. And my emotions of sadness overflowed.
The sport of auto racing is one of my favorite things in the entire world. I will watch any racing and support it as much as possible. This includes NASCAR, the World of Outlaws, IndyCar, Formula 1, and so much more. Most importantly to me, though, is the drivers who compete in those respective series. Every racecar driver is my hero. They are willing to climb in a racecar and risk everything to provide a show for fans like myself.
Jason Johnson is my hero.
Every time he could be at the track, Jason was there. Many nights, he gave me excitement and thrills as I heard his name over the DirtVision audio broadcast of the World of Outlaws and saw his name on Race Monitor gaining spots while running blazing fast laps.
That is what makes days like today so challenging as a huge fan of racing. Sometimes, I wonder if the risk is worth the reward for drivers, Is the show they put on enough to suffer through the tragic loss of great men like Jason Johnson, Bryan Clauson, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and so many others? But that question would be laughable to any driver who has lost their lives in a fatal crash. While the risk is great, they love what they do and I truly believe Jason Johnson died doing what he loved. So, no one can ever question a driver’s motivation to race because the real racers want to compete every single day. And, truly, I believe God has a plan even in tragic circumstances.
The void left by Jason Johnson will never be filled in both the racing world and in the lives of the people close to him. I never met Jason and didn’t know him personally, but I already miss him and wish I could change the outcome of the entire situation. Yet, time must go on through the hurt. And I have decided the best way to honor Jason, as many people have said, is to just enjoy auto racing like he did. Watching a race can heal some of that hurt while providing an opportunity to remember such a great person both on and off the race track.
Thanks for all the memories in the past few years, Jason. My prayers and thoughts will be with your wife, your son, your family and friends, and everybody who has been affected by your tragic death. You will be missed greatly. RIP.
Credits:
-Image:
https://www.lakeexpo.com/community/community_news/local-racer-jason-johnson-wins-knoxville-nationals-sprint-car-championship/article_edf4a1ec-6433-11e6-811b-2f1d531873e3.html
No comments:
Post a Comment