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(Photo by Lisa Dynes Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – WHEATLAND, Mo. (Sept. 26, 2017) – Johnny Herrera recorded a trio of top-10 finishes last weekend during the 7th annual Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway.

The Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour tripleheader began on Thursday when Herrera advanced from second to win a heat race. He then finished where he started – fourth – in a qualifier, which earned enough combined points to lock into the 12th starting spot for the main event.

“We rode around 10th or 11th most of the race,” he said. “Toward the end the track got really slick. It had spotty rubber. I was being patient and running around the bottom. There wasn’t much moisture, but it was the shortest way around. As it cleaned off guys got running harder and would slip up, which would let me drive by.”

Herrera’s late charge yielded a seventh-place finish.

He returned to the 3/8-mile oval on Friday for Round 2, which began with Herrera advancing from third to second place in a heat race before he ended fourth in a qualifier. That relegated him to a B Main, which he won to garner a transfer into the A Main.

“We knew we had to get all we could get to be locked into Saturday’s show,” he said. “We wanted to get ourselves into the top eight in points to be locked in. I had a great car. I got a lot of them on the start and kept picking quite a few off in the first few laps. We had a good run to get up to seventh again.”

This time Herrera maneuvered from 17th to a seventh-place result. It earned him the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars. Herrera ranked fifth out of more than 50 competitors and that lined him up on the inside of the third row for Saturday’s main event.

“We thought we might be able to challenge and be in the hunt,” he said. “We settled in and got up to fourth when Sammy (Swindell) got in his crash. Wayne (Johnson) had a deal with a lapped car and that put us into third. They had a red at the end. Just before that I had got passed by Giovanni Scelzi. A lap later he got over the cushion and into the fence. I rolled my wing into the back and tried to slide Matt (Covington) for second. I ended up jumping the cushion and about got into the fence where a lot of guys did in turns three and four. I lost two or three spots there at the end.”

Herrera spent most of the race contending for a podium before the late-race incident relegated him to a sixth-place finish.

“I was pretty happy with the weekend,” he said. “We had a decent race car all weekend.”

Herrera remains fifth in the ASCS National Tour championship standings entering the next event, which is this Saturday at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., for the Midwest Fall Brawl.

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 21 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 1 (2); Qualifier: 4 (4); Feature: 7 (12).

Sept. 22 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 2 (3); Qualifier: 4 (3); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 7 (17).

Sept. 23 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Feature: 6 (5).

SEASON STATS –

45 races, 3 wins, 18 top fives, 36 top 10s, 39 top 15s, 40 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., for the Midwest Fall Brawl with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.JohnnyHerreraRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnnyHerrera2

APPAREL –

Herrera has t-shirts available for sale at his race trailer and at http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com/shopping.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Champion Brands

Champion Brands, LLC, is a globally recognized industry leader in specialty lubricants for more than 58 years. Champion also produces and blends more than 300 products including fuel, oil and engine additives and lubricants for the automotive, heavy truck, agricultural and specialty markets. For more information, visit http://www.ChampionBrands.com.

“I’ve been with Champion for several years and they have been one of my biggest supporters,” Herrera said. “They are great people to work with and their products are second to none.”

Herrera would also like to thank Morton Excavating, Mesilla Valley Transportation, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Competition Suspension Inc., Ostrich Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, Hoosier Racing Tire, Schoenfeld Headers, Maxim Chassis, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Simpson Race Products, Outlaw Wings, Weld Wheels, Finish Line Coatings, Semi-Crazy Truck Wash, Smiley’s Racing Products, CSR Garage and Heidbreder Foundation Services for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.