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(Photo by Pole Position Photo)

Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Nov. 15, 2016) – Johnny Herrera closed the 2016 campaign with a strong outing during the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour’s season finale last weekend at Cocopah Speedway.

“Overall it was ok,” he said. “Of course we wanted to get another win or two, but you can’t win every night. We always try to finish with podiums or top fives when we don’t win.”

Herrera opened the two-day show on Friday by winning a heat race from third before he advanced from sixth to fourth place in a qualifier. That ranked him fourth in overall points and lined him up on the outside of the second row for the main event.

“We were really good the first night early, but we weren’t good late,” he said. “We got to second at one point in the race. I was rolling really good. Usually we ride the first 10 laps and start rolling better toward the end. It was the opposite for us. We tried something a little different setup-wise. We were good the first 10 or 12 laps. As the track slowed down and was slicker we got too tight and faded toward the end. The last five laps we were holding on.”

Herrera ran inside one of the four lock-in positions to Saturday’s main event until the closing laps when he dropped to a sixth-place result.

The team returned to the 3/8-mile oval on Saturday for the final race of the year. Herrera powered from sixth to second place during both a heat race and a qualifier to be the top point earner. That started him fifth – behind the four locked-in drivers – in the main event.

“We were good out of the box,” he said. “We made some changes on a bar combination. I think every time we hit the track we had the fastest lap time in the heats and qualifiers. The changes that we made made a big difference.

“In the feature Aaron (Reutzel) and Sam (Hafertepe Jr.) were a little better than the rest of us. (Jason) Solwold and myself and (Seth) Bergman were all about the same speed right there.”

Herrera duked it out for the final spot on the podium before he recorded a fourth-place finish, which was his 30th top five of the season. He finished the season ranked second in the ASCS National Tour championship standings.

QUICK RESULTS –

Nov. 11 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 1 (3); Qualifier: 4 (6); Feature: 6 (4).

Nov. 12 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 2 (6); Qualifier: 2 (6); Feature: 4 (5).

SEASON STATS –

63 races, 7 wins, 30 top fives, 39 top 10s, 43 top 15s, 46 top 20s

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, Competition Suspension Inc., Mesilla Valley Transportation, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, 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 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.