2000 Race Results
Heat Race - Returning to Sioux Speedway to defend his 1999 championship, John started his heat race in the 8th position and following a few cautions and some good driving was able to finish 2nd.
A Feature - John started 4th in the A feature and after numerous attempts to get the race underway they finally got it going, and John raced in 3rd place for a few laps before moving past Z-98 Denny Johnson into 2nd place. By the time John had moved into 2nd pole-sitter Gary March had opened up a half straightaway lead. John kept plugging and reeled March in little by little before catching him with just 2 laps to go. The two came across the line to take the white flag nearly side by side and choosing the outside line to make his move John had a nose on March going into turn 1, and half a car length in turn 2. It appeared that John would be on his way to his first Modified feature win, but Gary did not see John beside him and hit John in the driver's door with his right front tire, forcing him off the top of turn 2. The caution came out when John stopped along the back stretch, he was able to get the car running again for a green-white-checkered finish. He restarted in 9th while March remained at the point. John quickly moved past 4 cars in the final 2 laps to capture a 5th place finish. John & Gary have since talked to clarify what happened. It was unfortunate that the two cars got together, but was apparantly just one of "those racing deals." Although it was a weekend with disappointing finish, we were encouraged once again by John's strong performance in the race.
Park Jefferson Speedway:
May 20 & 27, 2000
Races Rained Out - John gets to be the first Modified driver to hold the points lead for more than a week. After cooperating for 3 weeks, Mother Nature interfered for the 2nd consecutive week.
Heat - John started 9th in his heat race, and was moving towards the front when a car spun in front of him and he needed to put the car sideways to avoid serious contact with the other car. Although some pretty significant contact was made with the other car, the damage was mostly cosmetic and didn't do any real harm to the chassis. He finished the race 6th, not good enough to qualify for the A Feature.
B Feature - John started on the outside pole of the second B feature, and took the lead at the green flag, and never looked back, winning the 8 lap race by a full straightaway over 2nd place Wally Wagner, and another full straightaway from the 3rd place car.
A Feature - After qualifying for the A feature through the B feature, John had his work cut out for him starting 23rd of 24 cars. The speed John had carried through the B feature stayed with him in the A feature. The car was a rocket, passing cars high, low, and in the middle; going in and coming out! When the checkered flag fell, John had moved past 20 cars in 17 laps to finish 3rd. At the pace he was moving up, if it had been a 20 lap race, John may have made his first visit to Park Jefferson's A feature victory lane since 1994! This race was undoubtedly the best John has driven in the modified division.
Standings - With a strong finish for the 3rd straight week, John moved into 1st place in the modified point standings. Point-leader Greg Peck had trouble, and finished far back in the field, allowing John to make up alot of ground. He currently leads by a margin of 12 points (114 to 102). Although it is early in the season, it is still a milestone for the O.K. One Stop Racing team, as it is the first time ever that they've held the top points position at Park Jefferson. Now that we've reached the top, the real challenge will begin - STAYING THERE!
Heat - John started his heat race from the last row, and moving up into 5th place by the time the checkered flag flew. Qualified for the A Feature!
A Feature - Starting from the 11th position, John was caught in traffic for the first 4 laps, the entire field was 2-3 wide and there was no room to pass. He maintained the 10th position during those first laps, until a car spun 3-4 positions in front of him and he needed to veer right off the top of turn three to avoid the wreck, in his attempt to get away from the accident John made light contact with Lowell Roeber and the nose piece on the car got flipped up into his line of vision. After a speedy visit to the pits to remove the nose piece John returned to the track to restart in 20th position. The race went green the rest of the way, and again the O.K. One Stop Harris modified was flying! John was hugging the bottom of the track, and weaved his way up to the 10th position by the end of the race. A 2nd top-10 in as many weeks. This time the long way around!
Standings - After following up an 8th place finish on opening night with a 10th place finish, John moved up to second in the point standings, a distant 26 points behind leader Greg Peck, who has 2nd & 3rd place finishes.
Heat - After drawing poorly John started his heat race 10th out of 10. He worked his way up to 6th and after a few attempts to gain the 5th transfer spot, he was unsuccessful and finished 6th.
B Feature - John would start 3rd in the B feature, and run in the 3rd position the entire race until taking the white flag. Knowing that it would take a top-2 finish to make the show, John made a daring move in Turn 1 to the inside of the #68 of Lowell Roeber and the #33 of Mike Collins. Managing to hold on for the final lap John won the race, and advanced to the A.
A Feature - Having advanced from the first B Feature, John started 21st out of 24 cars. The mods had a little trouble getting started and by the time the green flew for the final time, John was up to the 13th position on the restart. Working his way through the field, John was picking the cars off one by one, and was making a move around the #6 of Kevin Van Klompenburg when the new Harris car got away from him and he spun in turn 3. But he wisely kept his foot in the gas, and was able to get going again, only losing 2 positions, and held onto that 8th position for a solid top-10 after coming from the B.
Standings - This is an easy one, following opening night and finishing 8th, John was in 8th position in the season standings.