The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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April 18, 2008

Johnson shows off car at Rasmussen

Faribault native raced in Busch Series last summer

By Shane Frederick

MANKATO — Racing has always been in Jerick Johnson’s blood.

It just took two decades for him to realize that it was part of a dominant gene.

The Faribault native began racing stock cars when he was 20 years old, after a shoulder injury ended his junior college football career.

“I’m not one of those guys who drove go-carts when I was 3 years old,” Johnson said during an event at Rasmussen College Thursday. “My dad was into racing, and when I started, I happened to be good at it.”

Now 28, Johnson races 15 to 20 times a season. Last summer, he competed in six races in NASCAR’s Busch Series (now called the Nationwide Series), which is the top circuit below the Sprint Cup Series where names like Earnhardt, Gordon and Stewart reside.

“The ultimate goal for any stock car racer is to be in the Sprint Cup Series,” Johnson said. “But it takes a lot of money. It’s very hard to compete.”

That’s one of the reasons he was in Mankato. Rasmussen has been one of his team sponsors since last year, and the college’s name will plaster parts of the car Johnson will drive Saturday night during an American Speed Association race at the Elko Speedway.

The No. 76 car was on display Thursday. Racing fans, Rasmussen students and even a group of preschool children got a chance to sit in the driver’s seat. Johnson said that car reaches a top speed of 125 to 130 mph. He has another car for use in Nationwide races.



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