Ricky Johnson Minnesota race report

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Ricky Johnson finished 21st in the ASA ACDelco Series' annual Labor Day stop at the Minnesota State Fair Speedway. Coming to the checkered flag, Johnson was in a fight for position, with none other than his own teammate, Mark Dismore. Dismore nipped Johnson at the line to place Johnson in 21st.

Johnson battled with the car's handling for most of the race after starting in the eighth position. The top-20 starting spots were pre-determined entering the Miller Lite 300. Based on the 2000 car owner points standings, Johnson and the No. 22 Herzog Motorsports entry would roll off from the outside of row four.

"We just struggled with the chassis all day on the Nationwide Auction Systems/WorldBestBuy.com Chevrolet," Johnson said. "We were tight in the corners, but loose off and could never get the right set-up to resolve the problem. Tire management is the key to running up front at this race, but there was rarely an opportunity to change tires or come in to adjust our handling. Unfortunately, with the handling off, we just lost ground."

The race was only slowed for six caution periods, including a competition yellow after a green flag run of 100 laps.

"This is a top-notch team, but our finishes of late have yet to show that," Johnson continues. "Our pit stops are number one, but you have to have the combination of fast stops with the great handling race car to win these competitive races we run. We'll head to Memphis next weekend, where we ran well last year and the No. 44 team won, so hopefully luck will be on our side."

Nationwide Auction Systems, founded in 1978 and headquartered in the City of Industry, Calif., is the world's largest professional auctioning corporation specializing in governmental, utility surplus and private industry. Nationwide's auction commodities include, but are not limited to, automobiles, light, medium and heavy duty trucks, construction equipment, aircraft, boats, precious metals, scrap metal, entire business liquidations, commercial and residential real estate, vacant land, industrial plant equipment, electronics and jewelry.

San Diego-based WorldBestBuy.com is a wholly owned division of International Brands, Inc., a publicly traded technology company with majority or partial interests in Internet, media, entertainment, e-commerce, and broadcasting enterprises.

Herzog Motorsports is a successful, championship-winning race team. Based in Los Angeles, Calif.; St. Joseph, Mo.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Milwaukee, Wis., Herzog Motorsports fields two teams in the ASA ACDelco Series.

Memphis Motorsports Park is the next venue the ASA ACDelco Series heads to on the 2000 schedule. The Memphis 200 will go green at 3:00 p.m. EST and be televised live on TNN Sports.