Every now and then in racing, the stars align, waters calm and the RIGHT thing happens on the track. Such was this past weekend for Coopersville, Michigan’s Johnny VanDoorn.

The 22 year-old, 2009 CRA Super Series Champion finished 4th at Birch Run, Michigan’s Dixie Motor Speedway in Friday night’s 47th Annual Dixie Cup Super Late Model challenge. He took his Port City house car the following night to mid-Michigan’s Owosso Speedway and put an old-fashioned butt whoopin’ on the assembled field of Super Late Models at the track’s annual North vs. South Challenge.

Taking the lead on lap 22 of the 100-lap feature, VanDoorn used every bit of racing technique and whit to outsmart and out drive the likes of Michigan Racing Hall of Fame member Tim Felver, multi-time track champions Dan Krzywosinski and Dave Stehouwer and a host of hot shoes from across the Midwest and Canada to take the checkered flag.

“We’ve had so much bad luck this season,” VanDoorn says, “It seems we’ve had a monkey on our back as a team. I felt like the good Lord has been pushing me to see how badly I have wanted to win. Tonight, we got it, and it feels great.”

Among VanDoorn’s competitors throughout the weekend was Brad Keselowski Development Driver Chad Finley.

The 17 year-old DeWitt, Michigan Driver has been noted here as one of the area’s best. He and VanDoorn dueled for several laps at Dixie on Friday, playing a game of cat and mouse for the second position. Two-thirds into the 100-lap event, however, gear problems in Finley’s #29 car caused a shortened night.
“That was really the first good Super Late Model run we’ve had this season,” Finley says. “To have that happen was heartbreaking.”

Finley indicated his ride with the Brad Keselowski Racing team may include piloting the BKR entry in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series later this season.

“We hope find a couple of marketing partners and run full time in Brad’s truck next year, and that might kick off with a couple of rides at the end of this season.”