The teenage Matt Johnson made it look easy jumping from a go-kart into an IMCA RaceSaver sprint car. Earlier this month, the 16-year-old won in only his fifth time out in the division at Arlington Raceway in Minnesota. However, the path to victory lane wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
Johnson started racing go-karts when he was six years old. Despite being the son of sprint car racer and 2004 WKA go-kart world champion Bill Johnson, he didn’t get the crème de la crème of go-kart chassis.
“I had a 2001 Buller Velocity chassis,” said Johnson, of Saint Peter, Minnesota. “Somehow, I made it work and got five wins with it, from when I was six to when I was 15.
“You could be winning [one week], and the next week you could be dead last. The inconsistency was frustrating, but it made the wins more special. It gave me satisfaction beating guys who pour tons of money in their go-karts. Looking back at it, I was pretty successful … racing a go-kart older than I am.”
This year, Johnson jumped into a sprint car once raced by his father. He steers a name-brand chassis, a Maxim, with a refurbished engine courtesy of sponsor Greg Parent. However, like his go-kart, the chassis is older than Johnson, being built in 2004.
“It’s an old Dave Blaney car, back when he was racing World of Outlaws,” said Johnson. “It went through quite a few people and then landed in my dad’s hands. That car has been sitting since my dad last raced it in 2017.”
Some might say a jump from go-karts on the small oval to sprint cars on the large, ½-mile Arlington Raceway is more like a giant leap. However, Johnson said a lot translated from his go-kart experience to the full-size cars.
“Usually, [the ½-mile] is really dry,” Johnson said. “So, you got to keep your car straight. With a go-kart, your kart is set up super loose. It translates over to [IMCA RaceSaver sprint car] — you don’t want to buzz the tires … you really don’t want to scrub off speed.”
On June 5, Matt Johnson won the feature, with his father finishing runner-up. The win meant a lot to the younger Johnson, validating the tough days he endured when he raced his aging go-kart. During that time looked to some of his racing heroes to inspire him to continue his quest to one day race in the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars.
“You look at some of the good drivers, for example Tony Stewart and Lewis Hamilton — those guys didn’t have great equipment growing up,” Johnson said. “Now look where they are at — they’re legendary.”
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
