Colorado National Speedway closed out another exciting Points season on Sept. 16. There are a lot of things that make a night at the paved track, 20 minutes north of Denver, exciting. The biggest draw has to be the ability of race fans in Denver to see a Late Model Division that puts on an amazing show every time they run. Congratulations to
Scotty Backman for winning that hard-fought title in 2006!
The daredevilswho run in the figure 8 Division at CNS are another huge source of entertainment. Unlike other sports that families spend money and time attending, racing offers fans a chance to be a part of the action.
John Black spent a lot of time at Denver area tracks and his son, a current Golden resident,
John Johnson, became such a race fanatic that he absorbed all he needed to know to become the crew chief of his dad's car. The story of the bond that racing built between the father and son has a bittersweet end to it, but it shows the devotion to a sport that can play a part in generations of family members that love competing at speed.
John Black ended several years of watching CNS events and was ready to climb back into a Camaro for the 2001 season. Competing in the sportsman division and watching his son race in the Train events ... Black was thrilled. (Go to the track's website at
www.coloradospeedway.com to get an explanation of how trains race on a speedway.) "My father loved racing and although he never had the best equipment or the budget to win a championship, just being there racing with his fellow racers was good enough for him." Johnson explained.
For the 2004 season the family was going to have both father and son running in the sportsman division, but after a lot of hard work on Johnson's car, the sponsorship he lined up did not come through. He sold his Camaro in an effort to make sure his dad had a ride under him another season before he handed the car down.
It was not until August that the car headed to CNS, and even then at a huge disadvantage with old tires. Black's driving ability in the #90 was great enough in the B-main to advance into the A-main that night. John expressed his appreciation to his son in between races.
A red flag had stopped action in that A-main and as the cars were restarting, the #90 was motionless. A fellow driver's attempt to push start the Camaro resulted in it eerily rolling to the infield. John Black's heart condition had interrupted his passion for racing in the mid '90s and now it had taken him during a race.
The following weekend, Black's son led the field on a pace lap in their racecar in tribute. It was not too hard a choice for Johnson deciding to keep the family racing endeavor going. He made the changes necessary to make the car worthy of driving through the track's X in the figure-8 events. He was rookie of the year in 2005 and with onlythree races left in the 2006 season, John won an emotional first race for himself and his dad. A seventh-place finish in the standings for the team was made possible by CFM Company as the primary sponsor, as well as BCER Engineering, Johnson Jr. Racing Engines, Transmission Clinic of Colorado Springs, Holiday Lanes & Pro Shop and Kamikaze Kegler Club Racing. Check out
www.coloradospeedway.com for events this year and next year when John Johnson hopes to be collecting more trophies.
Scott Perry Lives in Denver and enjoys wrting about cars and peoplewho love them. E-mail with story ideas at
scottywrites@aol.com!