LAVEEN, Ariz. — Getting seat time was goal number one of Tyler Johnson’s first Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod season.
The 15-year-old speedster from Laveen, Ariz., turned that quest into two feature wins, plenty of consistency and a long run atop the national point standings, accomplishments that culminated in his earning rookie of the year honors.
“January was a pretty stacked schedule. It seemed like we were always asking ourselves how many races we already had in,” stated Johnson, who spent much of the month on the track or in the shop. “With that many races, you definitely can’t lack on your maintenance program.”
“We didn’t plan to run that many races that early,” he added. “We just saw more races scheduled and told ourselves ‘Let’s go run those and get more experience under our belt.’ I knew that another Arizona driver (Clay Erickson in 2020) had been rookie of the year, that we had a lot of races and that we could do it, too.”
The Deuce of Clubs Thunder Raceway track and Arizona State champion made a third of his 42 starts on the season in January, getting his first feature win on Jan. 26 at Central Arizona Raceway.
“The highlight of the season has to be my first-ever win. There were a lot of good cars there that night,” said Johnson, who held Boddie Parker in check in a green, white, checkered finish. “It was exciting.”
Johnson had raced a quarter midget and then a micro sprint for two years, earning ROY honors at Casa Grande after his first micro season, before moving to the Northern SportMod.
“You have to be smoother coming in the corner with the Northern SportMod and have more throttle control coming out,” he said, when asked to compare driving differences. “What I like best about the Northern SportMods is the competition. Anybody can win, especially at Casa Grande, because everybody is always so close and competitive.”
“I liked every track we raced at,” said Johnson, also runner-up at Cocopah and third in points at Central Arizona. “When Cocopah got two lanes top and bottom, it was really fun.”
He hopes to travel more with the Northern SportMod in 2025 while joining brother Jesse Jr., in both the SportMod and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car divisions.