UPDATED JULY 4

NIGHT ENDS EARLY FOR HS MOTORSPORTS

Johnny's night ended on lap 90 as he lost his brakes.  Earlier in the day Johnny timed in 20th.  He was making his way up through the field when another car turned down on him resulting in the right front fender having to be taken off. 
All in all...another frustrating night filled with bad luck.

We go on to Auto City on Saturday night.

UPDATED JUNE 29

SCHEDULE FOR THE MONTH OF JULY:

Dixie Motor Speedway has changed it's schedule slightly for the rest of the season.  Here are the dates and places the HS Motorsports team will be racing in July.

July 3 CRA race at Angola
July 5 outlaw race at Auto City
July 13 CRA race at Plymouth
July 18 outlaw race at Dixie
July 20 CRA race at Nashville
July 26 outlaw race at Owosso

UPDATED JUNE 22

VANDOORN DRIVES FROM 20TH TO 6TH AT ILLIANA

The HS Motorsports team had a long week at the shop.  On the agenda was fixing the body damage from the CRA race at Anderson as well as sorting out the teams engine mystery.  Saturday night at Illiana Speedway, Johnny rewarded the guys with an outstanding effort, driving from his 20th starting spot to a strong 6th place finish.

The team had nearly all of the body panels off the car early in the week-even replacing the windshield.  As of Wednesday, only part of the body was replaced.  The team also spent the week changing the motor and getting some chassis dyno time. 

When the team unloaded at Illiana, Johnny said the car felt great on the track, he could drive anywhere he wanted and that on a scale of 1-10, the car was a 9.  The only problem:not enough motor.  Since we did not have another motor with us, the team made the car as comfortable as possible for Johnny.

At the start of the race, Johnny starting passing cars right away.  His car did look like a 9 out of 10 for the whole race, especially going through the turns.  Johnny kept digging and made a pass on series points leader Scott Hantz with two laps to go to finish a strong 6th.

After the race, Johnny said "JVD is back"...and he said it with a big smile.

Unofficially, Johnny moved up to 9th in the points standings.

Our next race will be the CRA race at Angola Speedway on July 3.

WE WILL NOT BE RACING AT KALAMAZOO ON JUNE 28

We have decided to skip this race to concentrate on the CRA car.  Our main goal for the 2008 season has been the CRA Championship and we have decided to put some more attention towards that car.

UPDATED JUNE 16

MORE BAD LUCK FINDS

TEAM HS MOTORSPORTS....

Johnny VanDoorn and his Team HS Motorsports have been trying to shake loose the monkey that is on the teams back.  This past weekend, once again, bad luck was the only luck for the HS team.

The weekend started at Dixie Motor Speedway where the team looked to improve on their 4th place finish a few weeks ago.  In practice, the motor was not running right.  Luckily, Jack from Baker Engineering was at Dixie and helped ease the teams engine issue.  Johnny timed in 7th.  He started 4th in the feature and on the first lap had the toe knocked out after getting hit by another car twice.  Johnny fought the ill handling car and was running second to Mike Root with about ten laps to go.  On a restart, Johnny started falling back through the pack-the problem?  A flat right front tire.  Johnny would end up 8th.

After driving for four hours, the team unloaded at Anderson Speedway for the CRA race there.  The car was pretty good in practice, but Johnny could only muster an 8th place qualifying spot.  After qualifying, the team noticed the panard bar bracket was cracked-forcing Johnny to do some emergency welding before the feature.

Anderson is a tight high bank 1/4 mile track-and more often than not-cars get wrecked.  A caution came out early and Johnny slowed for it, while the car behind him did not slow in time, rear ending the #16.  The damage was not bad and Johnny contiued on.  He would be forced to come to pit road under the next caution to fix a piece of the car that was dragging from the first caution.  Johnny was up to fourth when he was forced to pit.  Having to restart in the back, Johnny made some great moves to improve his position but it was not enough.  Johnny would go on to finish 7th.

UPDATED JUNE 13

HS MOTORSPORTS DOUBLE DIPPING FOR

FATHERS DAY WEEKEND

The HS Motorsports team will spend Fathers Day weekend on the road, racing Satuday and Sunday night.  Saturday night, the team will be racing at Dixie Motor Speedway.  Then the team will head South for the CRA race at Anderson Speedway.  

Happy Fathers Day to ALL the dad's out there-including all the dads who are apart of the HS Motorsports team: Tim, Tom, Chip, and Dave.

We'll see you on the road....

UPDATED JUNE 9

MORE BAD LUCK FOR VANDOORN AT SALEM

The HS Motorsports team found more bad luck at Salem this past weekend.  Johnny said the motor felt flat in qualifying and ended up 12th.  In the race around lap 40, he reported the motor let go.  It turns out the drive shaft broke.  At the shop Monday morning, the team took the motor out of the CRA car after finding metal shavings in one of the filters....

This week we have another double header-Dixie Motor Speedway with the outlaw latemodel and Anderson Speedway on Sunday with the CRA car.

UPDATED MAY 27

SOME PHOTOS FROM DIXIE....

Scot French, a noted motorsports photographer sent over a few photos from the outlaw race at Dixie Motor Speedway this past weekend.  Thanks for sending them over Scot!!

UPDATED MAY 25

VANDOORN GETS TWO TOP 5 FIVES

ON EASTSIDE OF THE STATE

Johnny VanDoorn and his HS Motorsports team headed to the Eastside of Michigan for the first two races of 2008 with the teams outlaw latemodel. 

Friday night the team unloaded at Auto City Speedway in Clio, Michigan.  Johnny and the team were real happy with the car during the practice sessions throughout the day and were excited about the race.  During qualifying however, Johnny got real loose on entry into turn three, going through turns three and four almost sideways, and could only manage an eighth place qualifying effort.  With the luck of the inversion, Johnny started out 3rd. 

When the green flag dropped, Johnny rode in second for about 15 laps, then took over the lead.  Johnny held the lead for about 30 laps.  Then the #40 car of Mike Luberda Jr. got by Johnny.  Luberda and Johnny checked out when a caution flag flew with four laps to go.  Johnny was able to get to the inside of Luberda and the two drivers rubbed each other for a couple of laps until Luberda was able to pull away for the win.

After a restfull nights sleep at the Hoilday Inn Express in Birch Run, the team headed to Dixie Motor Speedway which is about 10 miles away from the track in Auto City..  Again, the team had Johnny's car hooked up right away in practice, so once again, the whole HS Team was looking forward to qualifying.

Johnny took to the track and laid down an awesome lap with a time of 14.544 on his first lap and he ran a 14.545 on his second.  Johnny got quick time for the only the second time in his asphalt career.  However, with the luck of this inversion, Johnny would start 11th.

Johnny made his way up through the field patiently, but the team could see the car was a handful.. Finally under a caution, Johnny reported that the car was waaay too loose and he had all he could do to hold on to it (for those who watched Johnny on dirt, he looked like he was going around Winston and Crystal again...)

JV held on to the #16 machine the rest of the way holding off Larry Zent in the #5 car for a fourth place finish.

The next race for the HS Motorsports team is the CRA race at Salem Speedway on Saturday, June 7.

MEET AND GREET WITH TST......

Before the race at Dixie, the team had the opportunity to meet a group from one of our sponsors:  Tooling Software Technologies (TST).  They are headquartered in Grand Blanc. A handfull of them made the track up to watch their car at Dixie.  On June 14th, the next Dixie Cup race, TST is planning another group outing.

The lovely "TST" girls: Steph, Sam, and Laura

Drivers are always the lucky ones...

Johnny and Tim with Jim Kesteloot of TST.

Johnny with Demitirus, Ericka, Junior and Tez from TST.

Johnny and Tim with Sue and Jeff from TST.  Thank you Sue for letting us know

that you were all going to the race-we look forward to the race in June as well!!

UPDATED MAY 21

AUTO CITY- DIXIE DOUBLE HEADER UP NEXT....

Johnny and the HS team are gearing up for the start of the outlaw racing season-with planned back to back races at Auto City Speedway on Friday night and Dixie Motor Speedway on Saturday night.  The weather looks great so get out and celebrate the holiday weekend!!!

UPDATED MAY 18

VANDOORN FINSHES 9TH AT BAER FIELD

Johnny fought an ill handling race car in Saturday's open practice.  The team spent all day getting the car to handle better but headed to the hotel still looking for the right answer.  Sunday morning came and the team went to work to find a way to make the car handle to Johnny's liking.  Right before qualfying, the team made some more wholesale changes, and Johnny timed in 8th.  Johnny went on to finish 9th. 

Our next race will be Friday night at Auto City Speedway with the outlaw latemodel.

UPDATED MAY 2

HS MOTORSPORTS NOT GOING TO M40....

The HS Motorsports team was scheduled to race at the M40 Speedway on May 9th.  The team has scraped those plans and will focus on the next CRA race, May 18 at Baer Field Speedway.

UPDATED APRIL 29

Johnny A First Round Draft Pick by Speed 51

Speed 51, a short track racing website owned by Speed TV's Bob Dillner held it's fifth annual Short Track Draft recently.  The draft, usually posted around the same time as the NFL Draft, picks best short track driving prospects.  Where did Johnny end up?  Well, he went in the first round....click here to see the whole first round.

UPDATED APRIL 28

VanDoorn Finishes 14th at Winchester

Johnny VanDoorn and his HS Motorsports team finally were able to race after waiting out three postponed races so far in 2008.  The team unloaded at Winchester Speedway and were second quick in practice and had high hopes for the race as well as qualifying.  However, Johnny would wind up struggling the rest of the day.  He would qualify a dissapointing 17th and finish 14th in the race.

The next race on the HS Motorsports schedule is May 9 at the M40 Speedway with the Outlaw Latemodel.

UPDATED APRIL 23

TESTING, TESTING, TESTING.....

Johnny and the rest of the HS Motorsports team headed to Berlin Tuesday afternoon to do some testing with the CRA car.  The team was able to test from 5:00 pm till 9:00 pm.  The team accomplished alot in those four hours, trying different things and learning what makes the CRA car "happy".  The team will once again head to Winchester this weekend for the Manning Service 100 on Sunday afternoon.

UPDATED APRIL 20

FOR THE THIRD RACE IN A ROW....THE WEATHER WINS!!!

The Manning Service 100 was postponed today at Winchester Speedway.  The cars did not get to qualify, but Johnny was second quick in practice.  So, once again, we still have not qualified or raced-and that is getting old!!!  The race will be made up next Sunday, April 27.  If you were in attendance, keep your ticket stub or wristband.

UPDATED 4/12/08

THANKS TO THE CREW.....

All drivers say it..."thanks to the crew..." Well, who's on Johnny VanDoorn's crew?  What is Tim Steele's favorite TV show?  How long has Chip been racing?  Who's the guy who does Johnny's tires?  All those questions are answered on the team page.  Photos will be added once they are available....

UPDATED 4/12/08

The Music City 150 has been rescheduled.  The new date is Sunday, July 20.  Check out the results page for an up to date schedule of where Johnny and the HS Motorsports team will be racing in 2008.

UPDATED 4/10/08

The races at Anderson Speedway this weekend have been postponed.  A press release on the Anderson Speedway website states that the race will be run on June 15.  The full press release can be found here.

The next race for the HS Motorsports team is Sunday April 20th at Winchester Speedway.

UPDATED 4/6/08

The HS Motorsports team is preparing for the Anderson 125 this Saturday, April 12th.  The team will be heading out Friday morning for a open practice Friday afternoon, hoping to dial in the #16 HS Die Chevy.  This week, the team has been busy preparing a outlaw late model for races at the Kalamazoo Speedway and M40 Speedway. 

Johnny took a break from fabricating to pose for a few photos....

HERO CARDS ARE HERE!!!!

Johnny's 2008 hero cards are here.  Stop by the trailer after the races to get one signed.  Or, if you can't make it to the races, send a self addressed stamped envelope (big enough for a 8 1/2 x11 photo, make sure you attach postage to the envelope..) to:

HS Motorsports

Attn: Autograph Request

11433 24th Ave.,

Marne, MI 49435

PICTURE UPDATE:

James MacDonald made the long trek to Nashville from his home in Canada and sent over some photos for Johnny V fans to enjoy.  To order any of these pics, log onto Apex One Photo.

UPDATED MARCH 31

The rain won the All American 150 this weekend.....which left us in Nashville for 3 nights.  Johnny was quick in the practice sessions that were held on Friday and Saturday, but still felt that there was plenty of speed in the car.  Johnny set the fastest lap of the weekend with a time of 18.455 seconds on Friday in the first practice.  He backed that up with a time of 18.762 in the second session on Friday.  On Saturday morning, Johnny ran a lap of 18.530 which was second in the first session and he ran a 18.694 which was fifth in the second session.

UPDATED MARCH 28

We all made it to Nashville safely, ready to take to the track.  The Tennesean Newspaper ran an article about the race coming to town.  To check out the article click here.  Keep an eye on Speed 51 for updates as well as the CRA site.

UPDATED MARCH 20

GETTING READY TO ROLL.....

The HS Motorsports team is gearing up for the start of the CRA racing season.  The first race is next weekend at Nashville's Music City Motorplex.  If you see the HS Motorsports hauler heading south, be sure to wave to Chip...

UPDATED MARCH, 15

Johnny and the team are headed home from Nashville.  They managed to test on Friday for about 6 hours.  The whole team was really pleased with how the test session went, and they were pleased with the times Johnny posted as well.  The track was pretty "green", but Johnny still ran good lap times.  They had hoped to be able to test Saturday as well, but that test was cancelled Friday night cause of storms coming into the area.  The team will spend the next week and a half getting ready for the Spring Clash 150 at the Music City Motorplex on March 29.

The 2007 All American 400 Voted

Race of The Year.....

Speed 51 recently held it's "51 Awards" with categories ranging from Rookie of The Year to Best Promoters and Best Race in 2007.  Johnny's victory over Jason Hogan was named by the readers of the popular short track website, as the "Best Race for 2007".  Click here to see what Speed 51 had to say about Johnny's biggest win to date.

Johnny on the cover of Late Model Racer

Johnny is featured on the March/April cover of Late Model Racer magazine.  The story, written by Doug Kennedy, talks about Johnny's 2007 season.  To order back issues or to get a subscription to Late Model Racer, click here for the info.

GETTING READY TO RACE....

What is Johnny doing to get ready for the 2008 season?  Racing of course!  Johnny joined his car owner Tim Steele for some motorcycle ice racing.  It was only the second time Johnny turned laps on the ice while Tim has been at it for quite awhile.  Tim displayed his motorcycle savy....and Johnny?  Well, he's still learning....  Enjoy the photos...

Johnny on Tim's #16 bike

      
                  Tim kickin' up some snow....                                                   Johnny and Tim go for a race.....

                       
              These bottom two photos were taken by Tim Contreras. To checkout more of his photos, log onto                                www.weekendpictures.net

        More photos from the ice racing, including a sequence of Johnny laying his bike down, can be found here.

SOKOLOSKI RETURNS HOME TO HS MOTORSPORTS

When ever a building is built, it's only as strong as its foundation. Tim Steele's vision of returning HS Motorsports to the top rungs of stock car racing is no different; and with the latest news coming out of Marne, Michigan, Steele's vision is well on its way to becoming reality. Tom Sokoloski, who was Crew Chief of Steele's 1993, 1996 and 1997 ARCA Championship teams, has rejoined HS Motorsports in the same capacity, joining Chip Caputo to form a powerful racing trio.

"I'm real excited to have Tom back at HS Motorsports. Tom actually started working here when we were both in high school and we were working on Jet Ski's. Not only does Tom bring his experience from his previous stint at HS, but he also brings with him knowledge from today’s NASCAR Nationwide Series. Experience can not be bought, so anytime you can add an individual with twenty five years of experience to your team, it's a tremendous shot in the arm" Steele said.

Sokoloski is equally excited about his return. "It does feel like home. Tim, Chip and I have won a lot of races together and have had a tremendous amount of success in the past. To be able to walk right in to a situation where the chemistry is right does not happen that often. We have that here again at HS Motorsports and I can't wait for the season to start" the Kent City, Michigan native said. Sokoloski recently left the Indiana based ML Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series team where his driver, Mark Green, qualified 12th for the opening Nationwide race at Daytona International Speedway. "Being back at HS Motorsports will also allow me to spend more time with my kids. I lived in an apartment in Indiana for five years and commuted home on our off weekends. I missed the time with my kids. In fact, I'll be able to attend parent-teacher conferences for the first time in a long time; and I look forward to being able to do more of that type of stuff as well."

Johnny VanDoorn, the 2007 CRA Super Series Rookie of The Year is also excited about Sokoloski's return. "A year ago, I had all volunteer help and much of it was limited. Now I have Tim Steele, Tom Sokoloski and Chip Caputo working on the cars that I will drive. I have to pinch myself when I see all three of those guys in the shop together; they have so many wins and championships. Adding Tom to HS Motorsports is huge for the company," VanDoorn said.

The first race for HS Motorsports is the CRA Super Series opening event at Nashville's Music City Motorplex on March 29th.

VANDOORN LOOKS TO START 2008 THE WAY HE ENDED 2007

The last time Coopersville, Michigan teen Johnny VanDoorn was at a race track, he was celebrating winning the Adam Petty Memorial All American 400 with his HS Motorsports team at the Music City Motorplex. He hopes to visit victory lane again when the CRA Super Series opens the 2008 season on March 29. "I can't wait to get back to racing at Nashville. I have been itching to get back to racing since we left Nashville. It's been a long winter but the time has gone fast with all of the work we have been doing at the shop" VanDoorn said.

For 2008, VanDoorn and his Tim Steele led HS Motorsports team will once again chase points in the CRA Super Series as well as run selected outlaw late model races throughout Michigan. VanDoorn will pilot a brand new Port City Chassis with power from McGunegill Engine Performance in the CRA Super Series; a combination that took VanDoorn to the Rookie Of The Year and runner up in points in 2007. "We were all really pleased with how we finished 2007. The whole team really began to click towards the end of the year. In our last fives races, our worst finish was second and we had two wins in those five races; one at Dixie in the late model and the other at Nashville. It took a few weeks for us to get on the same page and really click, but once we did, everyone knew it. To say I'm excited about 2008 would be a huge understatement" VanDoorn added.

Tim Steele, President of VanDoorn's HS Motorsports team is also excited about 2008. "Johnny and I know what each other are saying now when we talk about the chassis. We have built the trust in each other needed to race at this level; the results in the second half of the year prove that. We will be running the CRA deal again and late model races too. So far, we will be able to make all of the Dixie Cup races at Dixie Motor Speedway, and last year we won two of the three Dixie races we entered, so we are excited about that as well."

Steele is the 1993, ’96 & ‘97 ARCA RE/MAX Series driving champion. All-time RE/MAX Series super speedway winner with 24 super speedway victories at Atlanta, Kentucky, Lowe’s, MIS, Pocono and Talladega. Tied with Frank Kimmel in all-time RE/MAX Series super speedway poles with 18. Second to Kimmel on all-time super speedway lap leader list with 2,316 laps-led in 50 super speedway races. Has led 5,423 total laps in 93 races, ranking second among active drivers. Also has victories at Berlin, Winchester, Salem, Kil-Kare, Flat Rock, Pikes Peak, Shady Bowl and Springfield for 41 total wins in 145 career starts since '92. His 12 wins in '97 were most in a single season since '73. Has 86 top-5 finishes and 101 top-10s. Steele is also a veteran of motorcycle ice racing, AMA motocross, Int'l Jet ski Boat racing, NAMRA mini-champs, NASCAR Nextel Cup, Busch & Craftsman Truck Series. ASA winner at Salem '90 and NASCAR All Pro Series at Winchester '92.

In 2007, VanDoorn's young racing career really took off. He started the season driving the family owned #121 car in the CRA Super Series, once again vying for Rookie of The Year and black outlaw late model with #71 as the number. Johnny finished 23rd and 11th in his first two CRA races. Then he won his first late model feature on May 12th. The following week was when Tim Steele called offering his #16 HS Die ride. Johnny and Steele combined to win five races including the prestigious All American 400 in Nashville. VanDoorn went on to finish second points and was the run away Rookie of The Year in the CRA Series.

VanDoorn's #16 Chevy Monte Carlo will once again carry sponsorship from HS Die, VISI CAD/CAM, Tooling Software Technologies, Magic Transportation and Hometown Sunoco.