CONCORD, NC (May 29, 2026) — Kyler Johnson is currently sitting at the highest he’s ever been in the points standings with the American Sprint Car Series. But he knows he could still be higher.
While Quinter, KS native has seen glimpses of race-winning pace in the first quarter of the season, placing him fourth in the standings (126 points back from the lead), issues beyond his control have kept him from being closer to the fight for the top.
Before joining the national-touring 360 Sprint Cars in May at Benton Speedway, Johnson took part in the ASCS Gunsmoke Region opener at Dodge City Raceway Park. While leading the night’s Feature, he lost power in his car and left the night with a DNF.
The gremlins persisted at Benton, with Johnson not completing a lap at speed in any of the night’s program. It took until after the Feature was contested for the team to discover the real issue.
“The weekend before (Benton), we were running the regional race out at Dodge City,” Johnson said. “We were leading the Feature, then all of a sudden, we just lost power. So, we tore into it and changed what we originally thought was the problem. The car would idle just fine, but it just couldn’t get up to speed.
“So, we go out to Benton, and obviously don’t run at all. It wasn’t until after the Feature ended that we decided to check our barrel valve. What ended up happening was that we had an O-ring come apart in the fuel pump, and that went through the barrel valve and just got it loosened off enough to where it wouldn’t run.”
The night at Benton was not the first time in 2026 that Johnson had his back to the wall with the ASCS National Tour. On the second night of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, his primary Sprint Car was totaled after a crash during his Heat race.
Throughout the year, Johnson has utilized new shocks on his No. 45X Maxim Chassis, courtesy of J1S7 Suspension, which is owned by 2024 NARC King of the West Sprint Car champion Justin Sanders. Though he’s taken time to gain comfort with the new suspension components, Johnson described the change as an overall positive.
“We had a whole new shock package to start the season,” Johnson said. “We switched to Justin Sanders, and we were doing some of the stuff we had done before in our career to start getting an idea of what we were dealing with. I talked to Justin (at Volusia), and we took a big swing at something we never did before, and we had really good speed to battle with (Cole) Macedo and Hank (Davis).
“With Justin, our whole notebook is basically thrown out the window, outside of our gearing. Any other notes as far as setup goes is out the window. This whole season is basically all about starting fresh. We really like the balance of what we’ve got. We were able to adjust it a little bit and tweak it for what we need at the track. We’ve been working together a lot in the last couple of months and really finding speed.”
Johnson’s first race after the mishap at Benton was a Memorial Day visit to Phillips County Raceway with the ASCS Western Plains and Gunsmoke Regions. From start to finish, the 22-year-old had his car at the top of the leaderboard with Quick Time in Qualifying, a Heat win, and then led all 20 laps of the Feature for his first win of the year.
“Any chance you get a win, it will always add confidence to the whole program,” Johnson said. “Really, it was just a big relief to get out there, get on the gas, and it actually ran. We thought we had fixed it two weeks ago, and that obviously wasn’t the case. We had the problem fixed, and it was just good to show speed in every stage of the night.
“We feel like all year, our biggest weakness has been the Heat races. It feels like we can get out there and qualify really good, then we don’t make enough of an adjustment for the Heat race. So, it seems like we’re just good enough to make the Dash. Going Quick Time, you have to start fourth, and you have to finish there or better. We’ve lacked the Heat Race speed this year, but we took a bigger swing for the Heat race, so we were not having to make as big a swing for the Feature.”
Securing a Feature win in regional competition, Johnson’s next battle with the American Sprint Car Series will come in a two-track weekend, starting with Oklahoma’s Creek County Speedway, then a home state visit to 81 Speedway.
Though he’s only finished in the top-10 once at Creek County in 2023, Johnson has seen career heights at the 3/8-mile in Park City, KS. His first win at 81 came with POWRi in 2020, scored his first career ASCS podium in 2023, and finished eighth in the Series’ latest visit. In 2026, he’s seeking the dual state challenge to mark his first career National Tour win.
“Anytime we go to a big 3/8-mile or a 1/2-mile, you know it’s going to be slick and sandy,” Johnson said. “I definitely feel like that’s where I thrive because I grew up racing on this Kansas sandy soil, and you don’t have a lot of grip. Justin got us special shocks, and that’s the main reason we went out to (Phillips County) was to test them, and we really liked them.
“We’ve been so close (to winning). Twice now in the last 15 races, at (I-55) and Central Arizona, we’ve been really close. Just to get the monkey off our back, be able to race to get wins at this point, then as we go on, we’ll let the points figure themselves out.”
Johnson will chase redemption with the Series at the Don Swope Classic at Creek County on Friday, June 5, then face a Saturday bout in the Salute to Service Sprint Car Showdown at 81 on Saturday, June 6.
Where can you watch every lap of the American Sprint Car Series? Live on DIRTVision.
ARTICLE:https://ascsracing.com/news/kyler-johnson-finds-strength-through-adversity-in-first-quarter-of-ascs-campaign/
PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Schwanke
Kyler Johnson Finds Strength Through Adversity in First Quarter of ASCS Campaign CONCORD, NC (May 29, 2026) — Kyler Johnson is currently sitting at the highest he’s ever been in the points standings with the American Sprint Car Series. But he knows he could still be higher.
While Quinter, KS native has seen glimpses of race-winning pace in the first quarter of the season, placing him fourth in the standings (126 points back from the lead), issues beyond his control have kept him from being closer to the fight for the top.
Before joining the national-touring 360 Sprint Cars in May at Benton Speedway, Johnson took part in the ASCS Gunsmoke Region opener at Dodge City Raceway Park. While leading the night’s Feature, he lost power in his car and left the night with a DNF.
The gremlins persisted at Benton, with Johnson not completing a lap at speed in any of the night’s program. It took until after the Feature was contested for the team to discover the real issue.
“The weekend before (Benton), we were running the regional race out at Dodge City,” Johnson said. “We were leading the Feature, then all of a sudden, we just lost power. So, we tore into it and changed what we originally thought was the problem. The car would idle just fine, but it just couldn’t get up to speed.
“So, we go out to Benton, and obviously don’t run at all. It wasn’t until after the Feature ended that we decided to check our barrel valve. What ended up happening was that we had an O-ring come apart in the fuel pump, and that went through the barrel valve and just got it loosened off enough to where it wouldn’t run.”
The night at Benton was not the first time in 2026 that Johnson had his back to the wall with the ASCS National Tour. On the second night of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, his primary Sprint Car was totaled after a crash during his Heat race.
Throughout the year, Johnson has utilized new shocks on his No. 45X Maxim Chassis, courtesy of J1S7 Suspension, which is owned by 2024 NARC King of the West Sprint Car champion Justin Sanders. Though he’s taken time to gain comfort with the new suspension components, Johnson described the change as an overall positive.
“We had a whole new shock package to start the season,” Johnson said. “We switched to Justin Sanders, and we were doing some of the stuff we had done before in our career to start getting an idea of what we were dealing with. I talked to Justin (at Volusia), and we took a big swing at something we never did before, and we had really good speed to battle with (Cole) Macedo and Hank (Davis).
“With Justin, our whole notebook is basically thrown out the window, outside of our gearing. Any other notes as far as setup goes is out the window. This whole season is basically all about starting fresh. We really like the balance of what we’ve got. We were able to adjust it a little bit and tweak it for what we need at the track. We’ve been working together a lot in the last couple of months and really finding speed.”
Johnson’s first race after the mishap at Benton was a Memorial Day visit to Phillips County Raceway with the ASCS Western Plains and Gunsmoke Regions. From start to finish, the 22-year-old had his car at the top of the leaderboard with Quick Time in Qualifying, a Heat win, and then led all 20 laps of the Feature for his first win of the year.
“Any chance you get a win, it will always add confidence to the whole program,” Johnson said. “Really, it was just a big relief to get out there, get on the gas, and it actually ran. We thought we had fixed it two weeks ago, and that obviously wasn’t the case. We had the problem fixed, and it was just good to show speed in every stage of the night.
“We feel like all year, our biggest weakness has been the Heat races. It feels like we can get out there and qualify really good, then we don’t make enough of an adjustment for the Heat race. So, it seems like we’re just good enough to make the Dash. Going Quick Time, you have to start fourth, and you have to finish there or better. We’ve lacked the Heat Race speed this year, but we took a bigger swing for the Heat race, so we were not having to make as big a swing for the Feature.”
Securing a Feature win in regional competition, Johnson’s next battle with the American Sprint Car Series will come in a two-track weekend, starting with Oklahoma’s Creek County Speedway, then a home state visit to 81 Speedway.
Though he’s only finished in the top-10 once at Creek County in 2023, Johnson has seen career heights at the 3/8-mile in Park City, KS. His first win at 81 came with POWRi in 2020, scored his first career ASCS podium in 2023, and finished eighth in the Series’ latest visit. In 2026, he’s seeking the dual state challenge to mark his first career National Tour win.
“Anytime we go to a big 3/8-mile or a 1/2-mile, you know it’s going to be slick and sandy,” Johnson said. “I definitely feel like that’s where I thrive because I grew up racing on this Kansas sandy soil, and you don’t have a lot of grip. Justin got us special shocks, and that’s the main reason we went out to (Phillips County) was to test them, and we really liked them.
“We’ve been so close (to winning). Twice now in the last 15 races, at (I-55) and Central Arizona, we’ve been really close. Just to get the monkey off our back, be able to race to get wins at this point, then as we go on, we’ll let the points figure themselves out.”
Johnson will chase redemption with the Series at the Don Swope Classic at Creek County on Friday, June 5, then face a Saturday bout in the Salute to Service Sprint Car Showdown at 81 on Saturday, June 6.
Where can you watch every lap of the American Sprint Car Series? Live on DIRTVision.
ARTICLE:https://ascsracing.com/news/kyler-johnson-finds-strength-through-adversity-in-first-quarter-of-ascs-campaign/
PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Schwanke
EVENT INFO:https://ascsracing.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4549690, https://ascsracing.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4549691
TRACK INFO:https://www.creekcountyspeedway.co/, https://www.81speedway.com/