Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. overcame a post-qualifying infraction and starting from the back of the field to overcome it all to win Round 2 of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Homestead/Miami Speedway.  This was the duo’s second Grand Sport (GS) class victory together in the 2.5 hour, 91-lap Homestead 200 in the No. 61 ROUSH Performance Products Ford Mustang GT.  This was Johnson’s second consecutive victory at the 2.3-mile, 11-turn road course, in a car that advanced 33 positions from start to finish.

Jack Roush Jr. set a track record and earned his first career Pole Position on Friday only for it to be taken away after post-qualifying technical inspection for “improper brake ducts”.  This didn’t demoralize Roush who had to start the race in 34th position.  He passed 10 cars on the first lap and was up to 21st after two laps. He finally took the lead on Lap 35.

After a great pit-stop by the Roush team, Johnson took over on Lap 39 in 13th position.  He too worked through the field and was quickly in the top five and eventually into second as late as the final half hour.  Chasing down the leader Matt Plumb, winner of the season’s opening race at Daytona, Johnson was cutting the 10-second gap by a second a lap.

Under pressure from Johnson’s advance, Plumb’s No. 13 RumBum.com BMW M3 hit the rear of Eric Curran's No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 in Turn 1, as Curran got bottled up behind slower traffic. The impact forced the hood of the No. 13 to come up, and Plumb in a precarious position, driving cautiously around the track with his windshield covered.

Johnson passed Plumb while managing to hold Terry Borcheller at bay in the No. 45 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 through the mess of slower ST and lapped traffic that caught Plumb off-guard.  Plumb managed to make it to the final turn before hitting barrels filled with sand at the pit entrance. The sand and debris from the barrels forced the final of four caution periods.  Johnson never looked back when the green flag flew on Lap 87, and charged to a 2.561-second victory.

It marked Johnson's seventh series victory and third in the Grand Sport class..

"Jack did have quite a bit of fun today," said Johnson, who led twice for nine laps. "He did an amazing job in qualifying. He went through the entire field today, which is no easy feat with the caliber of drivers at this track. He handled it like a pro. He kept the fenders clean and just moved through everyone. He turned the car over in one piece for, gave us good track position and I took it from there. I had to work through a few people myself, but I was able to come out on top again."

For Roush Jr., who celebrated with his father, Jack Roush Sr., in Victory Lane, it was a complete turnaround of emotions from close to 24 hours earlier.

"It was real exciting race for us," Roush Jr. said. "I can't be more proud of my team and all the work they've done. It was a real privilege to be part of history with the Roush Racing group. I also have to hand it to my co-driver, Billy Johnson. He did an awesome job today. I'm looking forward to many more races."

The win was also Roush Sr.'s 400th as a car owner. In nearly 40 years as an owner, Roush Sr. has also won in NASCAR's three National series, Trans-Am and IMSA.

The next race for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will be April 10 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama

San Clemente, Ca. (Jan. 21, 2010) – Billy Johnson makes his return to Roush Racing and is back again with co-driver Jack Roush Jr. in the #61 ROUSH/DIARKIS Ford Mustang FR500C.  After finishing the 2009 season with a strong three podiums - including one win - the duo is back together for an entire season and is aiming for the 2010 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Championship.

Over the past three years, Johnson has proved to be the most prolific and versatile driver in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge series.  In this time frame, his unsurpassed 14 podiums and 6 wins were produced with six different co-drivers, four different teams, four different cars, and in two different classes.

Johnson’s versatility is shown by his ability to jump in and win in front-engine front-wheel-drive Acuras, front-engine rear drive Mustangs, and rear engine rear drive Porsches; and his ability to give detailed feedback as a development driver.

Johnson helped Roush Racing to their first GS team victory as well as piloted the first and only GS class BMW Z4 M-Coupe (built by Motorsport Technology Group and Larry Hahn) to its first podium in only its second race.

Billy Johnson’s 2nd place in the drivers' championship with co-driver Karl Thomson and Compass360 Racing in 2007 was instrumental in bringing the manufacturers' championship to Acura in the ST class.  His contributions with Jack Roush also helped secure the manufacturers' championship for Ford in 2009.

“I am really excited to be back with Jack Roush Jr. to run the entire season with Roush Racing.” said Johnson.  “The team’s professionalism, determination, and history speaks for itself and I’m looking forward to representing them and being a part of the 2010 effort.”

Check out Billy Johnson's new feature article on:
 www.MotoIQ.com

"Fast Lap with Billy Johnson"
Willow Springs International Raceway Track Notes:

Billy Johnson and FX Motorsports Development Dominate the last few races of the 2009 Redline Time Attack Series and clinch the Unlimited RWD Championship.

With an Overall Victory and Track record in Round 8 at AutoClub Speedway and in Round 7 at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park, Billy Johnson and FXMD clinch the 2009 Redline Time Attack Unlimited RWD Championship.

With these two overall victories added to the teams previous three overall victories this season, FXMD was undefeated in all five RTA races entered in the 2009 season.

FXMD Overcomes disaster to pull off last minute victory at Auto Club Speedway

Las Vegas, NV (Sunday November 15, 2009) FX Motorsports Development, Billy Johnson, and the Cricket/Yokohama Tire Unlimited NSX overcome disaster this weekend to take the Overall win at Auto Club Speedway and set another track record for a production-based car.

Coming from an Unlimited RWD class victory and record at the 2009 Super Lap Battle Time Attack event at Buttonwillow the previous Wednesday, FXMD came to the Redline Season Finale at Auto Club Speedway with high hopes. With new untested changes made to the FX750 NSX before Buttonwillow, FXMD was looking to further shake down the car on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s Time Attack.
Saturday’s testing proved to be successful despite losing the right rear tire on the banking at 150mph. Driver Billy Johnson stated “I simply set the tire pressures too low for how cold the track conditions were and I didn’t let the tires get up to temp before the banking. It was not a tire failure by any means but rather a misjudgment in pressures. Thankfully I was able to keep the car off the wall and in one piece”. Unfortunately the down tire took out the canister of the KW 3-way motorsport dampers along with it. Thankfully KW North America was there and helped get the situation under control with a replacement.

As Sunday rolled around, testing couldn’t have gone better with the new Performance Friction “Z-Rated” Forged Monoblock Calipers with multi-pad technology (1 brake pad per piston) and 2pc floating rotors. “These brakes are amazing” Johnson said, “The pedal remained rock-solid and consistent lap after lap with zero signs of fade. The combined stiffness of the caliper and multiple pads per caliper make modulating the brakes almost telepathic, you have to truly experience it yourself to believe brakes can be this responsive and communicative”.

Despite the good start, the day was not going to be easy for the FXMD team. A snapped input shaft in the transmission looked to end their chances of competing and clinching the Unlimited RWD Championship. Crew Chief Radomir Banda said “Failures happen when making this kind of power. While we have made steps to increase the strength of the transmission, we have never seen a failure like this before. The fracture was so perfect it looked like it was cut on a lathe”. The team had three hours to swap transmissions before the last timed session of the day. “These guys are amazing” said Johnson, “Whenever we are thrown a curveball that would make other teams pack up and go home, the whole team comes together. Against overwhelming odds they put the car together in time to give me one last shot.”

For the final run, the team installed a bone stock transmission that had a less than ideal gear ratio and final drive, and no limited slip differential. They increased spring rates and raised the ride height to prevent the right front tire from bottoming out into the fender on the banking. They re-aligned the car, put on new tires, upped the boost, and fixed a cracked header. With all these changes and no practice time, the team wasn’t sure what the result was going to be.

As the sun started to set over the Southern California mountains, the last run group was the Unlimited class. With a best lap of 1:37.7 during testing, Billy had to shave off nearly 2 seconds to beat the current record set by the AMS EVO X which turned a 1:36.230 in the first timed session. On his second lap, Billy was able to edge AMS out with a record-setting lap of 1:36.103, just a tenth quicker than the EVO.

This result marks the 5th Overall Victory and 5th Track Record for the team out of 5 races attended this year. An undefeated record clinched the 2009 Unlimited RWD Championship for the FX Motorsports Development team. We would like to thank Redline for a great year and special thanks to Sierra Sierra Enterprises for welding our header back together, they are a class-act.
We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their superior track proven products and unwavering support throughout the entire year. Without their support this undefeated season would not have been possible. Special thanks to Sam Kwa from Yokohama Tire for providing us with valuable advice via phone throughout the entire weekend and Chris Marion from KW Automotive for the on-site product support.

Story:

TOOELE, Utah (Sept. 18, 2009) - In a seesaw battle with the defending race winning driver and team Friday at Miller Motorsports Park, Billy Johnson passed Bill Auberlen for the final time in Turn 1 of Lap 46 - the final lap of the two-and-a-half hour Salt Lake City 200 (SPEED, 1:30 p.m. ET, Oct. 3) - and held off the 2008 winner by 1.095 seconds to earn his second Grand Sport (GS) victory of 2009 and the first ever for co-driver Jack Roush Jr.

Johnson, who joined the Horsepower Ranch team in June at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, regained the lead with an inside pass of Auberlen, kept Auberlen at bay for the first-ever win for Horsepower Ranch. Johnson also won in March at Homestead-Miami Speedway, driving for Motorsport Technology Group.

The race, which started under bright skies and in 80-degree temperatures, ended in near pitch-black conditions - albeit the 30-plus headlights navigating the 4.486-mile course and flashes of lightning south of the track.

Johnson originally took the lead on Lap 31 from Dean Martin and led seven laps before Auberlen took the lead and held it at the line on Lap 38. Johnson put the No. 61 Valvoline/Roush Ford Mustang GT back out in front on Lap 39 on the front straightaway, and the two ran nose-to-tail for the next three circuits. On Lap 42, however, Auberlen slipped off the track momentarily, allowing Johnson to distance himself for about a lap.

It didn't last long, however. Auberlen regained his composure and, on Lap 45, blasted past Johnson - who slipped off-line - for what he was hoping for his second consecutive victory and fourth straight for Turner Motorsport, which had won every GS race at Miller prior to Friday. But Johnson fought back, and drag-raced Auberlen all the way into Turn 1, where he took over the lead once again. Auberlen dogged him around the track, but couldn't get past, instead giving himself and co-driver Matt Bell a second-place finish in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3.

 "The last few laps - how about the last 30 laps!" said Johnson, who has four ST victories to go along with his two GS wins this season. "I love racing in the dark. It's awesome to have that opportunity in the KONI Challenge. Definitely having Bill Auberlen in your mirrors is not the easiest thing, especially with the blinding lights. We went back and forth I don't know how many times. It was back and forth. Neither of us could see the road. It was a rough battle at the end - definitely good, hard racing. I was able to come out on top, and can't thank everyone at Roush enough."

Added Roush after the car's third consecutive podium finish: "Man, I was sweating bullets. That was awesome. Billy did a great job. I can't be more proud of our No. 61 Roush Valvoline Mustang. I had plenty of battles during my turn, too. I was battling a little bit of a push. I knew that was going to happen, because the fuel tank was full. It was a blast out there. I rarely want to give the car up, but it was hot in there and I think I have a few blisters."

Auberlen rejoined Bell after missing the team's last race, a victory in the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières last month in Quebec.

"He had the strength on the straights; I had the strength on the braking, but not enough to make up the difference," Auberlen said of Johnson. "He did a very good job and made no mistakes. One time I got by him and thought I had enough of a gap to get down the straight. To just get down the straight would be good, but he got by me. Oh, well. One time we rubbed, but I need my racing space, too. Matt did a great job - he did exactly what he's supposed to do. The guy's a front-runner every time. Turner Motorsport had won this race every year, so now, this defeat is horrible. But I guess second is okay - we'll take the points and keep on trucking."

Bell moved past Martin into third in the GS standings by one point, while point leader and fifth-place co-finisher Ken Wilden lost two points over James Gue and Bret Seafuse, who earned fourth. Wilden and Seafuse battled for the majority of the opening 22 laps, with Wilden taking the lead on the first lap, and Seafuse moving to second by Lap 6. The pair pitted within a lap of each other, with Martin holding onto the lead after Wilden brought the No. 59 Rehagen Racing Ford Mustang GT into the pits on Lap 25.

The only caution period came out on Lap 27 for debris in Turn 6, and the green flag flew to resume action on Lap 31, the same lap Johnson passed Martin, who had held a 10-plus second lead at the time.

Wilden now has 292 points, while Gue and Seafuse, in the No. 37 Trumansburg ShurSave Ford Mustang GT, have 274 points. A 14th-place finish in the Bosch Engineering Octoberfest Oct. 4 at Virginia International Raceway, regardless of what Gue and Seafuse do, will sew up Wilden's first Grand-Am championship. Bell also has a mathematical shot at the title, but he is still 29 points behind Wilden.

Gaining six positions in the final laps was third-place finisher Joey Hand, the co-winner the 2007 GS race, in the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 he shared with Chris Gleason, despite a second pit stop. The pair came from 17th.

Earlier in the afternoon, Dan DiLeo earned the pole position with a time of 3:09.544 (85.202 mph) in the No. 77 Maxwell Paper Products Co. Porsche 997. It was first career pole, and he and co-driver Bryan Sellers went on to finish 10th.

Credit: www.grand-am.com

Kershaw, SC (Sunday, August 10th, 2009) -The FX Motorsports Development NSX with driver Billy Johnson set a new record for a production based vehicle at Carolina Motorsports Park.  The final time came in at 1:30.630 substantially besting the previous record.  The time was good enough to capture the overall championship for the Redline Time Attack series.  In addition to the Time Attack victory the FXMD team was also able to win the 1st super session of the season further strengthening their position for an overall season championship.

Billy Johnson said "The effort this team puts into the car is apparent.  From the struggles the team had in the 2008 season their hard work and persistence is reflected in the reliability and speed of the car this year.  While huge leaps have been made in the development of the car, there is still much more potential in the car that we have just started unlocking."

“The car ran great!  We have put quite a bit of time into the overall cooling of this car and we are quite pleased with the results thus far." said crew chief Radomir Banda.  "Our tuner, Mike Angel had the car running strong the whole weekend without any motor issues.  The rest of the team put in the needed time to set up the suspension into the wee hours of the morning and it really showed on competition day.  And what can I say about Billy, he can flat out drive!”

With this win FXMD is in a strong position for the overall championship and now hold five track records Laguna Seca, Long Beach Grand Prix, Buttonwillow Raceway, Willow Springs International Raceway, and Carolina Motorsports Park.

We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their superior track proven products and unwavering support.  Special thanks to Sam Kwa from Yokohama tire for providing us with valuable advice throughout the entire weekend.

Check out Billy Johnson's new feature article on:

 website:   www.MotoIQ.com 
"Fast Lap With Billy Johnson
-Buttonwillow Configuration 13CW."