As far as Luke Johnson is concerned, winning is the name of the game.  2013 has been an unforgettable season for the Pro Buggy rookie driver.  The PEAK Motor Oil Red Bull Undead Power #14 Pro Buggy has found the podium eight times in ten races and every single one of the those have been a win, including five consecutive to begin the season.  Luke’s successes are remarkable, considering he had confirmed his program only weeks before the first race at Eldora Motor Speedway.  Mathematically, with his win this weekend at RedBud, all Luke has to do is start Saturdays race at Crandon to clinch the Pro Buggy Championship.

In the opening brawl to the race weekend, it was the top four drivers in the division leading the field of twelve.  This time, it was Andy Zipperer out in front, followed by a close battle for second with Luke and John Frana, who sits second in points behind Luke.  The two separated the gap between the rest of drivers and Luke displayed some of his best driving all season, charging on Zipperer while fending off Frana.

At the competition yellow, the order remained the same.  Luke knew he’d have to make moves quickly before Zipperer had a chance to check out.   Zipperer felt the heat and went wide on a big sweeping left and got tangled up with the #911 buggy of Jack Haenlein.  Zipperer quickly regrouped but not before Luke took full advantage and made the clean pass.  A few laps later, Zipperer pushed his front tire in to Luke’s right rear and ended up losing a little time regaining control.  In the end, Luke earned his ninth win of the season and extended his points lead on John Frana.

In the teams only mechanical failure this season, Luke did not finish Sundays race.  JR Wheeler hopped out in front early but it only took 2 laps for Luke to catch him and make a pass on the same left hand sweeper he caught Zipperer on the previous day.  Through the competition yellow, Luke extended his lead to over two seconds on John Frana.  But only moments later, the PEAK Motor Oil Red Bull Undead Power #14 Pro Buggy had a fluke transmission failure that brought it to a halt and was done for the day to finish in ninth place.

“I thought we had the sweep here in RedBud.  I obviously didn’t get the result that I wanted today and gave up some points, but I feel confident heading back to Crandon after the victory I had at The Big House earlier this season,” commented Luke.

Luke heads to Crandon, WI for the races of all short course races, Fall Crandon.  With his forty seven point lead as of now, all Luke has to do is start Saturdays race to solidify the Championship in Pro Buggy.