Saturday’s Pro Buggy race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway hadn’t even completed a full lap before we heard “Luke Johnson is the first overall points champion of 2013″ over the loud speakers.  All Luke had to do is push his PEAK Motor Oil Red Bull Undead Power #14 Pro Buggy to the start line and start the race to claim his championship in the division.  In Luke’s first year of Pro Buggy and having only confirmed his race program weeks before the classes opening race at Eldora Speedway in mid May, it was a spectacle to watch his dominance the 2013 race season.

Saturday itself was a little anticlimactic, as Luke had a electrical issue that caused him to drop out of Saturdays race early.  Having earned enough points with eight first place finishes in the 2013 season, starting the race was enough to secure the points championship.  Luke pulled off the track for an early celebration with his team.

“We calculated what I needed to do heading in to Crandon so we pretty much knew my team and I had the points championship wrapped up.  I still can’t believe it.  I have to thank my sponsors.  Knowing that I have some of the best in the business backing me makes it easy to go out and not only be competitive in racing, but have a fun time doing it.”

On Sunday, Luke switched things up and spotted for JR Wheeler.  Having already bought a new truck, Luke decided to sit out of the race to allocate his funds towards his 2014 Pro Light program.  Luke became good friends with JR Wheeler throughout the year, giving him knowledge on the best lines and helping him with little stuff that helped clean up his driving.  Knowing that Luke was not going to race on Sunday, JR asked him to spot and Luke agreed.

“I helped him a little bit throughout the year and we became good friends throughout the process.  I was happy to spot for him on Sunday.”

In 2010, Luke finished sixth overall in points.  2011 brought some bad luck and Luke folded the truck midway through the season.  A fourth place finish in overall points earned Luke the most improved driver of the year in the 2012 Traxxas TORC Series season.  Luke has already started working on his program for 2014 and looks to build on his successes throughout the off-season.