CONCORD, N.C. – One local racing family was able to give Jason Johnson Racing team principal Bobbi Johnson both a special memory and a one-of-a-kind keepsake Saturday afternoon during the World of Outlaws World Finals presented by Can-Am at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
Tim Snyder, along with wife Tara and children Wyatt (8), Brody (7), and Amelia (4), presented Johnson with an outlaw-kart wing decaled in tribute to her late husband Jason Johnson, who competed as a full-time driver on the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series before his tragic passing in June.
Brody Snyder scored his first five feature victories at nearby Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, N.C., with Jason Johnson’s familiar red-and-yellow colors and No. 41 atop his machine, including a breakthrough victory on July 4 and a run of four consecutive wins during the month of October to close the season.
After getting permission from Bobbi Johnson to replicate Jason’s iconic paint scheme on his kart, Brody Snyder said he was more than motivated to go out and chase success in honor of the driver that he called his racing hero.
“We wanted to win for Jason and we did that,” said the seven-year-old Snyder. “I’m really happy and proud of the five wins we got and now we wanted to give that same feeling back to Jason’s family.”
When presented the wing, Bobbi Johnson smiled amid a wave of emotions, grateful for the latest gesture in a long line of thing done for her and her family since the loss of her husband.
“Everything everyone has done for us the last few months is special, but this is extremely special,” Johnson noted. “Jason was always so good with kids and it means a lot to us that his memory continues to inspire young racers to chase their dreams and believe they can succeed.
“We’ll have to find a special place for this wing back home.”
Johnson then allowed Brody Snyder to pose for pictures in the cockpit of the No. 41 JJR sprint car before joining the Snyder family beside the car for a group photo along with the tribute wing.
The younger of the two Snyder brothers already has plans for the next Jason Johnson tribute scheme he wants to run on his kart next season as well. The Ragin’ Cajun’s blue Dissolvalloy colors are planned for Brody Snyder’s kart, which will continue to carry the No. 41 in 2019 at the suggestion of Johnson herself.
Johnson then gave the Snyder family their own emotional moment, deciding on the spot to sponsor two top wings for their team as a way to thank them for keeping Jason’s memory alive and burning brightly.
“So many people have given back to me, so this was a moment where I just wanted to give back in return,” she noted. “It makes us proud to see Jason’s memory living on in so many ways throughout the racing world and gives us plenty of smiles to take home with us each time.”
