ROCKY MOUNT, Mo. — Joey Saldana has landed a potent ride for four World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series races during the closing stretch of the season.

Saldana will pilot the No. 41 Jason Johnson Racing sprint car during a Kansas doubleheader Oct. 19-20 at Lakeside Speedway and Dodge City Raceway Park, followed by a return appearance during the Nov. 1-3 World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

The Brownsburg, Ind., native is a 105-time World of Outlaws feature winner, with his most recent victory coming at Missouri’s US 36 Raceway on Sept. 17, 2016.

JJR team principal Bobbi Johnson spoke with SPEED SPORT on Saturday during the 31st annual Short Track Nationals at Arkansas’ I-30 Speedway and said the deal with Saldana came together due to prior racing commitments for Carson Macedo, who has driven the No. 41 part time since Jason Johnson’s death in late June.

Saldana will become the latest name on a short list of drivers to pilot the car made famous by the late Ragin’ Cajun.

“When Carson gave us his schedule prior to the Knoxville Nationals, he said he could race all the races he was available for, provided we wanted to race and he didn’t have anything going with the (Joe Gaerte-owned) No. 3g,” noted Bobbi Johnson.

“These four races ended up open for us and certainly have a lot of importance to us as a team,” she continued. “The Kansas City and Dodge City events have to do with several of our sponsors that are based around that area and that we need to showcase, while the World Finals is obviously one of the biggest weekends of the year and a race that Jason won in the past, making Charlotte a special place for us as a team.

“We really wanted to field a car and the World of Outlaws has been so good to us … we want to give back to them,” she added. “When you combine that with being able to showcase Joey and the caliber of driver he’s always been and continues to be in a sprint car, it was really a great fit for our team and we’re looking forward to working with him for these four races.”

Saldana has spent most of his season driving the Rudeen Racing No. 26 car, competing part time with both the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions and the World of Outlaws this season.

The 46-year-old veteran has three top-five and five top-10 finishes in nine All Star appearances this year, along with five top fives and 13 top 10s in 25 feature starts with the Outlaws.

Macedo will continue to drive for Jason Johnson racing in five more World of Outlaws events this season, including a three-state tripleheader this weekend at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway, Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track and Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, as well as a two-day weekend at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway on Oct. 26-27.

While Johnson admitted the team’s plans beyond the World Finals are not yet completely solidified, she tipped the team is actively working on shoring up its look for the upcoming season.

“Before we make any additional announcements, we’re trying to cross our t’s and dot our i’s and get everything together how Jason would want it,” she said. “Our hope and goal is to go with the World of Outlaws in 2019 … we’re just making sure that everything falls into place the right way and at the right time.

“Jason always preached the five Ps — perfect preparation prevents poor performance — and that’s where we’re at in all of this, is preparing ourselves as a team and a group for the future. There are quite a few marketing opportunities for us as a team … which is a new area for me, but it’s exciting times for us.”

Jacob Seelman

Jacob Seelman, 24, is the founder and managing editor of 77 Sports Media and a major contributing writer for SPEED SPORT Magazine. He is studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. and also serves as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

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