INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 13, 2008) – Jake Johnson won the fastest Heat race Saturday night at the Indy Mile on his factory Suzuki and will sit on the pole for the renewal of the prestigious race. Earlier in the night Johnson was fastest in timed qualifying, which set the grid for the Heats.
Johnson earned the victory in the first Heat, winning by 2.476-seconds over Aprilia’s Henry Wiles. Johnson is hoping to give Suzuki its first-ever victory in GNC Twins.
“It would be a major deal to win this race,” Johnson said. “We’ve been getting better and better and hopefully it’s our time.”
Chris Carr, Bryan Smith and Sam Halbert won the other Heats in a program without Semis, due to possible issues with the weather.
Formula Xtreme racer Larry Pegram dropped out of his Heat, apparently with engine problems. Nicole Cheza made her second main of the season. Jon Cornwell also made the main. The Ohlins technician is a former AMA 250 Grand Prix road racer and former national number Grand National rider who has been mainly retired from competition for several years.
The house is packed at Indy, so much so the promoters had problems getting people inside the facility.
