SLINGER – On a scorching night when tempers flared, Casey Johnson was in the right place at the right time to earn the biggest victory of his career.
The veteran from Edgerton edged Austin Nason and Richard Childress Racing NASCAR prospect Carson Brown in the chaotic 47th Slinger Nationals on July 14, leading just the final three laps of 200 around Slinger Speedway.
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In the waning laps, four-time and defending champion Ty Majeski, top qualifier Gabe Sommers and Andrew Morrissey all fell out due to contact in a race they had led or battled to lead. Brown’s car, too, showed scars of a battle with Morrissey, but he was able to get to the finish.
“A lot of persistence, I think, would be the best way to describe it,” Johnson said of his night. “I mean, we had a decent car. We could run top-10 all day, and I knew if I just kept my nose in there, kept the car clean, that we could do something at the end.
“I’ve been in the race so many times, and I’ve seen it won by the guy that was not supposed to win the race. And I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t that guy today. I should not have won this race.”
After wrestling the lead from Luke Fenhaus approaching the midway break, Majeski seemed to have the race in control as he led 75 laps caution free to start the second half. It turned out, though, that his car wasn’t as strong as it appeared.
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Sommers got to Majeski’s bumper with six laps to go and after more contact on the back stretch – as Brown moved to the lead – they spun off Turn 4. Sommers appeared ready to drive into the side of Majeski’s car but resisted. Then Majeski got in another tangle on the back stretch and was done, three laps short of the finish.
That put Brown and Morrissey together on the front row for the next restart. After haphazard restart that was waved off, Brown ran Morrissey high on the front stretch, and then they got together again on the back stretch, with Morrissey running over the left rear of Brown’s car.
“I’m not surprised by anything here,” Johnson said. “I’ve done this so many times; when you get restarts with 10, 15 to go, you grip that wheel pretty tight, ’cause things are gonna fly.”
Brown, who won the ASA STARS National Tour race at Slinger in June, was still in the race. But when he chose the inside lane for the restart against Johnson, Johnson’s instantly saw a path to victory lane open up.
Casey Johnson (5) takes the checkered flag to win the 47th Slinger Nationals on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Slinger Speedway in Slinger, Wisconsin.
Johnson drove away to win by six-tenths of a second over Nason, who followed him through.
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“I thought if the 81 took the high line, it was gonna be a struggle to get by him,” Johnson said. “We were a little tight on the bottom, and I think he has great horsepower, so I thought he’d be able to roll me up high, but when he gave me the high side, I was pretty much licking my chops. I knew we had a very good shot at winning that race.”
First-half leaders Derek Kraus (59 laps) and Luke Fenhaus (36 laps) and NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar were among those to drop out with mechanical issues. Just seven cars were running at the end, five on the lead lap with last-chance race winner Jesse Bernhagen fourth and Derek Thorn fifth.
The win paid $20,000, and Johnson took home share of bonus money posted for leading laps that added upwards of $3,000 to his payday.
“It means everything to me,” Johnson said. “I’m not gonna lie. There was a lot of emotion for me when I crossed that line. I’m not doing this for that much longer. Who knows how much longer? But I didn’t want to quit without having this one in my hand.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How Casey Johnson won the 47th Slinger Nationals, his biggest race victory
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