Mar. 23 - Joseph Joiner Gets First Win of 2009 in Strong Weekend Performance

Joseph Joiner and the Joiner racing team are recuperating from a busy weekend that saw the 15-year-old driver and his race team competed in three races in two days, scoring a win and two second place finishes. 

The team traveled to Northwest Florida Speedway in Blackman, Fla., on Friday night to compete in a regular points race.  Joseph turned the third fastest time in qualifying, giving him the third place starting position for the 20-lap feature.  Joseph challenged for the lead early in the race, but fell back all the way to fifth at one point.  The second-year Late Model driver battled back, moving into the second position by lap 16.  Joseph quickly closed the gap between himself and the leader to get in position to challenge for the win on the final lap.  Joseph looked underneath the leader in the final turn, but he came up just short and had to settle for second. 

“I think I definitely had the fastest car,” Joseph said.  “I just messed up a little bit there at the beginning and fell back.  If that wouldn’t have happened, I think we would have been hard to beat.  But it was a good race.  We’re still figuring the car out and I think we’re getting better and better each race.”   

Southern Raceway in Milton, Fla., was the site of the weekend’s second and third races.  The first feature on the night was a make-up race for the previous week’s rainout.  Joseph had won his heat race for that race and was set to start from the pole before the rain came.  Joseph picked up right where he left off, jumping to the point on the start and quickly pulling to a comfortable lead.  Three cautions slowed the field in the second half of the race, but Joseph pulled away on each restart and cruised to his first win of 2009.  The win was also Joseph’s first Late Model win at Southern.

“It feels awesome to finally win a race at Southern,” Joseph said.  “We came so close a few times last year, just never could get everything to go our way.  The car was perfect, probably the fastest it’s ever been here.  Hopefully this will be the first of many of for us this season.” 

Thanks to a bad draw, Joseph started his heat race for the night’s regularly scheduled race from the seventh position.  But Joseph quickly found his way to the front, taking the lead on lap 2 and continuing on to win the race. 

 The heat race win put Joseph on the outside pole of the feature lineup.  Joseph settled into second on the start and pressured the race leader the entire race.  But he was unable to find a way around and brought home another second place finish. 

 “The car was really just as fast the second race as it was in the first one,” Joseph said.  “I think we were fast enough to win, but the track was locked down and it was just too hard to pass.  But it’s still a great weekend for us.  I can’t complain at all.” 

 The weekend’s results give Joseph four top-three finishes in four starts this season.  After two races at each track, Joseph is tied for the lead in Northwest Florida Speedway’s championship standings and is second in Southern Raceway’s standings.  The team has not made firm plans for the rest of the season and is unsure if they will compete for the championship title at either speedway.

Joseph and the team had planned to travel to Green Valley Speedway in Glencoe, Ala., this weekend for the $25,000-to-win Crate Nationals, but lacking funding, the team has decided to stay close to home and once again compete at Southern Raceway on Saturday night. 

 For more information on Joseph Joiner and the Joiner Racing Team, please visit the team's website at www.JoinerRacing.com.  The site is undergoing maintenance and will be updated in the coming days.  For information on sponsorship and marketing opportunities with the team please contact John Joiner at 850-232-9331.