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Motorsport
Motorsport
Sport
Andrew van Leeuwen

Townsville NASCAR laps for Johnson

The third-generation racer will take the wheel of the NAPA-backed Chevrolet Camaro for a series of demonstration laps during the Townsville 500 weekend.

It is the car that Chase Elliott raced in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2016, and was imported to Australia for promotional purposes several years ago.

Johnson drove the car at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival earlier this year, however this will be the first time it was featured on-track during a Supercars event.

NAPA is linked to Supercars through sister company Repco, which is the naming rights sponsor of both the series, and the Bathurst 1000.

There is also a link between the Johnson family and NASCAR, Jett's grandfather Dick Johnson having raced in the US series in the 1980s.

As well as the NASCAR demo, Jett Johnson will be in competitive action in Townsville in his NAPA-backed Nissan Altima Super3 car.

“It’s going to be really cool to take the NAPA NASCAR to Townsville,” said Johnson.

“It’s a genuine NAPA NASCAR that raced in the States, and it’s all American – it’s loud, it looks good and it’s going to be very cool to race on track. I’m sure that all of the fans are going to love it.

“I’ve driven this car on a few occasions and it is so much fun. It’s loud, it moves around and I’m super excited to do a couple of extra laps over and above what I’m doing in Super3.

“This is a genuine NASCAR that was raced by NASCAR champion Chase Elliott. It’s great that we have it here in Australia, giving everyone a real taste of that raw American racing.

“I’ve been to Townsville and raced there, and I absolutely love it. It’s such a cool track, such a cool environment, and when it comes to racing. It’s just so much fun. I’m excited to get back to the streets of Townsville to have a crack in the NAPA Supercar and the NASCAR.”

The Townsville 500 will take place on July 7-9.

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