RPW Exclusive: Opportunity Strikes For Marc Johnson; Will Drive For Scott Hamlin At Lebanon Valley In 2019

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – AVERILL PARK, NY – Sometimes, it’s just time for a change.

After three seasons together running Big Block Modifieds weekly at the Lebanon Valley Speedway, Chad Jeseo and car owner Scott Hamlin announced on Thursday that they have mutually agreed to part ways. It was a tough decision for both because they had several years together in racing, starting in the Pro Stock division and culminating in Big Block.

“Chad and I have been friends for a long time and I loved racing with him,” Hamlin said. “We had a lot of success together over the years, but sometimes, it’s just time to do something different.”

Even with the the success they were having, things just didn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders.

“I can’t put my finger on it right now, but things just weren’t working,” he said. “I can’t say it was me. I can’t say it was Chad. I can’t say it was Bob (Gile, crew chief). We raced together for a while but for where we are and what we have for equipment, we just weren’t getting the results. I can’t change the crew chief, and I’m the owner so I can’t change that. The only thing we could change was the driver.”

With that, Scott Hamlin Racing (SHR) has announced that the new pilot of their race cars will be 2016 Albany-Saratoga Speedway Modified Champion Marc Johnson.

“I got a phone call from Scott and he came to meet with me at my shop,” Johnson said. “He wanted to see if I’d be interested in doing something with him at Lebanon Valley and I was like, absolutely, and here we are. I can’t wait.”

For Hamlin, having Johnson in his car became very clear late in 2018 when he saw him travel away from the Malta, NY oval.

“Obviously, Marc runs very successfully at Albany-Saratoga, without a doubt,” he said. “He races all over the place and has experience, but not at the Valley. I didn’t want to put someone in our cars that already raced there. I didn’t want to lose a car at Lebanon, so at the end of the day, I think Marc’s earned the shot. I watched him a lot at the end of this year. When he went to Super DIRT Week and down to Eastern States, he had a good showing at both and I was sold.”

Johnson takes over the wheel of the SHR machines and will run for the Lebanon Valley Modified track championship next season.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Johnson said of racing at the Valley. “I’m the type of person that wants to run where the competition is tough and the good drivers race. That’s why I race at Albany-Saratoga. I’ve always wanted to run the Valley but just could never do it myself because it’s a lot of work and takes a lot of money to run there.”

Running a track like the Valley takes particular parts and pieces to be successful and now Johnson has that teaming up with Hamlin.

“A lot of stuff you run at Lebanon is special to there because of the banking and the size of the track,” he said. “I just couldn’t do that on my own and was hoping some day someone would give me a chance. Now, Scott’s giving me that opportunity so here we are.”

With the deal complete, plans are in the works for the new season. The team will utilize Dan Bedell horsepower and PMC Race Cars, just as SHR has since the beginning of the 2017 season. Sponsorships and car number for the team are currently being worked out and will be announced at a later date.

Hamlin has two cars in the shop now, but will be making an update for next season.

“My whole operation is going to stay the same for the first year,” Hamlin said. “Marc is obviously a Troyer guy but to put together a new car would be about $20,000 with all the bolt-ons and I can’t justify that right now. The PMC he’s going to get in has six races on it. We just ordered a new chassis from Pete (PMC) so we’ll take the parts off our oldest car and put them on that. Marc will have a primary and a back-up if needed.”

The one thing that Hamlin wanted to be known is how much he still thinks of Jeseo and the relationship the two have built over the years.

“Chad and I have done a lot of great things together and have been friends for a while,” he said. “We still want to be friends. There’s going out and having a beer, hanging out and then, there’s racing. You got friends, family and racing in my book and he and I will always be friends, but I’m excited for the new deal with Marc.”

Johnson is excited for the deal as well with Hamlin, but that meant that he had to make an adjustment to his schedule for next season.

“I had talked with Wes Moody and was going to run Airborne on Saturday nights for those guys,” Johnson said. “I had to call and tell him that I got this opportunity and they were extremely happy for me. They’re true team players and want what’s best for me.”

That doesn’t mean he won’t run for Moody in 2019, however.

“They have a NASCAR motor from what Patrick (Dupree) ran some asphalt stuff,” he said. “We may run some of Deyo’s races whenever we can. They treat me like family and I’ve only known them for a short time.”

The rest of his schedule is up in the air as well.

“Running three nights a week is a big commitment all summer and will be tough to be honest,” he said. “Utica-Rome is up in the air right now. I was struggling near the end of last year out there. When you get out of the track late and have to be to work early Monday morning, It wears on you. Apples (John Albanese, his crew chief on the 3j) had to work Monday mornings too and some weeks, it was just the two of us going out there. It gets tough but we’ll work on the rest of our plans later.”

The SHR team will still be led by Gile as crew chief, but Marc, Apples and the rest of the 3j team will work on Hamlin’s cars a couple nights a week.

“Our team is going to go work on those cars and hopefully we can mesh everything together,” Johnson said. “Scott said his guys want to come over to Malta and help out on our car too so we can try and merge both teams together as best as we can. He told me we’re going to try and have as much fun with this as we can and try to have good results. I don’t want to be one of those guys who shows up with my helmet and then leaves at the end of the night. I am in this to do the best that I can.”

2019 is shaping up to be an amazing year for Marc Johnson. He’ll have a shot at another point title at Albany-Saratoga. He’ll take his first crack at the Modified championship at Lebanon Valley, and he’ll have good equipment behind him to try and achieve that goal. Time can only tell if Johnson and the Scott Hamlin-owned team can use this “change” and contend for wins on the Valley high banks each week.

We’ll see, but sometimes, change is just what is needed.