Todays Meet the Driver is of a driver in the Sportsman ranks at OCFS who followed the GRIT Series this year for the 1st time. This guy is a pretty funny guy if you get to know him and always has a smile on his face, almost always. Him and I have a running joke that started this year and if Im there we will be having a Misty Mountain Dew bath in victory lane. This guy is none other than THE Johnny Danger, Johnny Illanovsky. Lets all Meet Johnny Danger AGE: 28 HOMETOWN: Matamoras Pa OCCUPATION: Sales and Driving Instructor at Monticello Motor Club NICKNAME: Johnny Danger HOW?: It was not safe to race near me when I first started FAMILY: Mom, dad, and 2 sisters Brianne and Nicole CREW: Crew Chief Steve Eubanks along with Tom Newman. We also have a lot of help up at Zubis shop: Steve Card, Craig Lynch, Dave Allen, and Todd Easterday are always willing to jump in at any time. SPONSORS: In 2014 Malley Pool Water and Zubis Racing were my main sponsors. Going into 2015 we are working on a big sponsor for the 19. We are also bringing a few back like the Monticello Motor Club. YR/MAKE OF CAR: 2015 HFC, 2014 HFC CAR OWNER: David Zubikowski owns one of the cars. The new one we are building is my car and it will be the 19. CAR #? WHY?: I picked the number 19 because Steve Eubanks has been such a big help and is always there when I need him. This year I took him away from a lot. I even took him away from his mom on Mothers Day to go to a race upstate in the GRIT Series. I thank him all the time. Using his # is my way to show him how much I appreciate what he does for me. YEARS RACING: I started racing go karts when I was 7 years old, so it has been over 20 years now. ANY OTHER RACERS IN YOUR FAMILY?: Only me. I do have a cousin, Jordan Lawrence, who races go karts. WHERE DID YOU START RACING?: I started racing on the road course at Oakland Valley Raceway Park. WHAT ELSE DO YOU RACE?: I race once in a while on some different road courses in Miatas. I also do this really fun series called Lemons. Its a 16hr race and your car can only be worth $500 before safety upgrades. Last race I was in 140 cars started the race on a track a little smaller than 2 miles. It is some fun racing, and it is nice to race with no pressure. FAV RACERS PAST/PRESENT: NASCAR I really like watching people like Stewart, Gordon, and Johnson. One of the best and my favorite race car driver to learn about is Aryton Senna. He was never afraid to voice his opinion and had great success in the most prestigious race series in the world. WHO INSPIRED YOU TO RACE?: My father got me started in racing. He wanted something to do where we could both spend time together. FAV PERSON TO RACE AGAINST: I have been a big fan of racing against Brian Krummel. WHY?: He has been a great mentor for me. He is hard to beat but if he has time to watch what Im doing he will. He is not afraid to tell me how to get better, and what I need to improve on. BIGGEST RIVAL: I guess you can say Joey Bruning. We are good friends off the track but we just like to really go at each other on the track. We raced karts together, started in Sportsman at the same time, and we are just really competitive people. We know better than to talk to each other after a race but Monday we will talk on the phone, call each other names, and talk about how we can do better net time. Its a love, hate relationship. Most people would think we just hate each other, but we really dont. FAV FOOD/DRINK: I will eat anything and my favorite drink is MISTY MOUNTAIN DEW (haha) FAV MOVIE/TV SHOW: Favorite movie is Days of Thunder. TV shows I dont really have a lot of time to watch TV, but I really like Duck Dynasty and Ridiculousness HOBBIES: I like playing softball BEST MOMENT IN RACING: When I was younger, I won a bunch of big races along with some championships in karting. I have had a bunch of 2nd place finishes this year and they were some great moments, but 2nd place gets old quick. Best thing this year was the GRIT race at Penn Can, I had a good run, made it up front with some really tough drivers, had a little problem on a restart but finished up in the top 10. WORST MOMENT: Anytime I get to Eastern States I have some bad luck. I need to change that around. HOW DID YOU GET HOOKED UP WITH ZUBIS RACING, AND AS A FAN OF RACING WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PART OF THE RETURN OF A NAME LIKE ZUBIS INTO RACING? I am good friends with Darrell Ford and got to know David Zubikowski. He saw the dedication and love I have for the sport and liked that. He knew I liked to travel and get to different tracks. I had a bad wreck one night at OCFS, he came to my trailer, and said come put that new HFC together and we will have you run that. It is really fun to be a part of Zubis Racing. They have had some great people drive the cars this year and they are a new team. Strunk, Varin, VanInwegen, and Higbie were some of the guys who drove and each one of them you can learn something new from. Now they have 6 cars in the shop and a few more on the way. I think, come race day, there will be 9 cars in the shop. Thats pretty impressive, and its cool to be a part of something like that. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THOSE GUYS? DO YOU FEEL YOU MAY HAVE MADE YOURSELF A BETTER DRIVER JUST BY JOINING THIS TEAM AND HAVING VETERANS LIKE THEM HELPING YOU OUT?: I have learned a lot from them. They are the type of guys you want to ask a lot of questions when you do not understand something 100%. They have won big races and have been in the sport for years. Jerry Higbie has been the best one for any type of advice or knowledge. He is very smart. He knows his stuff and what is going to work. He even keeps an eye on me out there from time to time, to help me as a driver too. YOU FOLLOWED THE GRIT TOUR FOR THE 1ST TIME THIS YEAR. THOUGHTS ON THE SERIES, TRACKS, AND HOW DID YOU DO?: The GRIT Series was really cool. I had no plans on racing the series at 1st and the net thing you know I finish 6th in the opener at OCFS. I asked the guys who run the series where the next race is going to be. They told me Glenn Ridge, and I said Well, why not? Lets go. I qualified for the race first time at the track and that was big for me. Racing against people like Rocky Warner, David Marcucilli, Brian Krummel, and others on different tracks is how you get better. Every time I went to a new track, I learned something new. I came back home to OCFS and was able to use that knowledge. We got to a bunch of tracks. I believe it ended up being 10 or 11 tracks that I made it to. Glenn Ridge, Utica Rome, Penn can, and Five Mile Point ended up being my favorite places I raced at. I ended up 11th in points. The last race, my good friend got married and I couldnt miss that, so I missed the Slobber Knocker at Five Mile Point. SPEAKING OF DIFFERENT TRACKS, YOU ALSO RAN ACCORD A BUNCH FOR THE FIRST TIME AND DID WELL. HOW MUCH DO YOU LIKE ACCORD, AND WILL YOU BEING GOING BACK?: Accord is an awesome track. First time I ran there, I got 2nd and that was pretty cool. Accord is a great little track that you can learn a lot from. I have had some races there this year that left me pretty exhausted and winded from really driving hard. I am not sure if Ill be running the full season up there this year, but I will be there for the first couple of weeks. I want to get out to some other tracks on Friday nights like Albany Saratoga, Penn can, and possibly a few others. Maybe get a little seat time at new tracks too. THOSE SMALL, TIGHT, FAST TRACKS, HOW MUCH DO THEY HELP YOU BUILD CAR CONTROL?: I see why people call them a drivers track. You really have to think that much quicker because everything is so close. I learned little things on those tracks that really helps me on bigger tracks. NOW, YOUR 1ST WIN, WHATS WITH THE MISTY MOUNTAIN DEW SHOWER?: Some guy with a foul mouth was in the stands during practice and told everyone I was going to be the 1st one on the wrecker. I let him know he should shut up and keep drinking his off brand of Mountain Dew which is called Misty Mountain. He often buys it in bulk from Stewarts shops in a 2 liter fashion. We later became buddies and when I get my 1st win I am going to be sure to have a Misty Mountain Dew shower for him. *THAT PERSON WAS ME, AND IT WAS A JOKE AMONG FRIENDS THAT GOT TAKEN BACK IN THE WRONG WAY. IT HAS BECOME A RUNNING JOKE ALL SEASON (LAUGHING) THOUGHTS ON 2014: 2014 was an awesome year and I learned so much. Every time I went to a new track I picked up on stuff these guys I was running against were doing. I took a lot away from the season and I feel we will have a really solid program for 2015. PLANS FOR 15: We plan on running a full season at OCFS, GRIT Racing South Series, doing a few North races, King of DIRT, and we will be going to Syracuse for Super DIRT Week. GOALS: Win some races! We have to get some wins at home, but we are really looking to win on the road too. Its really hard when you are not there much. ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT JOHNNY DANGER?: I went back to College a few years ago and Ill be graduating in May. Im pretty proud of myself. School is important so I keep grinding away at it. VERY COOL! WHAT ARE YOU GOING FOR?: Economics WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO THANK?: Steve Eubanks, Tom Newman, David Zubikowski, David Allen, Steve Card, Craig Lynch, Todd Easterday, and Jerry Higbie MESSAGE TO YOUR FANS: Uh what fans? (laughs) Im just kidding. Thanks for the support. Its cool as you get going, people start to know who you are and cheer for you. I get messages sometimes after a good night on the track telling me I did a good job, and thats cool. So thanks to all those fans cheering me on!! WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO KIDS WHO WANT TO GET INTO RACING?: Hit the Lottery! (laughs) No. If you want to get into racing, start helping someone who does well and knows their stuff. See it from the other side for a while. ON BEHALF OF THE RACERS DAILY AND MYSEL, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND WISH YOU A HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL 2015: Thanks bud!! NOW WE HAVE MET JOHNNY DANGER, A DRIVER SEARCHING FOR THAT ELUSIVE 1ST WIN BUT GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER EACH TIME OUT. I PERSONALLY FEEL JOHNNY ILLANOVSKY WILL BE IN VICTORY LANE A TIME OR TWO IN 2015 AND WISH HIM THE BEST OF LUCK! NEXT WEEK WE WILL MEET A SECOND GENERATION DRIVING TALENT FROM OCFS, TYLER MCKEE. HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! SEAN HART
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 18:31:18 +0000
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