By Fred Jeter
special correspondent

Soon after picking up his sheepskin from Manchester High, Michael Johnson went to CitiFinancial Bank to get a loan on a car.

What makes this story special is that he wasn’t interested in a loan for an everyday street car … but rather for a Friday-night racer.

It was a long shot.

“I needed $5,000 to get started,” Johnson recalled. “I had my eye on a car I saw advertised somewhere.”

Looking back, the loan officer must have been a closet gear head because the loan was approved. Almost before the ink dried on the cash advance, Johnson was revving up his newly-acquired Pro-Six racer at Southside Speedway.

Few Friday nights have passed in the past five years in which the 23-year-old Johnson, now having graduated to Modifieds, hasn’t been in the roaring mix.

“I want to people to know I’m there when I come to race – I’d like to be recognized,” he said. “I think I’m getting there.”

After top 10 finishes in the final point standings in ’07 and ’08, Johnson, in car No. 38, is a competitive sixth this summer.

In 11 starts, the Chesterfield bachelor has finished no worse than 10th and as high as fourth, on two occasions.

With 4,220 points, Johnson has five races left to try and challenge points leader Billy Morris (5,160 points).

A triple 30-lapper is scheduled tomorrow night (Military Appreciation Night); then comes the season finale Sept. 18.

“I’ve learned a lot and come a long way in this division,” said Johnson. “My first year I was getting lapped every race. Now I’m consistently with the leaders.”

Johnson has always scored high on mechanical aptitude. He may have inherited a love for engines from his father, Robert Johnson, who is a heavy equipment mechanic.

“My father never raced, but he took me to Southside all the time as a kid,” noted the younger Johnson. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in.”

No stranger to greasy fingers and a tool belt, Michael Johnson is a mechanic for Pearson Chrysler Jeep Dodge.

Before his loan was approved for a race car, he did his hot-rodding in go-karts at Capital City Speedway near Ashland, where he won three track titles. Johnson broke in at Southside in the Pro-Six class – a start-up division for six-cylinder racers that now runs at Langley Speedway in Hampton.

“While racing the first year, I was still making payments on my first car – I did that for four or five months,” he said.

Quickly, Johnson graduated to Modifieds – the co-featured division at Southside, along with Late Models. His current ride – with black and orange coloring and a Chevy engine -  was built by Bret Hamilton of Powhatan. His pit crew consists of many of his old go-kart buddies.

Johnson resides just off Hull Street, less than a mile from Southside’s one-third mile asphalt ring on Genito. From his house, you can’t miss hearing Southside’s thundering engines Friday nights in spring and summer. He is hoping that before too long, the roar of the thousands in attendance will be for him – taking his first checkered flag. That would mark an emotional moment for at least two – the gung-ho kid who dreamed big dreams, and a soft-hearted loan officer with a helping hand.