By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

WaKEENEY -- A year ago, Jon Johnson consistently was finishing near the front of the pack.

But due to the starting rules of the United Rebel Sprint Series 305 sprint car class, that forced Johnson to start farther back each time in the A-main.

So, every night, Johnson would start near the middle of the pack for the feature and then have to work his way through traffic to get to the front.

On Sunday night, Johnson took advantage of a good starting spot and drove his way to victory at WaKeeney Speedway.

"That had more to do with it than anything," said Johnson, who started outside the second row. "My point average wasn't good because I didn't run good at Hays (earlier this year). ... It was kind of nice to start up there. It made it a lot easier."

While Johnson started near the front Sunday night and jumped to an early lead, he didn't go unchallenged.

Cody Salem started outside the sixth row and made his way up to challenge Johnson late in the race.

Johnson said it was nice to be in the lead early, but it also was a mixed blessing.

"You don't know where everybody's at," the Utica driver said. "When you're leading, you stick with what you're doing. Pretty soon, by God, I heard Cody. I knew somebody was getting pretty close."

But by the time Salem got close enough to Johnson, the racers were into lap traffic and the checkered flag flew.

"I think we could have had him if we had a couple more laps," Salem said. "But he raced me clean, and that's the way we do it. It was a lot of fun."

It was the first victory for Johnson -- who has been racing sprint cars for many years -- since Aug. 10 at Dawson County Raceway in Lexington, Neb.

"Especially when you're my age, you wonder if you're ever going to win another one," Johnson said with a laugh.

Ransom's Smokey Fairbank started inside the second row and finished third after a strong run on the fast WaKeeney track, and Josh Fairbank was fourth.

Corey Lutters started outside the seventh row and worked all the way up to fifth, edging his father for the top-five spot.

Salem had a rough start to the night before his team figured out the car's driveshaft was popping in and out of the rear end. But that problem was fixed by the time the A-main started, and Salem worked just about every inch of the track in his impressive run.

"I tried a few different things, and no matter where I went it stuck," he said. "You just have to pick them off as quick as you can."

Johnson was able to maneuver his way through the lap traffic just a bit quicker than Salem -- whose engine was built by Johnson -- to hold the St. Joseph, Mo., driver at bay.

"It was tough," Johnson said about lap traffic. "I'd be on the brake and gas waiting for a hole."

Sunday was a sweep for the Johnson family. His son, C.J. Johnson, won the URSS race at Jetmore Motorplex. Jason Martin was second, followed by Ray Seemann and Taylor Milton.