WINAMAC, IND. -- Indiana-based BraunAbility will sponsor paralyzed racer Michael Johnson’s #54 JDC MotorSports BraunAbility Pro Mazda car for the remainder of the 2014 season as an associate partner, starting with Round Two of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at Barber Motorsport Park, Ala., on April 26/27.
"I could not be more excited about this", said Michael Johnson. "I first met BraunAbility through a trackside event for the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation last season, and I obviously knew they were supporters of Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Sam invited me to several events that took place around our race weekends, so I got to know more of the BraunAbility team. The fact that BraunAbility has decided to get involved with my program is just awesome.”
Michael Johnson is currently competing in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by the Cooper Tires. The series is sanctioned by INDYCAR and is the second official step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system, bridging the gap between the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.
All 14 races on the 2014 calendar will be in support of Verizon IndyCar Series events.
“We’re very excited to partner with Michael Johnson,” said Joe Garnett, Director of Marketing at BraunAbility. “His drive and ambition to overcome challenges embodies the spirit of our company, and we think this is a terrific fit.”
BraunAbility is the world’s leading manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vehicles and wheelchair lifts in the mobility industry. Founded nearly 50 years ago by Ralph Braun, the corporation was built on the age-old adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Ralph Braun was a young man who used a wheelchair and had no reliable transportation to and from his place of work. He built his first wheelchair accessible vehicle in 1972, and since then the company has grown into the most well-known and experienced name in the mobility industry, bringing independence to tens of thousands of individuals across the world. www.BraunAbility.com
About Michael Johnson: Twenty-one-year old paralyzed racer Michael Johnson is the first and only paralyzed licensed INDYCAR driver. Johnson was on his way to becoming a professional motorcycle racer, having won races and championships at regional and national levels, when, on August 13, 2005 he was involved in an on-track racing accident which left him paralyzed from the mid-chest down. After several years of recovery he has started racing and winning again and now has set his goal to become the first paralyzed driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Johnson drives his specially modified race car with hand controls and he became the first paralyzed racer to win in an open-wheel formula car during Round Two of the Skip Barber Summer Series at Watkins Glen International Raceway in 2011. He went on to claim two further victories at Road America, and finished the 2011 season with three wins, one pole position, four third place podiums and several top-five finishes. In 2012 Johnson moved up to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda with championship winning team JDC MotorSports. This is Step One of the “Mazda Road to Indy” program. In his first year as a professional licensed INDYCAR driver Johnson had several top-10 finishing positions in qualifying and races on his way to 15th position overall in the series. Johnson is once again competing with JDC MotorSports in the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
Follow Michael on Facebook michaeljohnsonracing, Twitter @racer54iscool and Instagram @johnsonracing54 or visit www.MichaelJohnsonRacing.com.