The Scoop
JOHNNY WHITMAN – CHASING WINS, POINTS AND KIDS
Posted on: Tuesday September 1, 2026
Suamico’s Johnny Whitman poses next to his Jerovetz Motorsports-owned IMCA modified at Outagamie Speedway in August, 2026.
Johnny Whitman has been chasing points titles for many years.
In 2026, he chases wins, points titles and his kids.
The 33-year-old IMCA modified hotshoe is considered one of the true ‘veterans’ of the division in northeastern Wisconsin, despite his relatively young age. The Suamico pilot, who has been wheeling IMCA modifeds and winning with them since 2011, also has a pair of young kids who have added a true family element, keeping him even busier than he’s been in recent years.
For several years now, Whitman has been a ‘hired gun’ of sorts, driving for Sean Jerovetz and Ryan Rosenow. His Rage chassis is owned by Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Services. The De Pere native won the IMCA northern sportmod championship at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek in 2010. It was the first year the popular oval was converted to dirt.
Since then, Whitman has continued his winning ways. He’s piled up dozens of feature wins, and multiple track championships at these ovals: 141 Speedway, Shawano Speedway and Outagamie Speedway in Seymour. The only track that Whitman has been snakebit has been at Luxemburg – the only area IMCA-sanctioned oval where he has not captured a track championship.
Johnny Whitman at speed. (Throttle Shots)
Whitman keeps the race car in his and his fiance’s own shop, where it receives plenty of TLC. “If we ever have to build a deck, or put a body on the car, Ryan (Rosenow) helps and we’ll bring it to their shop,” Whitman explained. “Ryan is very, very picky. That stuff is his forte, and he’s really good at it.”
For 2026, most of the time, Whitman’s Friday nights were at Seymour, and Saturdays were always at 141. “I know 141 is sort of my forte,” Whitman admitted. “But, I’ve always liked coming to Seymour. It’s a little bit closer to home for me. I can drop my kids off by mom and dad, come racing, and then pick them up in the morning.”
Whitman and his fiance Rosie have two kids: Stella is five and Cooper is four. “They are by far the best thing that’s ever happened to me and Rosie,” Whitman explained. “I’m trying hard to keep racing, and balancing all of that family stuff, too. The kids most certainly keep the both of us on our toes.”
According to Whitman, the kids enjoy hanging around the race shop, and ‘help out’ whenever they can. “Stella is a little Diva, but she loves hanging around the race shop,” Whitman said. “Cooper loves running the grease gun. He makes a mess, and we’ve got grease all over the shop, but he loves being a part of it. That’s cool, because I was never able to hang around a race shop anywhere when I was their age.”
Whitman’s dad, Mike may retire from his job soon. “With that, the plan might be to get the kids into karting,” Whitman said. “If and when that occurs, my own racing will obviously get curtailed.”
Whitman points to his friend and former racer J.J. Andersen who did just that.”J.J. sold off his own racing equipment and his kids are racing the karts,” Whitman said. “I want to stay racing myself for as long as I can. It’s very time consuming. But, we try our best to have one or two family nights a week. Sometimes, when the kids have soccer, I even go to the shop after soccer to work on the car a bit. Time is tough to find sometimes.”
That number of necessary hours in the shop has close to doubled since Whitman began racing full-sized race cars in the late ’00’s. Not only have the hours increased, but so have the costs. “This technology is great and crazy, and very expensive,” Whitman admitted. “When I started out racing our sportmod, we were racing on $50 shocks. Nowadays, the costs involved with these shocks are crazy. Luckily, I have always had good deals on the shocks. Motors are insane, too. You used to be able to pick up a crate motor for four to five grand. These days, those same motors cost closer to $10,000. But, I honestly could not do this racing deal if it weren’t for Sean (Jerovetz) and Ryan (Rosenow). They give me such a great deal, and I feel I owe it to them to do the best I can and race as much as possible.”
Ryan Rosenow, Johnny Whitman’s Crew Chief.
And there is also the pit crew factor – or lackthereof. “As we all have gotten older, Sean, Ryan and R.M. Van Pay for example – everyone wants ot hang out with you and help you in the race shop,” Whitman said. “But, what’s happened over time is we all grow older, and start families. Guys get married. And because of that, it’s been really, really hard to get pit crew help. I’m really thankful for the help I do get. But, they are also balancing racing and family stuff these days, too. It’s a very difficult balance. Ryan is my main crew guy, and sometimes we have disagreements. But, again, I couldn’t do any of this without him. He’s hard on me sometimes, like my dad was. But it works out in the end.”
Whitman was trying to chase the IMCA national points deal when the season kicked off earlier in ’26. “It’s been tough,” Whitman said. “I was real consistent, but the wins are tougher to come by these days. We did get some wins, and quite a few top four finishes. You do need to win at least two track championships typically to win the national deal. Everyone talks about how tough all of the IMCA modified drivers are down in Iowa. But, I’d argue the field of modified drivers we have up here in northeastern Wisconsin are just as tough. It just seems to me like the Iowa drivers simply have more tracks to race down that way. But up here, I’d argue the fact that in any given IMCA modified feature race, we have 10 to 15 drivers that can win on any given night.”
In late August, Whitman opted for a weekend of family time with the future wife and kids, instead of chasing the track title at Outagamie Speedway. Heading into the final night of points racing, Whitman was a mere eight points behind third-generation racer Jayden Schmidt. Whitman’s absence made it much easier for Schmidt to seal the deal. “I’ve looked at the points deal a little bit differently than others do around here,” Whitman explained. “When the local season starts up here, I feel that most everyone has intentions of chasing a championship. If run well, you can stick it out. Then, as the weeks go on, they might get a DNF or two, and they don’t stick with it. I can’t afford NOT to race. Everyone thinks you get a free race car and everything is handed to you. That’s really not the case at all. I (race) for my sponsors. We’ve got to keep our sponsors happy.”
At the end of the week, Whitman will make the annual trek down to Boone (IA) Speedway for yet another IMCA Supernationals trip. Last year, Whitman and his Suamico neighbor Josh Long both put their cars into the big dance. He’s looking to do it again in ’26.
When he’s not racing, Whitman makes his living as a welder at Quality Welding in Suamico. The Welding business, located in Suamico, is owned by a former racer, Mike Broeckman. “I love working there, and having a boss like Mike who gets it is great,” Whitman said. “I love welding and working there.”
Whitman’s large team of marketing partners includes: Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Services, Showcase Concrete Coatings, Back To The Outdoors, Hyperco, Doherty Brothers Construction, Nolan Sign, Horny Buckseed, Allstar Performance, Longacre Racing Products, Ken’s Sports, AFCO, J&R Outdoor Solutions, Performance Bodies & Parts, MPI, Advance Construction, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Whitman Supply, Aero Race Wheels, 5Point Fabrication, WillysCarbs.com, Bulldog by DMI and Friesen Performance Vehicles/Racing.