Mopar
Kicks-off Second Half of NHRA Season with Qualifying
at Route 66 Raceway. |
Joliet,
Illinois (Saturday, July 11, 2015) – In
Pro Stock competition, Allen Johnson, who sits seventh in
the standings, has been encouraged by the progress made
with the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart after a rough start to his season, and feels
like the team now has a much better car than what the time
sheets may show. Friday evening’s pair of qualifying
runs put Johnson in the provisional seventh spot with 6.567/209.75
and 6.552/210.87 but the Mopar driver was encouraged by
posting the third quickest pass in Q3 with a 6.573/209.88.
“Down
track that lane was really loose and horrible, so to be
third quick that session really said something,”
said Johnson who remained seventh on the final qualifying
sheets and will see Bo Butner as his first round opponent.
“I think we have a really fast car for tomorrow’s
racing. I’m tickled to death about how much better
the car has been the last few races, but we’ve just
had some really bad luck. Here (at Chicago) I think we have
a top-two or top-three car now when we make a good run.
I think we’re going to break out and do something
on raceday.”
V.
Gaines qualified his HEMI-powered Dodge Dart 13th on the
eliminations ladder with a run of 6.582 seconds at 209.49
mph to meet No.4 qualifier Erica Enders-Stevens in the opening
round. The Pro Stock no.1 qualifier position went to Drew
Skillman with a track record elapsed time run of 6.528 at
210.97 mph.
Allen
Johnson Puts “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart 10th In Qualifying. |
Norwalk,
Ohio (Saturday, July 4, 2015) – Following
two significant Pro Stock final round appearances at Englishtown,
New Jersey, and Epping, New Hampshire in recent weeks, Allen
Johnson’s “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart has continued to improve its performance after
a challenging start to the season that saw the team grapple
with adjusting to a new mandated fuel for the class.
Johnson
started off the weekend with the second quickest run of
the first session with an elapsed time run of 6.571 seconds
at 210.05 mile per hour (mph), and then improved his time
slightly to a 6.566/210.60 with his second pass to put himself
into the top half of the ladder with a provisional eighth
place qualifying spot.
In
the final two sessions, Johnson posted 6.589/210.67 and
6.575/211.00 passes and dropping to the tenth spot on the
Pro Stock eliminations ladder to face Greg Anderson in the
first round.
“We
had a great start and then last night we got over against
the wall and didn’t make a great run to take advantage
of the night conditions,” Johnson said. “Today
we actually had clutch problems and ended up having to put
in a whole new clutch pack for that last run and just blew
the tires off of it on the starting line. The good thing
is we probably ran No.1 or No.2 down the back half with
good speed, but just missed it big time on the startline.
We’ve got something to work with tomorrow with a good
engine. We just got behind the eight ball after that first
run and couldn’t catch up in time.”
Allen
Johnson Sustains A Hole Shot Loss In The Opening Round
At Home Event But Encouraged With Recent Performance
Improvements. |
Bristol,
Tennessee (Sunday, June 21, 2015) –
Hometown favorite and Mopar Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson
will have to wait until next year for another attempt at
a much coveted win at Bristol Dragway as a Father’s
Day gift for his dad and engine tuner Roy after the disappointment
of a first round holeshot loss in the opening round of eliminations.
“We
had a great weekend and yes, I wanted a win for my dad on
Father’s Day at home, but we’ll keep working
on it and we’ll get it someday,”
said Johnson who hails from nearby Greeneville, Tennessee.
“I told dad (Roy) that I’m sorry but he’ll
have to settle for a case of wine again this year. We had
fun racing at home no matter what and we had a good weekend
with our Magneti Marelli Mopar Dodge Dart. We had our best
qualifying weekend of the year. We had a great run but it
just wasn’t our day.”
That
disappointment, however, was tempered by the fact that the
fifth seeded “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart posted the second quickest run of the first round
with a 6.692 elapsed time run at 206.42 mph and a 0.034-second
reaction time to Larry Morgan’s 0.006-second reaction
time and slower E.T. of 6.708/206.92.
“I
had a good light. He had a great light. I was good. He was
great,” Johnson added. “He
stepped up and had a psychic light, and you can’t
take anything away from him. I had a good light, a 30 light,
and I’ll take it 80 percent of the time and win the
race. He was just better and it wasn’t our day.”
Johnson
was further bolstered by the significant performance improvements
made by his Mopar team in this latest stretch of three consecutive
national events in which his Dodge Dart finished runner-up
twice at nationals event in Englishtown, New Jersey, and
Epping, New Hampshire after battle fuel issues to start
the season. He was especially optimistic after posting the
fourth quickest pass in every qualifying session at his
home track this weekend.
“I
feel like the team is back on top, Johnson said. “We
just lost a close race today. I feel like at the next race
we can battle to get no.1 qualifier and win the race. We
had a great weekend can’t find fault with it. We had
fun racing at home. I love being with my dad on Father’s
Day. I loved everything about the weekend. It was great
to have Richie (Stevens) here with us with a second car.
He was also quick so we really have the combinations and
the engine program coming together and I think we’ll
be something to deal with the rest of the year.”
Seeded
11th, Johnson’s teammate Richie Stevens had an unfortunate
red-light foul to spoil a quick 6.708/ 206.16 pass against
Vincent Nobile’s 6.702/206.95 run in the first round.
Pair
of Local Mopar Favorites Qualify in Top-Five at NHRA
Thunder Valley Nationals;
Hagan Seeded Second in Funny Car, Johnson Fifth in Pro
Stock. |
Bristol,
Tennessee (Saturday, June 20, 2015) –
Mother Nature intermittently interrupted Saturday qualifying
with rain at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Thunder
Valley Nationals, pushing sessions into the cooler evening
hours under the lights at Bristol Dragway and providing
the opportunity for lower elapsed time runs and a reshuffling
of the positions for the elimination ladders. That changed
things up a bit for a pair of Mopar drivers who are both
starting in the top-five in front of their hometown fans
and both looking to earn their first title wins on their
home turf on Father’s Day.
Meanwhile,
local favorite Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson, who hails
from nearby Greeneville, Tennessee, consistently posted
the fourth quickest pass in each session aboard his “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart, but ended up
fifth overall after the final qualifying run on his home
track with his best effort of 6.652 sec. at 206.80 mph.
Instead
of running in the heat of the afternoon, simulating expected
race day conditions, Saturday’s two Pro Stock qualifying
sessions were also shuffled to later in the day with a cooler
track and air temperature. The “Magneti Marelli Offered
by Mopar” Dodge Dart driven by Allen Johnson was fourth
on the qualifying sheets in Q3 with a 6.674/ 206.89 then
improved on that time in the final session and was fourth
quickest again with a 6.652 sec /206.80 mph run in some
pretty nice conditions. But apart from lane choice, it did
little to help the Mopar team prepare for Sunday’s
battle.
“We
are going to have a lot different conditions for race day
than from these last two days,” Johnson
said. “Tonight’s track got really
good and we were just a little bit too conservation with
the Magneti Marelli Mopar Dodge Dart. We should have gone
after it a bit more in hind sight but we were still in the
top four or five every run this weekend and you have to
take that as a positive. We probably left a couple of positions
on the table but if we can run in the top four or five we
can win on race day.”
After
advancing to two consecutive final rounds, both against
Greg Anderson, at the last two events, Johnson will see
another familiar face in Sunday’s opening round as
he faces Larry Morgan for a third time in as many weeks.
“I’m
really looking forward to race day because it’s going
to be a hot nasty track tomorrow and will probably play
more to us and know we’ll have something for them
(competitors),” Johnson added.
“We’re happy with the progress we’ve made
this weekend from even the previous two events. We may not
quite be back to where we are number one or two on every
run but I think the next race or two you’ll see us
up there. Just to have two good days of qualifying and making
good runs and being in the top-five speaks volumes of the
team and the work these guys have put in.”
Johnson’s
HEMI®-powered teammate Richie Stevens qualified 11th
with his best run of 6.685/205.76 and will see Vincent Nobile
in the first round. Fellow Dodge Dart driver V. Gaines qualified
15th with a 6.739 /205.82 run and will see points leader
Greg Anderson as his opening round match-up. The No.1 qualifier
position was awarded to Erica Enders-Stevens for her 6.632
/207.59 pass.
Mopar
Drivers Geared-Up for NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
at Home on Father’s Day. |
Bristol,
Tennessee (Friday, June 19, 2015) – Coming
off two runner-up finishes at the last two National Hot
Rod Association (NHRA) events, Allen Johnson came home to
Bristol Dragway and kicked off the Thunder Valley Nationals
with a better start to a race weekend than he has had in
the first ten races this year, making two passes that have
him in the provisional fourth place spot on the Pro Stock
eliminations ladder.
The local
favorite, whose Mopar team had been battling issues stemming
from a change of fuel and tires for the class since the
start of the season, is feeling good about the improvements
they have made and the two final round appearances at Englishtown,
New Jersey, and Epping, New Hampshire in the last two weeks.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time —
He’s racing in front of his home crowd this Father’s
Day weekend and working to give his dad Roy a win that has
eluded them for 15 years.
Johnson
and the HEMI-powered Dodge Dart, tuned by his dad Roy, was
fourth quickest in both Friday qualifying sessions with
an elapsed time run of 6.678 seconds at 206.83 mile per
hour (mph) on the first run, and a 6.658/205.94 on the second.
“That’s
the best start we’ve had all year, so it’s something
to build on,” said Johnson. “The
guys are doing a great job on the Magneti Marelli Dodge
Dart. Dad and the engine guys are doing a great job getting
this thing adapted to the new fuel, and the car guys are
getting it down the track correctly. We’ve gained
on it a bunch the last two races, and I’m not sure
we’re 100 percent, but we’re getting close.”
For a
sixth straight year the Thunder Valley Nationals take place
on Father’s Day, and Johnson would like nothing more
than to give his dad that win as a gift. While both father
and son have won at Bristol Dragway as sportsman racers,
a Pro Stock win at their home track has eluded them. Roy
had two wins in the early 1970s in Stock and Super Stock
classes, while Allen won a Super Stock race at home in 1981.
This
is the 20th season that the duo has been racing in the NHRA
pro ranks and this will be their 15th attempt at a title
win at their home track. They came as close as you can possibly
get to a win without leaving with a Wally in 2012 on their
way to their first NHRA Pro Stock World Championship when
they were part of the closest finish in NHRA history, finishing
runner-up by less than .0000 of a second to Mike Edwards.
“We've
gotten close,” Johnson said.
“First and foremost it would be a great way to give
your father a present, but there's a lot more history here
at Bristol, our home track, than anyone knows. It's where
my dad got his first big win and it's where I got my first
big win in the sportsman ranks growing up. It's where he
really got his teeth into racing while racing stock eliminator
back in the late '60s and early '70s. I was just playing
around on wagons and bikes on the pits watching him. There's
a lot of rich history here, also.
“It
would be special to do it together here and to enjoy the
benefits of having our family and friends here to see it,”
added Johnson who is also looking to score
his first win of the season. “This year
has been a tough year so far, and it even brings out some
more feelings there, you know, trying to get back to where
you were.”
Johnson
has some company this weekend with teammate Richie Stevens
back on track in his Dodge Dart to be able to compare data
and reinforce efforts. Stevens posted a 6.694/206.16 in
the first session with the sixth quickest pass of the session,
and then a 6.685/205.76 in the second session to put him
provisionally tenth.
Allen
Johnson Drives “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart To Second Final Round Appearance In The Last
Two National Events. |
Epping,
New Hampshire (Sunday, June 14, 2015) - Winner
of the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals in the Pro Stock
class two years ago, Allen Johnson came close to being the
first repeat victor at New England Dragway. After a rough
start to the season, hampered by issues brought on by a
change in fuel and tires for the category, Johnson and his
“Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart
finally seem to have made some good headway with a solid
showing in the first two of three consecutive nationals
events.
From
his eighth place position on the ladder, Johnson defeated
Larry Morgan, Chris McGaha and Erica Enders-Stevens to advance
to a second consecutive final round appearance and a rematch
of last week’s showdown against Greg Anderson in Englishtown,
New Jersey. While the Mopar driver had the better reaction
time (0.024 sec to 0.032 sec), his 6.530-second elapsed
time run at 213.50 mph wasn’t quite enough to beat
his opponent’s 6.512-second pass with the top speed
of the meet at 214.72 mph.
“The
Mopar team has done such a great job to overcome challenges
and frustration and just keep plugging away and it’s
finally starting to pay off,” said Johnson,
who made a significant jump from tenth in the points standings
two weeks ago into the top-five for the first time this
season. “We just kept digging with every
run and we’re getting closer. It’s got us looking
even more forward to the next race at home.”
The
results are especially welcome because Johnson and his Mopar
crew prepare to head to their home track of Bristol Dragway
in Bristol, Tennessee, next weekend. It’s where he
and his father Roy Johnson are still working towards their
first trip to the Pro Stock winner’s circle in front
of family and friends on Father’s Day.
Top
Mopar Pro Stock qualifier Allen Johnson Puts His “Magneti
Marelli Offered By Mopar” Dodge Dart Eighth. |
Epping,
New Hampshire (Saturday, June 13, 2015) –
Pro Stock winner of the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals
and last week’s runner-up finisher in Englishtown,
Allen Johnson is chasing his first win this season from
the eight place spot on the eliminations ladder after a
best lap of 6.563/212.26. Johnson’s Magneti Marelli
Offered by Mopar Dodge Dart will face off against Larry
Morgan in the first round.
V.
Gaines will start from the 13th spot after his Dodge Dart
posted a 6.643/ 211.00 and will have Erica Enders as his
first round opponent. The third HEMI-powered entry in this
weeken’s competition is the Dodge Avenger of Alan
Prusiensky who will start from the 14th spot in his fourth
career Pro Stock start. He’ll see Jason Line in the
opening round. Chris McGaha was the Pro Stock No.1 qualifier
with a lap of 6.520/212.66.
Allen
Johnson Takes “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart To First Final Round Elimination Appearance
of The Year. |
Englishtown,
New Jersey (Sunday, June 7, 2015) –
While Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson was disappointed by
his 11th place qualifying performance leading into eliminations
at Englishtown this year, the 2012 world champ was bolstered
by the improvement and results posted by his “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart on race day.
After being plagued with issues stemming from a change in
fuel and tire suppliers for the Pro Stock class to start
the year, a much needed breakthrough was made by the Mopar
team in the opening round by posting their quickest pass
of the weekend, a 6.519 second elapsed time run at 213.87
mph against Larry Morgan.
Subsequent
solid runs against Alan Prusiensky and Shane Gray lead to
Johnson’s first final round appearance of the year.
Johnson’s final pass of 6.537/213.87 wasn’t
quite enough to beat Greg Anderson’s 6.504/214.31,
but the disappointment was short lived.
“I
feel like we won the damn race today even though we didn’t,”
said a relieved Johnson. “We
really showed that we made some huge gains in figuring out
the issues that have haunted us from the start of the year.
Having a day like this helps everything. It helps pick everyone’s
chin up off the floor and hopefully we can start consistently
running even better.”
“The
strength of that first run and that win did a lot for morale,”
Johnson added. “It was like pumping air
into a deflated balloon. This team is used to winning and
running up front. It hasn’t sat well with anybody
getting the kind of results we’ve had this year to
date. Hopefully we’re past that. We just need to start
qualifying better and get up there where we should be.”
Dodge
Dart driver V. Gaines started his race day as the 12th seeded
driver on the Pro Stock eliminations ladder and then scored
a first round holeshot win over Jason Line thanks to a quick
.025-second reaction time over his opponent’s .064,
and then ran a 6.538/212.36 lap to beat a 6.510/215.17.
That set up a match-up against Kenny Delco in which both
drivers contended with severe tire-shake on the start, but
Gaines pedaled it to get the round win and advance to his
first semi-final round of the season.
Gaines
ran a stout elapsed time pass at 6.531/213.43 against Greg
Anderson, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat the new
Pro Stock points leader’s 6.499/214.14.
Local
favorite Alan Prusiensky (6.643/209.95), in only his third
Pro Stock class start (Gainesville and Atlanta), earned
his very first round win when his 14th seed Dodge Avenger
was first to the finish against No. 3 qualifier Erica Enders
Stevens who clicked off early with an engine problem. Prusiensky’s
success, however, was cut short by a loss to fellow Mopar
driver Johnson in the quarterfinals.
Allen
Johnson Puts His Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar Dodge
Dart 11th On the Pro Stock Eliminations Ladder. |
Englishtown,
New Jersey (Saturday, June 6, 2015) –
Last year’s Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier at Englishtown,
Allen Johnson, didn’t see the gains he was hoping
for after four qualifying laps aboard the “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart produced a best
run of 6.534/12.46 to put him 11th on the eliminations ladder,
but the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge
Dart made two clean runs, and with a few more adjustments,
the team expects to see better results on Sunday.
“We’re
not quite showing the same improvements that we made over
the last two events but we did make some big changes throughout
the weekend,” said Johnson who will
see Larry Morgan as his first round opponent. “We
just have to keep adapting to this new formula and that
takes some time. We fell behind because it affected our
HEMIs differently than our competitors, but we’ve
got to keep trying to make gains until we get back to where
we should be. We made a good run today and we should have
a good setup for race day.”
Allen
Johnson Sits Eighth In Provisional Qualifying and Is
Four Elimination Round Wins Away From Reaching The 400
Career Round Wins Milestone. |
Englishtown,
New Jersey (Friday, June 5, 2015) –
In Pro Stock qualifying, Allen Johnson has seen some improvement
with the performance of the “Magneti Marelli Offered
by Mopar” Dodge Dart since beginning a collaboration
with four-time Super Stock world champion and Pro Stock
national event winner, Greg Stanfield, two races ago in
Atlanta. Stanfield is back in the Mopar camp this weekend,
but Johnson acknowledges that the team may be playing a
bit safe.
“We
are being just a bit too conservative,” said
Johnson who ran a 6.550/212.63 in the first session and
improved to 6.534/212.46 in the second to sit eighth behind
provisional No.1 qualifier Erica Enders-Stevens (6.508/213.06).
“We’ve picked up a little and we’ll
keep digging.”
Johnson
was the top qualifier at Englishtown last year, won the
national title in 2011, and finished runner-up in 2006 and
2013. A win this weekend would give the team their first
title win of the 2015 season and would help Johnson reach
a milestone of 400 career round wins in this his 20th year
of competing in the Pro Stock Class.
“Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart Pro Stock
Driver Allen Johnson Bows Out Early. |
Topeka,
Kansas (May 24, 2015) – Three-time Topeka
winner and defending event champ Allen Johnson was hoping
for another strong performance at the venue, but unfortunately
his day would end prematurely. Johnson, the No. 6 qualifier,
recorded a 6.651/207.46 pass in his “Magneti Marelli
Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart but was beaten to the
finish line by first-round foe Vincent Nobile’s 6.616/208.75.
“We
made some real good progress all weekend,” said
Johnson. “The weather changed today and
we just miscalculated. We had a misfire again that’s
been plaguing us, but every time we encounter it we learn,
so we won’t encounter it again in the same condition.”
Allen
Johnson Qualifies Sixth and Will Look To Recapture His
Recent Topeka Magic. |
Topeka,
Kansas (May 23, 2015) – “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart NHRA Pro Stock
driver Allen Johnson is feeling good heading into eliminations
from the No. 6 spot, with a best pass of 6.537. The 20-year
Team Mopar veteran’s optimism is well-founded —
Johnson is the defending event champion at Topeka, with
two wins and three final-round appearances at the venue
in the last three years.
“We’re
becoming more and more satisfied with the Magneti Marelli
Mopar Dodge after each run,”
said Johnson, who is paired against former teammate Vincent
Nobile in the opening round. “We were
fourth quick in Q2. We’re gaining ground quick and
improving each run.”
Allen
Johnson and Magneti Marelli Dodge Dart Makes Progress
But See Day End In Quarterfinals. |
Commerce,
Georgia (Sunday, May 17, 2015) – In
Pro Stock eliminations action, Allen Johnson and his “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart posted a holeshot
win in an all-HEMI first round match-up against V. Gaines.
While Gaines posted his best lap of the weekend with a 6.579-second
elapsed time run at 210.70 mile per hour, Johnson had the
better reaction time, 0.060 seconds to his opponent’s
0.093 second, giving him the round win after posting a 6.586/210.28.
Johnson’s slower time was reason enough for the Mopar
team to decide on an engine change before his quarterfinal
match against Roger Brogdon. However, while working to add
a win to the one he earned at Atlanta Dragway in 2002, Johnson’s
day ended with at the 300 foot mark.
“We
had him by two hundredths at the 60 foot mark but our transmission
broke,”
said Johnson who remains tenth in points with this weekend’s
result, but leaves feeling more optimistic.
“We had a much better qualifying than we’ve
had in a while but race day wasn’t so easy when we
had to make a motor change between the first and second
round. However, we are walking away feeling a bit better
because it was a good weekend for us directionally.”
Allen
Johnson Seeded Fourth for Pro Stock Eliminations. |
Commerce,
Georgia (Saturday, May 16, 2015) – In
Pro Stock Action, things were looking a lot more positive
for Allen Johnson and the “Magneti Marelli Offered
by Mopar” Dodge Dart with a fourth place qualifying
effort at Atlanta Dragway, tying his best starting position
for eliminations this season in Phoenix, after the team
has been grappling with tuning issues resulting from the
introduction of a new fuel for the class this year. Johnson
earned the fourth seeded position with his run of 6.556
/210.87 on Friday evening and remained in the top-five in
both sessions on Saturday. He’ll face his fellow HEMI-powered
Dodge Dart driver, V. Gaines, in the opening round of eliminations.
Mopar
Back on Track at NHRA Southern Nationals. |
Commerce,
Georgia (Friday, May 15, 2015) – The
Mopar Pro Stock entries are also anxious to get back on
track after the two week break, but for a somewhat different
reason. 2012 champ Allen Johnson and his Johnson & Johnson
Racing team are hoping to rebound from a challenging start
to the season. The “Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts
Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart has been battling tuning
issues as a result of the newly mandated fuel for the class
since the start of the 2015 season, hampering the HEMI-powered
vehicles from competing at the level to which they are accustomed.
Johnson, who earned a win in Atlanta in 2002, would love
to see this season’s dry spell come to a quick end
so that he can work to move back up in the points standings
from his current tenth place spot. V. Gaines and his HEMI-powered
Dodge Dart are in a similar situation in 13th place.
First
Round Loss For Johnson. |
Baytown,
Texas (Sunday, April 26, 2015) –In Pro
Stock, Allen Johnson and his “Magneti Marelli Offered
by Mopar” Dodge Dart faced a difficult first round
match-up against the current NHRA champ and defending event
winner, Erica Enders-Stevens, after qualifying 13th, the
lowest the Mopar driver has been seeded since 2011 in Reading,
Pennsylvania. Johnson’s quick 0.004 second reaction
time off the starting line against Enders-Stevens (0.005)
wasn’t quite enough to give him an advantage at the
other end of the racetrack. Johnson posted a 6.617/209.36
pass to Enders-Stevens’ lap of 6.562/209.46. Enders-Stevens
went on to defend her national title at Houston and take
the lead in the Pro Stock standings.
“Fuel
got us again even though we thought we had it figured out
last night,” Johnson said. “It’s
got us by the cahoochies. We thought we fixed it and then
on that run it came right back. We’re going to have
to go test somewhere in humidity (where the problem seems
more evident) and run until we wear everything out and get
it worked out. We don’t give up but right now this
problem is like a big sledgehammer on the head. I knew if
we made a good run, I could beat her and I got everything
but the running part done. It’s not one person’s
fault. It’s just something with this new fuel that
seems to be plaguing the HEMI engines worse than any other
motor. We’re being methodical and hunting in every
direction to get this solved. We won’t give up.”
Johnson’s
new teammate Richie Stevens Jr., who was seeded 15th for
eliminations, was seemingly a little too anxious to get
going in his first elimination round match-up against Shane
Grey and turned on the red right fouling out by -0.011 seconds.
“I
knew I had to go up there and push it because he was faster
than us in qualifying and I was pretty good on the tree
all weekend,” Stevens Jr. said. “I
wasn’t nervous or overly excited heading in and I
felt good on the tree but evidently I was 11 thousandths
too quick. I threw it away before it started. We’ll
be back for Englishtown where I’ve had a lot of success
so I’m looking forward to that one.”
After
qualifying sixth overall, the HEMI-powered Dodge Dart driven
by V. Gaines (6.581/210.47) didn’t fare any better
with a first round loss to Larry Morgan (6.559/211.53).
Richie
Stevens makes his Pro Stock season debut with Johnson
& Johnson Racing in a Dodge Dart. |
Baytown,
Texas (Friday, April 24, 2015) – In
Pro Stock action this weekend, Allen Johnson and Johnson
& Johnson Racing got some much anticipated company as
the Mopar team adds a second entry with the addition of
Richie Stevens Jr. to the field for the first of at least
ten events this season. The New Orleans native took the
wheel of a new Dodge Dart chassis, prepared by Jerry Haas
and a HEMI® engine tuned by Roy Johnson, to mark his
return to Pro Stock competition since Reading, Pennsylvania,
where he posted his career best elapsed time run of 6.506
seconds and best speed of 212.25 mph.
On Friday,
Stevens was the first car out in the first qualifying session
and posted an elapsed time run of 6.676 seconds at 208.91
mph then improved on his second run with a 6.629 /209.39
to sit in 14th spot heading into Saturday’s two qualifying
session.
Last
year’s No.1 qualifier, Allen Johnson, finished runner-up
in 2014 for a third time in his career at Houston. His Magneti
Marelli Dodge Dart ran a 6.609/210.34 in the first session
then moved up from tenth to the provisional seventh spot
with a clean 6.574 /210.34.
The HEMI-powered
Dodge Dart driven by V. Gaines was provisionally 11th after
posting a 6.598/210.37.
Johnson
Takes Magneti Marelli Dodge Dart to a Pro Stock Semifinal
Appearance. |
Las
Vegas (Sunday, April 12, 2015) – In
Pro Stock action, things started off on a positive note
for the two Dodge Dart entries of Allen Johnson and V. Gaines
as both won their opening round match-ups with hole-shot
wins.
Johnson’s
“Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart
posted a .027 reaction time and an elapsed time run of 6.699/206.20
against Drew Skillman’s 0.68 reaction time and 679/206.99
pass.
The
next round saw V, Gaines fall to Greg Anderson, while another
win-light turned on for Johnson against No.1 qualifier Jason
Line who had a red-light foul to advance the Mopar to the
next round. However, after feeling like his ride was down
on power for both of those runs, Johnson and his team made
the decision to change the motor before a semifinals match-up
against Vincent Nobile.
“We
decided not to take a chance and change the engine but when
we reached the staging lanes, we suddenly realized that
we had an ignition box problem that couldn’t be resolved
in time and that could cause us some grief,” said
Johnson who didn’t get more than a few feet from the
tree before the issue ended their day. “We’re
going to head to Baton Rouge to test before we head to Houston
because we’re not happy. We’re not where we
need to be at all but we’re going to work our butts
off to get there.”
With
his semifinal appearance Johnson moves up a spot into ninth
place in the Pro Stock standings.
In
a rematch of Saturday’s K&N Horsepower Challenge,
Nobile went on to the final elimination against Erica Enders-Stevens,
who for a second year in a row, not only took home the national
title but also the $25,000 bonus for doubling up.
Allen
Johnson Seeded Eighth for Pro Stock Eliminations. |
Las
Vegas (Saturday, April 11, 2015) – Saturday’s
Pro Stock qualifying sessions doubled as the annual K&N
Horsepower Challenge, the race-within-a-race with a lucrative
$50,000 payout. Two-time winner (2008, 2013) Allen Johnson
was seeded fourth but encountered tire-shake off his start
against Vincent Nobile in the first round to end his hopes
of taking the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart any further in the Challenge. Nobile went on
to face defending K&N Horsepower Challenger champion
Erica Enders-Stevens, who scored back-to-back wins and the
cash prize.
With
the focus back on preparing for Sunday’s elimination
rounds, Johnson’s last qualifying lap was a good,
clean pass at 6.683/ 207.21 and the seventh quickest run
of the session. AJ ended up in the top half of the qualified
field on the basis of Friday’s 6.645/208.39 effort
to put him eighth on the eliminations ladder where he will
see Drew Skillman as his first round opponent.
“It
was disappointing to not to battle for another K&N Horsepower
challenge win, but we fought a worn out set of tires that
we didn’t know were worn out and that bit us the first
three runs,” said Johnson.
“We put another set on for the last run but then the
set up was way conservative. I think we have something to
work with and to be able to get after it. We’ve been
a little behind the eight ball this weekend, but the positive
going into tomorrow is we have lane choice.”
Fellow
HEMI®-powered Dodge Dart driver V. Gaines remained 11th
overall with his best qualifying run of 6.682/207.91 posted
on Friday. He’ll see Shane Gray in the first round.
The No.1 qualifier position was retained by Jason Line with
a low E.T. of 6.606 at 208.75.
Preparing
for K&N Horsepower Challenge. |
Las
Vegas (Friday, April 10, 2015) – In
the Pro Stock class, drivers not only worked on their qualifying
efforts for Sunday’s eliminations rounds but they
also prepared for Saturday’s K&N Horsepower Challenge,
a kind of All-Star race-within-a-race with an eight-racer
field made up of the seven drivers who have accumulated
the most points in qualifying since this same event last
season, along with a final spot for the driver added in
by a fan vote. The winner of the event will earn $50,000,
and the runner-up will take home $10,000.
For
this year’s edition, Allen Johnson is seeded fourth
in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge
Dart, while the HEMI-powered entry of V. Gaines will start
eighth after the driver was voted in as a fan favorite.
Johnson last won the K&N Challenge race-within-a-race
bonus event in 2013, then doubled-up by also winning the
Las Vegas National title to take home the additional “Sweep
Bonus” of $50,000. A two-time winner of the challenge,
Johnson is the only driver in its history to win the final
round on a hole-shot using a perfect 0.000-second reaction
time in 2008 aboard a Dodge Stratus. His second win came
in 2013 aboard the Dodge Avenger, and a victory this weekend
would be the first for a Dodge Dart since its introduction
last season.
In
the first round of Saturday’s K&N Horsepower Challenge,
Johnson will face off against fifth seed Vincent Nobile,
while Gaines will see number one seed Shane Gray. Erica
Enders-Stevens, seeded second, will battle seventh seed
Chris McGaha, while Jason Line (3) and Jonathon Gray (6)
will be paired up.
In
preparation for the qualifying showdown, Johnson ran his
best elapsed time run at 6.645 seconds at 208.39 to put
the Magneti Marelli Dodge Dart eighth on the timing sheets.
Fellow Mopar driver V. Gaines ran a 6.682/207.91 to sit
provisionally 11th with two qualifying sessions left to
set the ladders for Sunday’s eliminations.
Allen
Johnson posts record-setting career best run in Magneti
Marelli Dodge Dart. |
Concord,
North Carolina (March 29, 2015) – The
first round of Pro Stock elimination rounds proved to be
noteworthy. The good news was that Allen Johnson drove his
“Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart
to not only career best numbers and a track record elapsed
time run of 6.464 seconds at 214.42 miles per hour, but
it was also the quickest pass in class history. The record
time also gave the Mopar driver the coveted National record
as it backed up his run in qualifying.
The not-so-good
news is that Johnson’s record run was all for naught
as two hole-shots by competitors Greg Anderson (6.467/215.13)
and Jonathan Gray (6.465/214.11) ended any chance to advance
to the next round. To add insult to injury, just moments
later Jason Line took away Johnson’s record pass by
setting his own at 6.455/214.48, which also backed up a
record run on Saturday to steal away the National record
as well.
“We
had the record for about one run but I just didn’t
do my job as a driver on the line,”
said Johnson whose .065-second reaction time wasn’t
enough against .033 (Anderson) and .024 (Gray). “We’re
making very big strides with the Dodge Dart right now and
that run right there, setting the record, proves it. Still
fighting the fuel a little and unfortunately it bit Buddy
(Perkinson) but having a second car helped us this weekend.
We tried a few things and seemed to overcome most of the
issues we’ve been having. We’ll just keep after
it.”
The second
team car Johnson referenced was that of driver Buddy Perkinson
II aboard the Johnson & Johnson Racing team’s
2012 championship-winning Dodge Avenger for this weekend’s
event. Perkinson was second off the starting line in the
first round but crossed the finish last after encountering
fuel issues.
Three
Mopars at Four-Wide Nationals in Top-Five for Eliminations. |
Concord,
North Carolina (March 27, 2015) –
With just two chances to make the field for the sixth annual
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Four-Wide Nationals
after rain washed out Friday’s sessions, qualifying
opportunities took place in unseasonably cool air temperatures
in the 50s, setting the stage for a scramble to tame a newly
renovated track hovering in the 80 degree range in order
to find an appropriate set up and a good spot on the eliminations
ladder. Funny Car drivers Ron Capps and Matt Hagan along
with Pro Stock pilot Allen Johnson all found places for
their Mopar rides in the top-five of their respective class
for Sunday’s competition.
The unique
Four-Wide Nationals format will see the 16 qualifiers in
each category split into four waves with competitors battling
across all four lanes simultaneously at the purpose-built
zMAX Dragway. Only the top two finishers of each wave will
advance to the next round of eliminations. With only three
heats necessary, the final elimination quad will determine
the winner, runner-up and two semi-finalists.
In Pro
Stock action, the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart of Allen Johnson made two solid passes, running
an elapsed time lap of 6.513/213.77 and a 6.527/213.74,
to end up with the fifth quickest lap despite taking a somewhat
cautious approach to a new track, cool temperatures and
limited qualifying runs. Johnson’s fifth place qualifying
position put him in a quad with fourth place qualifier Greg
Anderson (6.502/213.64), Jonathan Gray (6.545/211.73) who
was 12th, and fellow HEMI-powered Dodge Dart driver Gaines
(6.683/206.48) who ended up in 13th on the eliminations
ladder.
“Green
track, cold track, lost yesterday’s two warm-up runs;
these are all factors that made it so you had to be conservative
today,” Johnson said. “Everyone
was for that first run today, with the exception of those
cars whose teammates ran up early. On that first pass we
were probably too conservative but we got down the lane
cleanly and then got decent runs out of both cars on our
second outing. We’ll try to tune up that run for tomorrow.
I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot.”
The second
car Johnson referenced was that of driver Buddy Perkinson
II who joins the Four-Wide fun aboard the Johnson &
Johnson Racing team’s 2012 championship-winning Dodge
Avenger for this weekend’s event. Perkinson’s
first run didn’t go quite as planned when an electronic
glitch surfaced after the burnout and hampered his efforts
to get his first four-wide pass under his belt.
“We
had a wiring issue on that first run but went back, changed
a bunch of stuff, and must have got it because everything
worked fine on the last run,” said Perkinson
who posted a clean 6.528/212.49 for the ninth quickest run
overall on his final attempt. “It was
a actually a pretty good run considering we were in the
dark 100% and made it into the top ten. If feels good to
get rid of the butterflies I had with losing two sessions
because of rain and the issue in the first session. Nobody
wants to go into race day with just one qualifying pass
but I think we’re fine. I finally got my first taste
of the four-wide staging and saw how the lights work and
had a .037 second reaction time. I’m going to be in
a pretty tough group for the first round so it should be
pretty interesting.”
Perkinson’s
ninth place qualifying position groups him with No.1 qualifier
Chris McGaha (6.474/213.70), eighth place qualifier Shane
Gray (6.525/211.99), and defending world champ, Erica Enders-Stevens,
who qualified 16th without making a run down the track.
New
Concrete Challenge for Mopar at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. |
Concord,
North Carolina (March 27, 2015) – Mopar
fans and drivers will have at least four good reasons to
look forward to this weekend’s National Hot Rod Association’s
sixth annual Four-Wide Nationals, the only event to feature
four vehicles competing at the same time across four lanes
instead of the usual two. Apart for this event’s unique
side-by-side-by-side-by-side format, there are a number
of items that should make this edition particularly interesting
for Mopar aficionados; A newly resurfaced race track at
zMAX Dragway that could produce record breaking speeds,
a chance to see the Don Schumacher Racing 2015 Mopar Dodge
Charger R/T Funny Car extend its season long win-streak,
the addition of a championship-winning Dodge Avenger to
the Pro Stock line up for this event, and a live eliminations
broadcast on ESPN on Sunday.
An
entirely new concrete surface has been laid out in all four
racing lanes from the starting line to the 700-foot mark,
with new asphalt covering the rest and extending beyond
the finish line. Another improvement removes the level “launching
pad” and the declining grade of the old race track
and replaces it with a continuous one percent grade change
from behind the starting line to the quarter-mile finish
line. However, while the welcome changes could translate
into a faster race track, it will also prove to be a challenge
for all competitors as they contend with a brand new surface
for which they have little to no data.
Adding
to that challenge is the loss of two qualifying laps after
a persistent drizzle and temperatures in the low 50 degrees
forced the cancellation of Friday’s sessions. The
skies are expected to clear up for the final two qualifying
sessions on Saturday, but both drivers and fans can look
forward to faster qualifying speeds with a forecast that
calls for cool air temperatures to remain in the 50s.
In
the Pro Stock class, the Dodge Dart entries of Allen Johnson
and V. Gaines will have some company with the addition of
a third Mopar for this weekend’s competition. Joining
the HEMI-powered lineup at the wheel of Allen Johnson’s
2012 championship winning Dodge Avenger, is 23-year old
driver, Buddy Perkinson II.
“I’d
been talking to Allen (Johnson) last year and through the
winter hoping to put something together,”
said Perkinson who was last competed aboard a Pro Stock
vehicle in 2013. “The timing finally worked
out right to come to Charlotte. We’re hoping to run
a couple of races this year but we’ll likely remain
on the east coast, so if all goes well we’ll be in
Atlanta as well. This is a good race to start because with
the new track everyone is on an even playing field.”
“We
did test here last week to get ready and it went great,”
Perkinson added. “We put in five good
passes with our best run on our last outing. I’d like
to get in some good qualifying lasp and go at least one
round because this is a tough field, but the team knows
this car well and we should be fine.”
Richie
Stevens Jr. to Drive Dodge Dart Pro Stock Car and Join
Forces with Allen Johnson Racing. |
Gainesville, Fla. (Saturday,
March 14) — Mopar
fans will see another Dodge Dart hit the drag strip this
season in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock
class, as driver Ritchie Stevens Jr. prepares to take the
wheel of his Mopar for at least ten events as a teammate
to 2012 NHRA Pro Stock World Champion Allen Johnson.
The New Orleans native will field a new
Dodge Dart chassis prepared by Jerry Haas and a HEMI®
engine tuned by Roy Johnson of Johnson & Johnson Racing,
to mark his return to Pro Stock competition this April at
the NHRA SpringNationals in Houston.
“I’m really excited
and just can’t wait because my best times on track
were racing with Allen [Johnson] as a teammate, and I’m
really happy to get back to that,” said
Stevens, whose last full season of NHRA competition was
with Don Schumacher Racing in 2007 aboard a Dodge Stratus
with Johnson as his Mopar teammate.
Johnson & Johnson Racing’s Adam
Hornberger will perform double duty as crew chief for both
Allen Johnson and Ritchie Stevens, while Tom Pierson will
take on duties as car chief for the additional Dodge Dart
entry.
“The last couple of years
have been up and down racing-wise but I’m really looking
forward to working with Allen again and with [crew chief]
Adam Hornberger, who is talented and just as laid back as
I am,” Stevens said. “The
cars will be the same, but we’ll try different things
and try to help AJ compete for another championship by running
at as many events as we can. I’ll definitely be racing
to win and I expect to have some fun out there.”
Stevens has six career Pro Stock wins (Pomona
1998, Englishtown 1999 and 2001, Seattle 2000, Dallas 2006,
Las Vegas 2006), 11 final round appearances, three No.1
Qualifier honors, and a career round record of 117-139.
He also competed in four Pro Stock events during the 2014
NHRA season (Indianapolis, Charlotte, St. Louis, Reading)
posting his career best elapsed time run of 6.506 seconds
and best speed of 212.25 miles per hour (mph) at Reading,
Pennsylvania.
“It’ll always be
interesting to face my wife when the occasion presents itself,
but we’ll race heads-up like we did last year when
we were on the same team for a few races,”
adds Stevens, in reference to possible on-track battles
against his wife and 2014 NHRA Pro Stock champ, Erica Enders-Stevens.
It’s a win-win situation for Mopar,
one that adds a past winner to the fold for the 2015 season,
even on a limited basis, to gather more data and help both
drivers be more competitive on race days. The move also
improves the chances of bringing home another NHRA Pro Stock
World Championship for the brand after back-to-back championship
wins by Allen Johnson and Jeg Coughlin Jr., respectively,
in 2012 and 2013.
“The benefits for our
Mopar team are exponential because we now have two cars
to try stuff with,” Allen Johnson said. “Having
Richie [Stevens] as a teammate and a second car will give
us more experience and help us try things to take us further
than we could as a one-car effort with just the Magneti
Marelli/Mopar Dodge Dart. Any time we can have more Mopar
cars in the field to go to battle with, the better it is.”
Stevens’ HEMI-powered Dodge Dart will
carry a familiar Mopar brand livery look with support from
Blue Emu, as well as a continued relationship to bring awareness
to Serving Orphans Worldwide. Familiar supporters such as
Pierson Construction, Penske Shocks and Stevens Collision
Center will also be onboard. A longtime silent and committed
partner will also be along for the ride for the 2015 races,
but Stevens and his team will continue to seek out additional
sponsorship opportunities in order to compete in additional
events this season.
Stevens joins Allen Johnson in flying the
Mopar banner aboard their Dodge Darts, with Vieri Gaines
and Deric Kramer rounding out the HEMI-powered entries competing
this season in the NHRA Pro Stock category.
Allen
Johnson, seeking a third consecutive NHRA Gatornationals
victory. |
Gainesville,
Florida (March 13, 2015) – “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart Pro Stock driver
Allen Johnson, the 2013-2014 NHRA Gatornationals champ,
began his bid for a third consecutive event title with two
strong qualifying runs, opening with a 6.539/212.03 effort.
The 2012 overall NHRA Pro Stock champion, in his 20th season
behind the wheel of a Mopar-powered Dodge Pro Stock car,
improved in his second qualifying attempt with a 6.534/212.90
to hold on to the provisional sixth spot.
“I’d
say that we were very conservative on both runs and that
we expect to be a bit more aggressive with our final two
qualifying sessions,” said Johnson,
who enters Gainesville with 698 career elimination round
appearances. “We got in some good testing
this week just down the road in Bradenton, so we picked
up today right where we left off in testing.
“Our
new crew chief, Adam Hornberger, is very methodical and
kind of eases into a set up instead of going for the jugular
with his approach. As a team, we all agree this is a good
way for us to work. I’m pretty happy with our progress
today to make this Dodge Dart pretty raceable, so we’ll
kick it up a notch tomorrow.”
V. Gaines’
quickest run (6.648/211.33) came in his first attempt on
Friday in his Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge Dart, while Alan
Prusiensky (6.662/208.94) saved his best for the final Friday
session in his Dodge Avenger. The pair was ranked 11th and
12th, respectively, heading into final qualifying on Saturday.
Trio
of Mopar Drivers Looking for Hat Trick at Third Event
of NHRA Season. |
Gainesville, Fla. (Friday, March
13) — They say
“good things come in threes” and there is a
trio of Mopar drivers each hoping to prove the validity
of that statement during this weekend’s 46th annual
NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, the third race
of the 2015 National Hot Rod Association Mello Yello Drag
Racing series season.
Part of the festivities leading up famed
race is the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame dinner
held on Thursday evening. At this year’s event, racing
icon and innovative engineer, “Big Daddy” Don
Garlits, was presented with the Mopar President’s
Award in recognition of his career long contributions to
the brand, both on and off the track. The award was created
to recognize motorsport pioneers and legends who have been
affiliated with Mopar throughout their career.
“Don Garlits is a true
gentleman, a racing pioneer and has been Mopar’s greatest
brand ambassador for more than six decades, and this President’s
Award is our way to express our gratitude for everything
he has done for us,” said Pietro Gorlier
President and CEO – Mopar Brand Service, Parts and
Customer Care. “Mopar’s commitment
to professional motorsports competition was established
in the 1950s because of our partnership with Don, and together
we spent the next several decades breaking of numerous speed
and performance barriers in HEMI®-powered vehicles.
His name has become synonymous with Mopar and this award
is meant to recognize individuals like Don who truly epitomize
our brand’s core values.”
Previous recipients of the Mopar President’s
award include Allen and Roy Johnson (2013), and the man
regarded as the “Father of the HEMI”, Tom Hoover
(2014).
Johnson
sees his Phoenix Pro Stock title defense come to an
end in the quarterfinals. |
Chandler,
Arizona (Friday, Feb. 22, 2015) –
In Pro Stock competition, Mopar’s Allen Johnson posted
a 6.588/210.05 run in the first round to beat Jimmy Alund’s
6.615/210.14 before seeing his Phoenix title defense come
to an end in the quarterfinals against Chris McGaha. Johnson’s
“Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar”
Dodge Dart had the starting line advantage with a .024 reaction
time to his opponent’s .067, but then saw severe tire
shake ruin his run.
“We
were way conservative with our set up on the Dodge Dart
for being the first pair out and the tire got square,”
said Johnson. “The good
news is that this team is really talking and listening to
one another and examining the problem when there is one.
We had a really good meeting and we all decided to go one
way with the set up for first out and next time we’ll
go the other way. This team is really gelling and learning
from our mistakes and it’s great to have a team communicate
this way. We sure did have a car that could have won the
race today. We’ll take it as a positive going forward."
Tire
shake also claimed the Dodge Dart of V. Gaines in the first
round against Chris McGaha, while the Deric Kramer’s
HEMI-powered ride turned on the red light against Rodger
Brogdon who went on to win his final elimination match-up
against Erica Enders-Stevens for his third career Pro Stock
victory.
Allen
Johnson to defend Phoenix Pro Stock title win from fourth
place. |
Chandler,
Arizona (Friday, Feb. 21, 2015) –
Defending Pro Stock winner Allen Johnson is feeling confident
about the work that his Johnson & Johnson team has put
in this weekend through their four qualifying runs with
the “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart. AJ ran the fourth
quickest time of the third qualifying session with a 6.572
second run (211.20 mph) and the fifth best pass of the final
lap with a 6.577/210.18 to remain fourth on the eliminations
ladder on the basis of his 6.551/211.36 run Friday in Q2.
He’ll have lane choice over Jimmy Alund for the first
round.
“I
feel like we were really consistent through qualifying this
weekend,” Johnson said. “We
have been making some good runs with our Dodge Dart and
even if we may have been a bit conservative in our approach,
that’s what it is going to take tomorrow. We just
need to stay in the top four or five runs like we have and
we have a good shot at defending our title here at Phoenix.”
V. Gaines
put his Dodge Dart 12th on the ladder with Friday’s
6.620/209.95 pass and will see Chris McGaha as his first
round opponent, while the Deric Kramer (6.643/208.65) sits
15th and will line up his Dodge Dart against Rodger Brogdon
for the opening round.
Allen
Johnson Looks to Defend Phoenix Pro Stock Title in a
Dodge Dart. |
Chandler,
Arizona (Friday, Feb. 20, 2015) –
Last year at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, Allen Johnson
took his Dodge Avenger to the Pro Stock winner’s circle
before its retirement to make way for the new “Magneti
Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart that made its
debut at the following event at Gainesville in 2014. This
season new tires and new fuel have changed things up for
the Pro Stock teams, and along with new Crew Chief Adam
Hornberger the J&J Racing team is getting the bugs worked
out. Johnson and his Mopar team made gains in Friday qualifying
to move from a sixth quick 6.567 sec / 210.64 mph in the
first session to a provisional fourth place spot on the
eliminations ladder with a 6.551 /211.36.
“We’re
sneaking up on it little by little as the crew is working
conservatively and that’s something we decided to
do as a team from the start of the year,”
said Johnson who is coming off a quarterfinal finish in
Pomona and looking to defend last year’s win at this
venue. “We are getting a handle on the
car and on the new fuel. One more run and we might just
take that number one away from them so that’s our
goal.”
V. Gaines
has his Dodge Dart qualified 12th with a 6.620/209.95 pass
while the third Dodge Dart in the field sits 14th with a
6.637/208.55 driven by Deric Kramer.
Johnson
Begins His Season by Reaching the Quarterfinals. |
Pomona,
California (February 8, 2015) – Denied a
chance to move his “Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts
Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart up from the No. 12 spot
after the final Pro Stock qualifying session was cancelled,
Allen Johnson faced former teammate and No. 5 qualifier
Vincent Nobile to begin his day. The 20-year Team Mopar
veteran was quicker off the line than Nobile, with a .013
reaction time compared to his opponent’s .036, reaching
the finish first despite a slower 6.574 elapsed time to
Nobile’s 6.561.
AJ
came out on the losing end of a close quarterfinals finish.
The Greeneville, Tennessee, native and event runner-up Drew
Skillman were dead even with 6.595 elapsed times (with Allen
Johnson owning the faster speed at 211.10 mph), but Skillman
was just a touch quicker at the starting tree, with a .028
reaction time to AJ’s .033. Skillman’s margin
of victory was approximately 20 inches.
“Being
first pair out has been a problem for us in the past, but
today we actually made some progress,”
said Johnson, who competes with HEMI powerplants supplied
by his father, Roy Johnson, engine builder for the Johnson
& Johnson Racing team. “We always
seem to shake the tires, or the car does something crazy
and doesn’t get down the track cleanly, but instead
we made some gains today. Our new crew chief, Adam Hornberger,
made some changes, and as first pair out for the second
round we lost a very close race, but we figured out how
to get down the track. Even if it was a loss, I feel like
we made some momentous, fantastic gains today with the new
fuel, a new crew chief and a team that is working really
well together. It’s a good start.”
No.
13 qualifier and Team Mopar Dodge Dart driver V. Gaines
also fell to Skillman in the first round and Deric Kramer
was unable to race his Dart past first-round foe Rodger
Brogdon. Jason Line took the Pro Stock title win over Skillman
in the final round of eliminations.
Next
up for Team Mopar competitors is the second of 24 events
on the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule,
the NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near
Phoenix, scheduled for February 20–22.
Johnson,
Quickest of the Trio of Mopar Dodge Darts. |
Pomona,
California (February 7, 2015) – Inclement
weather also bit “Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts
Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart driver Allen Johnson.
Despite being just a tick quicker during Pro Stock Q3, bettering
his 6.546 run from Friday with a 6.545, AJ dropped to 12th
after others in the field made bigger improvements during
the session. The 20-year Team Mopar veteran anticipated
moving back up the charts in his final attempt, but Mother
Nature had other ideas. Up first for AJ in eliminations
is former teammate Vincent Nobile.
In
addition to the weather, the loss of the final qualifying
run, as all teams are working to adjust to the introduction
of a new fuel formula this weekend, also played a part in
shuffling the Pro Stock ladder.
“We
didn’t go the right way with the new fuel tune up,”
said AJ, seeking his second final-round appearance and first
victory at the Winternationals. “I talked
to several people and everyone seems to be guessing at it
right now. Some hit on it and others didn’t, and we
didn’t. That hurt us in this morning’s session,
so we really wanted to get in a last run because we went
way the other way with our adjustments and were hoping to
be a lot faster. We’ll go out there tomorrow and do
our best.”
“We
wanted another shot at it just to answer some lingering
questions we have on fuel and tune up,”
said Adam Hornberger, in his first race as crew chief on
the Magneti Marelli/Mopar Dodge. “The
car set up was close and conservative because we shook the
tires on our first run (on Friday), but we were slowly creeping
up on it. We were hoping to finalize everything for tomorrow’s
first round, but hopefully the weather is pretty close to
what we had today so we can keep the same set up and just
go with our gut feeling on the tune up.”
Mopar
Ready for the 2015 NHRA Season Start at the Winternationals. |
Pomona,
California (February 6, 2015) – 2012 NHRA
Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson will begin his 20th season
of competition along with his HEMI-engine tuner and father
Roy Johnson after closing out 2014 with his ninth consecutive
finish in the top-ten of the standings.
“I
can't believe it has been 20 years since my dad, Roy and
I, started on this road,” said Johnson
who made his Pro Stock debut aboard a Mopar in 1996.
“To stay on top gets harder each year, but this team
will push to be the best. In those two decades, the highlight
has of course been our hard fought 2012 Championship, but
another world title is always the goal.”
In
2014, Johnson raced to four wins in six final round appearances
and posted a 36-20 round-win record to finish sixth in the
final standings. Mopar teammate and 2013 NHRA Pro Stock
champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. finished last season with a semifinals
appearance at Pomona and fifth place finish in the Countdown,
but will be on hiatus from being behind the wheel on a full-time
basis this year to focus on his family. That made preparations
for the new season more of a challenge for the Johnson &
Johnson Racing crew.
“We
worked hard this off-season and testing has been a little
different with new tires, new fuel, and relearning how to
run both for optimum performance takes time,” Johnson
said. “The biggest challenge has been
working as a one-car effort but we are working hard to rectify
that. I think the KB and Elite teams will be back with a
vengeance, but so will we, which means there will be at
least eight cars that can win each race.”
The
Mopar team will have a new crew chief for the new-look yellow
and black “Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered
by Mopar” Dodge Dart this season. Adam Hornberger,
who was Coughlin’s crew chief last season and spent
14 years with Penske Shocks, will join car chief Mike Gott
who has been with J&J Racing for 14 years, and assistant
crew chief Mike Earl.
|