NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock star Allen Johnson broke through for his first win in four 2010 final-round appearances at the previous NHRA event, the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. The Mopar Dodge Avenger driver and his J&J Racing team aim to build on the positive energy gained from their recent triumph with a second-straight victory this weekend at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, MN, Aug. 12–15.
The Team Mopar veteran’s second consecutive win at his primary sponsor’s headline event is just one of many reasons Johnson has to feel good heading to Brainerd International Raceway. The Greeneville, TN, native has clinched the second spot in the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs, earned single-season career highs in final-round appearances (four) and No. 1 Qualifier Awards (four, including a current streak of two), and matched his 2009 round-win total (30) — all with seven races remaining in the season.
“We’re definitely not cocky, but we are confident,” said Johnson, who notched his eighth career Pro Stock win at the Mopar Mile-Highs event. “We’re confident with the motors, the setup of the Mopar Dodge Avenger, and I feel confident as a driver. We need to just keep doing what we are doing and keep the momentum going.”
Johnson knows full well the need to avoid overconfidence in the Pro Stock class, where races are decided by hundredths and thousandths of a second. The Mopar/J&J Racing team kept sharp during the long break prior to Brainerd with a test session last week at Farmington (NC) Dragway.
“We wanted to try to keep the cobwebs off while we had some down time,” said Johnson. “We made four runs, testing out a few new things. It keeps the rust off and keeps the momentum going for Brainerd.”
Johnson isn’t using the final race of the NHRA regular season to experiment. He’s coming to Brainerd—where he advanced to the semifinals in 2008 and 2009—as if the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs has already begun.
“We are already in Countdown mode. We’ve got everything on an even keel,” said Johnson. “Brainerd has always been a track that we’ve done pretty well at. It can get pretty hot and the air isn’t optimum, sort of like Denver. Hopefully we’re going to go there and be No. 1 or No. 2 every single run in qualifying and go out and win the race. We’ll go up and enjoy ‘The Zoo’ a little bit.”
Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals
The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals is scheduled to take place Aug. 12–15 at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, Aug. 14, beginning at 11 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Aug. 15, beginning at 10 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.
About the Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand.
Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles — a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at http://www.mopar.com.