JOHNSON STARTS RACE FOR 1997 CHAMPIONSHIP
                     AT WINSTON SELECT FINALS

     Pomona, Calif. -- According to the NHRA schedule, the
 Winston Select Finals, to be held on October 24-27 at Pomona
 Raceway, is the season finale of the 1996 Winston Drag Racing
 Series.  But three-time Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson works
 on a different timetable.  After watching arch-rival Jim Yates
 clinch his first NHRA title in Dallas on October 13, Johnson has
 already launched his campaign to win the 1997 championship.

     "In reality, the Winston Select Finals is the first race of
 the 1997 season," said Johnson, who notched five wins in eight
 final-round appearances with his GM Performance Parts Pontiac
 this year.  "In three months we'll be back at Pomona for the
 Winternationals.  That's not a lot of time when you consider that
 we're building two new race cars and planning a very aggressive
 off-season testing schedule."

     Johnson, the 53-year-old "Professor of Pro Stock," debuted a
 new Firebird at the preceding round in Dallas.  The untested car
 was quick -- it ran 6.97 on its third pass down the track -- but
 it was also plagued by the usual new car "bugs."  An electrical
 malfunction in the first round of eliminations short-circuited
 his run for the championship.

     "This is definitely a better race car than our old one,"
 Warren declared.  "We applied the lessons we learned with our
 first Firebird.  The new car ran 197.45 mph in Dallas, which is
 the fastest speed we've run in a Pontiac.

     "Our race day setup has changed completely since we debuted
 the new body style at the Winternationals," Warren added.  "We
 know the track's characteristics and have enough experience there
 to make intelligent decisions."

     The NHRA record book testifies to Johnson's success in the
 season finale.  He has won the Winston Select Finals six times
 (1982, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1993, and 1995), and scored three
 Winternationals victories (1987, 1993, and 1994) on Southern
 California's most famous quarter-mile of asphalt.

     Johnson sewed up the No. 2 spot in the 1996 championship
 race in Dallas -- his seventh runner-up finish since 1976.  "We
 knew going in that developing a new car was going to be a
 challenge, and we accepted it," he explained.  "Our performance
 in the last half of the season met our expectations:  We've run
 relatively well, gone to eight final rounds, and won five races.
 I'd just as soon forget about the first half, however."

     Johnson will receive his accolades -- and a $25,000 bonus
 from Winston -- at the season-ending award ceremony on October
 28.  His quest for the 1997 championship will commence promptly
 the next morning.




      KURT JOHNSON COUNTS ON EXPERIENCE IN RETURN TO POMONA

     Pomona, Calif. -- Nine months and 18 races ago, Pro Stock
 drag racer Kurt Johnson drove to the starting line at Pomona
 Raceway with a brand-new race car and a brand-new outlook.  On
 October 27, Kurt will wrap up his first season with his Delco
 Freedom Battery Firebird at the Winston Select Finals -- a little
 older, a little wiser, and much more experienced.

     "We've learned quite a bit since the Winternationals," said
 Johnson, the 33-year-old son of three-time NHRA champion Warren
 Johnson.  "Now we'll go back to Pomona Raceway and find out how
 much progress we've really made!"

     The NHRA record book attests to Kurt's development as a
 professional racer this year.  In his first season with a major
 sponsor, he won two races -- the Fram Nationals at his home track
 in Atlanta, and the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, the most
 prestigious event on the NHRA tour.  Runner-up finishes in
 Seattle and Dallas also added to Johnson's points total.  With
 one race to go, he is fourth in the standings, just 33 points
 behind third-ranked Mike Edwards.

     Johnson is optimistic about his chances to continue his
 climb in the points.  "The starting line at Pomona Raceway is
 always excellent, but the track is a little rough in the left
 lane," he notes.  "We'll see if the changes we've made to the
 chassis will help it go over the bumps."

     Kurt and his wife Kathy are also racing against the clock to
 finish the season before the arrival of their first child, due in
 early November.  "I'm just hoping that the race comes off as
 scheduled -- no rainouts allowed!" Kurt says with a grin.

     A lot can change in nine months.  Kurt Johnson gained a
 season of experience as a professional racer -- and he's about to
 begin a new career as a father.