NHRA Pre Race: WJ Sees Added Preparation Paying Off in Pomona

POMONA, CAL., February 26, 2004 - There were two schools of thought among the professional racers in Pomona, CA following the postponement of last weekend's NHRA Winternationals.  Some, feeling the inclement weather would stay on the West Coast and prevent any on-track testing in either Phoenix or Las Vegas, flew home to work at their respective shops.  Others, believing the rain would continue eastward, headed to various drag strips and prepared to fine-tune their machines.

Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts Grand Am Racing team were among the latter group, heading to the Speedworld Motorplex in Phoenix, AZ.  It proved to be the right choice, as Johnson and crew were able to get in a productive few days, culminating with a best elapsed time of 6.849 seconds and a top speed of 202.91 mph.  This left "The Professor", who sat third after the lone qualifying session a week ago, feeling even better prepared heading into the resumption of the POWERade Drag Racing season opener.

 "Overall, things worked out pretty well," stated Johnson.  "We were able to test for a solid day and a half, which allowed us to work on a few things that we had not had time to try out before.  In addition, both the racing surface and atmospheric conditions at the Speedworld Motorplex turned out to be fairly close to what we'll experience this weekend in Pomona, so any gains we made with our GM Performance Parts Grand Am should translate directly into this weekend's performance.  

"I believe we found a couple hundredths (of a second) out in the desert, and this weekend in Pomona, we'll find out just how accurate we are."

Event schedule:
		Qualifying: 	Friday, February 27:		One session at 2:30 p.m.
					Saturday, February 28: 	Two sessions at 11:00 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.
	Eliminations:	Sunday, February 29:		First round of eliminations - 11:00 a.m.
TV Schedule:
Qualifying:			Saturday, February 28:	4:30 - 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Final Eliminations Coverage:	Sunday, February 29: 		10 p.m. - midnight (ESPN2)
	NHRA2Day:			Sunday, February 29:   	3:30 - 4:00 p.m. (ESPN2)

(Note: All TV times are Eastern and subject to change.  Please check your local listings for updated air times.)