NHRA: Warren Report: Englishtown Edition
18 May 2000
Warren Johnson GM Goodwrench Service Plus News & Notes for the Matco
Tools Spring SuperNationals and Castrol Nationals
NEXT RACES:
Matco Tools Spring SuperNationals, May 19-21, Englishtown, N.J.
TV: ESPN2, May 21, 9:30-11:30 p.m. (ET)
Castrol Nationals, May 26-28, Dallas
TV: TNN, May 28, 4:30-6 p.m. (ET/PT)
THREE WEEKS, THREE RACES
Memorial Day traditionally signals the start of vacation season, but the
next three weeks will offer little time for relaxation for Warren Johnson
and his GM Goodwrench Service Plus team. They will undertake a
cross-country trek that will see them racing in New Jersey, Texas, and
Illinois on successive weekends.
W.J. actually has five races on his itinerary. In addition to
three national events in three weeks, he will also compete in a Pro
Stock invitational race in Budds Creek, Md., and the Holley Pro Stock
Dominator Duel, a special "race within a race" held in conjunction with the
Matco Tools Spring SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.
This intense activity may be just the antidote for Warren's
ailing championship aspirations. Johnson suffered first-round losses in his
last three starts - the longest run of early exits since he lost in the
first round at four successive events in 1996 (Phoenix, Gainesville,
Houston, and Atlanta).
"We're in the process of making sure that all of our engines are
fresh," Warren reported. "Teams with deep resources and good crews will
have an advantage in this stretch, especially when you we consider how hard
we have to push every component now to win. Any failure can put you
squarely behind the eight ball.
"We'll test an interim version of the new Hoosier tires at Budds Creek
on Wednesday night before we go to Englishtown." Johnson reported. "We hope
to have the real race tires ready for Dallas. At that point I think you'll
see a significant improvement in our performance."
Johnson scored the first of his 80 career NHRA victories at Old
Bridge Township Raceway Park in 1982. As he celebrates his Silver
Anniversary Season in 2000, he recalled that first visit to the NHRA
winner's circle.
"I think I felt relief more than anything else!" he confided. "I'd
been racing on the NHRA tour since 1975, so that first national event
victory was a long time coming.
"I had run several match races in Englishtown and I knew
the characteristics of the track very well. I went out to a pile of tires
behind the shop and dug out the oldest, most weatherbeaten pair of
Firestones I could find. Lo and behold, my car went right down the track on
every run because those tires were the perfect match for the conditions. I
wish we were one week ahead on our Hoosier tire program, because I think we
have a tire design in the works that would be excellent on the Englishtown
track - just like I had in '82!"
DALLAS DOMINATOR
Billy Meyer built the Texas Motorplex, but Warren Johnson virtually owns
the all-concrete quarter-mile near Dallas. In 16 NHRA national events at
the Motorplex, Johnson has notched five victories and ten final-round
appearances. He's won the last three races at the Motorplex, and has
qualified in the No. 1 spot 11 times. He defeated Jim Yates in the final
rounds of the 1998 and 1999 Castrol Nationals.
"One of the reasons that we've done well at the Motorplex is because
it's a driver's track," Johnson explained. "The groove is very narrow, and
some guys end up in trouble. The traction is usually excellent, but you
have to keep the car between the walls.
"The conditions on Memorial Day weekend will be entirely different
than when we raced there in mid-April last year. There's a good chance it's
going to be hot, and that will affect the track. The entire racing surface
is concrete, so it isn't as susceptible to heat as asphalt - but with
direct sunlight, it may be a little precarious."
After back-to-back races in Englishtown and Dallas, W.J.'s GM
Goodwrench Service Plus rig will head straight to Chicagoland for the
Prestone Route 66 Nationals.
THE WAY IT WAS
Englishtown was the site of one of Warren's rare racing mishaps. In 1976,
he ran off the end of the track, damaging the fiberglass front end of his
Pro Stock Camaro.
"I pulled the parachute release, and the 'chute failed to open,"
Johnson remembered. "I stood on the brakes, and the master cylinder failed.
At that point, there was no way to stop that car.
"I had two alternatives - go left into the guardrail or go right over
a hill and between two fences. I chose to go right. The space between the
fence posts was about three inches wider than the car. I threaded the
needle on that one and ended up on the frontage road alongside the track.
We gathered up the parts and towed the car back to the scale to be weighed
because I set the speed record on that run."
LAST RACES:
Moto1.net NHRA Nationals presented by Chevrolet, April 30, Richmond, Va.
Qualified: No. 1 at 6.838/201.28 mph
Finished: Lost in first round to Rickie Smith
Advance Auto Parts NHRA Southern Nationals, May 7, Atlanta
Qualified: No. 1 at 6.907/200.14 mph
Finished: Lost in first round to Ron Krisher
POINTS RACE:
(After 7 of 23 events)
Driver Wins Points
1. Jeg Coughlin Jr. 6 755
2. Warren Johnson 1 466
3. Jim Yates 0 427
4. Mark Pawuk 0 380
5. Troy Coughlin 0 377