NHRA: Kurt Chronicles: Topeka/Memphis Edition

25 September 2000
THE KURT CHRONICLES: TOPEKA/MEMPHIS EDITION

Kurt Johnson ACDelco News & Notes for the Advance Auto Parts Nationals
and AutoZone Nationals

THE DRIVE FOR FIVE

Kurt Johnson reached a milestone with his fourth victory of the year at
the Keystone Nationals in Reading, Pa., on September 17. With a
final-round triumph over his father, K.J. eclipsed his personal-best record
of three victories in a season, a mark he achieved in 1993, 1997, and 1999.
Kurt is keen to add to that total in the five races remaining on the NHRA
schedule.

    "My goal is to win them all," Kurt said. "Nine wins has a nice ring to
it. The competition's tough, but we're going to try to keep on winning."

    Kurt and his ACDelco team have come on strong in the second half of
the season. In the first 11 races, Johnson did not advance past the
semi-final round; at midseason he was mired in sixth place in the Winston
championship. Since then he's won four national events, won 20 rounds of
eliminations, and climbed to second in the championship standings.

    Johnson's next opportunity to add to his trophy collection will be at
the Advance Auto Parts Nationals in Topeka, Kansas, on September 29-October
1. A victory at Heartland Park would indeed be an achievement for K.J. In
12 career starts at the Kansas track, he has yet to reach the final round.

    "I definitely plan to do better in Topeka than I have in the
past," Johnson laughed. "The best result I've had there was in 1993 when I
crashed in qualifying, borrowed a car, and went to the semi-finals.

    "Topeka is a track I've just never been able to get a handle on,"
Kurt conceded. "The new surface should be an equalizer. Last year we
learned some things about weight distribution, so if the car likes the same
setup this time, we should run fast right off the bat."

A FAMILY AFFAIR

The final round of the Keystone Nationals marked the 40th time in
eight seasons that Kurt has raced his father. Kurt's victory raised his
record against Warren to 3-9 in final rounds and 12-28 overall.

    "Dad was happy to have two cars from Warren Johnson Enterprises in
the final," Kurt commented. "There wasn't a lot of pressure. We just went
out there and raced."

KURT VS. WARREN SCORE CARD
                Total Races    Kurt Wins    Warren Wins
Overall             40             12           28
Final Rounds        12              3            9
2000 Season          4              2            2

MEMPHIS MUSINGS

    Kurt also squared off with Warren in the final round of the
AutoZone Nationals in Memphis in 1998, losing to his famous father. The
pair will return to Memphis Motorsports Park on October 6-8 for this year's
edition of the AutoZone Nationals.

    "The Memphis track has been very good in the last few years years,"
Kurt recalled. "I was the No. 1 qualifier there in '97, was runner-up to
Dad in '98, and ran 6.90s there last year. As long as I don't have to race
anyone named Elvis, I think we'll be all right in Memphis."

STAYIN' ALIVE

The good news is that Kurt is second in the Winston points standings. The
bad news is that he's 363 points behind Jeg Coughlin Jr. That's a 19-round
deficit with 20 rounds of racing remaining on the schedule.

    "In Reading I took out the two drivers who were closest to me in
the points race, but realistically the championship is out of reach,"
Kurt conceded. "If you don't win the title, it doesn't really matter where
you finish. People remember who won the championship. I'm already thinking
about next season and what we can do to improve our program, but we still
want to win races this year for ACDelco, Chevrolet, and our other
sponsors."

NEXT RACES:
Advance Auto Parts Nationals, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, Topeka, Kan.
    TV: TNN, Oct. 1, 4:30-6 p.m. (ET)
AutoZone Nationals, Oct. 6-8, Memphis, Tenn.
    TV: Speedvision, Oct. 8, 5-6:30 p.m. (ET)

LAST RACES:
Matco Tools SuperNationals
    Englishtown, N.J., Sept. 9
    Qualified: No. 16
    Finished: Lost to Jeg Coughlin Jr. in first round.
Keystone Nationals
    Reading, Pa., Sept. 17
    Qualified: No. 9
    Finished: Winner; defeated Warren Johnson in final round.

POINTS RACE:
(After 18 of 23 events)
Driver               Wins    Points
1. Jeg Coughlin Jr.    8      1,592
2. Kurt Johnson        4      1,229
3. Ron Krisher         2      1,196
4. Warren Johnson      1      1,112
5. Troy Coughlin       0        926
(tie) Mark Pawuk       1        926