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NHRA: Warren Johnson Wins in Houston

31 October 2000


THE WARREN REPORT: Warren Johnson GM Goodwrench Service Plus Race Results
from the Matco Tools SuperNationals

QUICK RESULTS:
Qualified: 4th
Finished: Winner
Points: 3rd

JOHNSON RETURNS TO WINNING WAYS WITH HOUSTON VICTORY

HOUSTON - Warren Johnson broke a 17-race dry spell with a decisive victory
in Sunday's Matco Tools SuperNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Johnson
returned to the NHRA winner's circle for the first time since the
Gatornationals in March, defeating Brad Jeter in the final round to score
his second victory of the season and the 81st of his career.

    Johnson's GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac was the picture
of consistency in eliminations, running 6.917 in a first-round victory
over Robert Patrick, 6.906 (over Mark Pawuk), 6.912 (over Kurt Johnson) and
6.914 in the final. W.J. turned in the event's fastest speed at 200.00 mph
in his semi-final round victory over his son.

    "There is no such thing as a bad win or a good loss, and it's taken us
a while to get back here," said Johnson after his fourth career victory at
the fast Texas track. "It feels good to be at least to the point where
we're competitive.

    "As a team, we didn't make any drastic errors," Johnson noted. "We had
a combination that worked well in qualifying. It wasn't the fastest car
out there, but it was consistent, so we knew that by tweaking it a little
bit we'd be all right."

    Johnson's victory moved him to third in the championship race, 19
points behind Kurt and 30 ahead of Ron Krisher. With only two races
remaining on the schedule, Warren is already looking ahead to the 2001
season.

    "We're learning and experimenting," explained the Professor. "We have
just a couple of races left to experiment at a national event track, so
we're getting ready for next year."

    Johnson will race in the Lone Star state again next weekend, returning
to the Texas Motorplex near Dallas for the rain-delayed O'Reilly Fall
Nationals on November 3-4. 

WARREN JOHNSON RACE RESULTS:
Qualifying: Warren Johnson qualified No. 4 at 6.924/199.17.

Eliminations:
First Round: Warren Johnson (6.917/199.82) defeated Robert
Patrick (6.991/197.97)
Second Round: Warren Johnson (6.906/199.37) defeated Mark Pawuk
(6.944/198.50)
Semi-Final: Warren Johnson (6.912/200.00) defeated Kurt Johnson
(6.913/199.85)
Final Round: Warren Johnson (6.914/199.40) defeated Brad Jeter
(6.975/197.94)

Low ET: Ron Krisher, 6.901 seconds
Top Speed: Warren Johnson, 200.00 mph

POINTS RACE:
(After 21 of 23 events)
Driver                Wins    Points
1. Jeg Coughlin Jr.    10     1,858
2. Kurt Johnson         4     1,373
3. Warren Johnson       2     1,354
4. Ron Krisher          2     1,324
5. Mark Pawuk           1     1,106

NEXT RACE:
O'Reilly Fall Nationals, Nov. 3-4, Dallas (rescheduled from Oct. 20-22 due
to rain)