NHRA: Warren Rockets to 83rd Career Victory in Houston

HOUSTON, March 25, 2001 - Warren Johnson scored his second straight victory today at Houston Raceway Park and extended the Johnson family's winning streak to six consecutive races. Johnson dominated the O'Reilly Nationals, running the quickest e.t. in every round of eliminations. He defeated Mark Pawuk in the final round, 6.844 to 6.886, to capture his 83rd national event title.

W.J. had a near-perfect .411-second reaction time in the final against Pawuk. "I don't know who was in the car, but I'm going to hire him!" Johnson joked. "The Line-Loc wouldn't hold pressure so I went in at a dead idle. I had to hit the brake pedal twice to keep from rolling through the staging lights. As soon as I let the clutch out the car moved instantly."

Johnson was the No. 2 qualifier at 6.845/200.74 mph. He defeated his former crew chief Greg Anderson in the first round with a 6.830-second e.t., his quickest run of the day. He beat two-time champion Jim Yates in the second stanza, and then survived a close contest with local hero Bruce Allen in the semi-final round, 6.834 to 6.865.

"Bruce was racing in his home state, and he was psychologically prepared," Warren reported. "I knew that was going to be one of the tougher rounds - not that any of the rounds are easy. Mark Pawuk's also been running extremely well. When you get to the semi-finals, there is no room for error."

Warren started the Johnson clan's winning streak last October in Houston. Since then he and his son Kurt have monopolized the Pro Stock winner's circle, scoring six straight victories. W.J. notched his fifth win in six final-round appearances today at Houston Raceway Park.

"Race tracks that can handle a lot of power and are smooth tend to work in our favor," Warren explained. "We all have to get acclimated to the characteristics of these new race cars. They're different tools so we have to learn how to work with them."

Johnson will try to make it three wins in a row when the race for the Winston championship resumes in Las Vegas at the SummitRacing.com Nationals on April 5-8.

WARREN JOHNSON RACE RESULTS: Qualifying: Warren Johnson qualified No. 2 at 6.845/200.74 Eliminations: First Round: Warren Johnson (6.830/201.76)) defeated Greg Anderson (13.204/62.68) Second Round: Warren Johnson (6.832/201.25) defeated Jim Yates (6.870/200.53) Semi-Final: Warren Johnson (6.834/201.37) defeated Bruce Allen (6.856/200.62) Final Round: Warren Johnson (6.884/200.98) defeated Mark Pawuk (6.886/200.02)

Low ET: Warren Johnson, 6.830 seconds (track record) Top Speed: Kurt Johnson, 201.91 mph

POINTS RACE: (After 3 of 24 events) Driver Wins Points 1. Warren Johnson 2 310 2. Kurt Johnson 1 244 3. Mark Pawuk 0 199 4. Darrell Alderman 0 181 5. Bruce Allen 0 180

NEXT RACE: SummitRacing.com Nationals, April 5-8, Las Vegas TV: ESPN2, April 8, 8 - 10 p.m. (ET)