Kurt Chronicles: Seattle Edition

For Release: July 25, 2001
Contact: Rick Voegelin
rickvoegelin@compuserve.com
831-761-2201


THE KURT CHRONICLES: Kurt Johnson ACDelco News & Notes for the Prolong
Super Lubricants Northwest NHRA Nationals, Seattle, July 27-29


KURT PICKS UP SPEED ON RUN TO SEATTLE

    It's literally all downhill from here for Kurt Johnson and his
ACDelco Cavalier Pro Stock team. After a runner-up finish to his father
Warren at mile-high Bandimere Speedway in Denver on Sunday, K.J. and
company are coasting to the Washington coastline for the Prolong Super
Lubricants Northwest NHRA Nationals at evergreen Seattle International
Raceway this weekend.

    A dynamometer measures horsepower and a barometer records
atmospheric pressure, but the only way to gauge a race team's momentum is
by its performance. With a semifinal finish in Pomona on July 7 and a
runner-up showing at the Mile-High Nationals last week, Johnson has clearly
recovered from his midseason slump.

    Johnson's last loss in a final round came at the 1999 Fram
Autolite Nationals in Sonoma, Calif. Since then he enjoyed a perfect 7-0
final-round record over a span of nearly two years - until he faced his dad
in Denver. Kurt had an unobstructed view of Warren's record-setting 86th
career victory as he trailed his father across the finish line by .016
seconds.

    "Dad made drag racing history," Kurt noted. "Too bad it was at
my expense!"

    Kurt will have to cope with vastly different conditions in Washington
this weekend. The thin air at Bandimere makes horsepower elusive for the
Pro Stock contingent, while the oxygen-rich atmosphere of verdant Seattle
International Raceway acts like a supercharger for a naturally aspirated
engine. While Bandimere has more bite than a mountain lion, Seattle is
notorious for the undulations in its unfavored left lane.

    "Seattle's starting line is phenomenal, but the back half is a
bumpy ride," Johnson noted. "We'll have to crank up the rear spoiler to
keep the car hooked up going over the speed bumps.

    "The tires we're running this year have the same construction that
Richie Stevens used last year when he won in Seattle," Kurt explained.
"They're less susceptible to tire shake."

    Seattle was the site of Johnson's first national event victory in
his rookie season in 1993. K.J. defeated his father for the first time in
national event competition with a holeshot in the semifinal round, then
beat Mark Pawuk in the money round. He won again at SIR in 1999 over Jim
Yates and finished as runner-up twice (in 1996 to Mike Edwards and in 1998
to W.J.).

    Warren didn't tally his first NHRA victory until he was 39 years
old. Kurt, 38, already has 22 national event trophies in his collection. As
W.J. observed, records are meant to be broken - and if K.J. can maintain
his winning pace, he could be the driver who keeps the record for Pro
Stock victories in the Johnson family.

KURT JOHNSON'S NORTHWEST NHRA NATIONALS RECORD

Year  Qual.  Result
1993    4    Winner (over Pawuk)
1994    7    Second Round
1995    5    Semi Final
1996    6    Runner-up (to Edwards)
1997    1    Semi Final
1998    3    Runner-up (to W. Johnson)
1999    2    Winner (over Yates)
2000    2    Semi Final

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  E-mail from: Rick Voegelin, 25-Jul-2001