Warren Report: Columbus Edition
JOHNSON AIMS TO EXTEND QUALIFYING STREAK TO 300 STRAIGHT
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's been 16 long years since Warren Johnson took a day
off during an NHRA national event. If he qualifies his GM Performance Parts
Grand Am at this weekend's Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit
Racing, W.J. will extend his string of consecutive events to 300 -- the
longest qualifying streak in NHRA history.
"Qualifying is just part of the program," said Johnson, the defending
Pontiac Excitement Nationals champion. "If you're going to win, you first
have to qualify. My approach is to take first things first, and that means
getting in the show. If you don't accomplish that, you've wasted the
weekend."
Johnson has entered 396 of the 468 Pro Stock races in the NHRA record
book. The last DNQ (did not qualify) on his record was at the 1987
Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. A new car and incessant tire shake
teamed up to give W.J. an enforced vacation on race day. Johnson's streak
has been in jeopardy several times since then: He qualified 16th in
Brainerd, Minn., in 1989, and he made the field in the final session last
year in Las Vegas with a dramatic "hail Mary" qualifying run. During that
same period, he earned 111 of his 125 career No. 1 qualifying spots.
Given the intensity of the competition in Pro Stock this season,
Johnson regards his qualifying streak as perishable.
"It has never been tougher to qualify," he declared. "When I started
racing, Bob Glidden would qualify No. 1 with the No. 2 qualifier a tenth of
a second behind. From No. 2 to No. 16 would be another tenth and a half.
Now the Pro Stock class has reached the point that simply qualifying is a
accomplishment. The top eight cars are seldom separated by more than a few
thousandths of a second. We've had races this year with a spread of only
.025 seconds for 16 cars. Pro Stock is the most competitive racing on the
planet."
Johnson is one of only three Pro Stock drivers who have qualified for all
10 events contested this season. He foresees Friday's second session as the
key to extending his streak.
"Conditions are usually at their best on Friday night," noted Johnson, who
has qualified No. 1 eight times in Columbus. "At the last race in Joliet,
14 of the 16 qualifiers made their best run in that session. When it all
comes down to one pass, the pressure is intense."
Adding to the difficulty of the task is the perplexing nature of
National Trail Raceway.
"It's definitely a strange track," W.J. observed. "Brainerd (Minn.)
and Columbus are the two tracks where the numbers never seem to add up.
When you look at track elevation, the track surface and the atmospheric
conditions, it seems we're consistently a tenth of a second slower than we
think these cars should run. I don't know why -- maybe I'm better off not
knowing!"
Back-to-back victories in Columbus and Madison, Ill., last year proved
pivotal in W.J.'s championship season. Coming into this year's race, he
trails Jim Yates by 64 points in the POWERade standings.
"Repeating last season's performance in Columbus and Madison would
certainly help our cause, but right now the key is winning rounds," said
Johnson. "We'll be racing at tracks where there are many unknowns. We don't
know what to expect in St. Louis, Seattle and Sonoma, which all have new or
resurfaced tracks. We debuted our Haas chassis one year ago with a victory
in Columbus, and this particular design has proven to have a relatively
wide operating window. We've tested other chassis, but up to this point we
haven't found any that are quicker or more forgiving."
Johnson is methodical in his approach and relentless in his pursuit
of victory. These are the characteristics that can help W.J. reach
another milestone in his storied career this weekend in Columbus.
WARREN JOHNSON'S NATIONAL TRAIL RACEWAY RECORD
Year Qual. Result
1975 13 Semifinal
1976 2 Runner-up (to Booth)
1977 9 First Round
1978 1 Second Round
1979 14 Second Round
1981 14 Did not run
1982 4 Semifinal
1983 4 First Round
1984 1 Second Round
1985 3 Winner (over Allen)
1986 1 Runner-up (to Leal)
1987 3 First Round
1988 2 First Round
1989 3 Second Round
1990 2 Semifinal
1991 3 Runner-up (to Alderman)
1992 4 Second Round
1993 1 Winner (over K. Johnson)
1994 1 Second Round
1995 1 Runner-up (to Schmidt)
1996 3 Runner-up (to Harris)
1997 11 Second Round
1998 2 First Round
1999 1 Winner (over J. Coughlin)
2000 1 Second Round
2001 4 Winner (over Osborne)
