Johnson & Alderman Set the Tone for Mopar
Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series 34th Annual Mac Tools Gatornationals Gainesville Raceway Gainesville, Florida Qualifying Notes & Quotes GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 14, 2003) Mopar NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series drivers completed the first day of qualifying for the Mac Tools Gatornationals at the historic Gainesville Raceway. Darrell Alderman, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Johnson & Johnson Racing Hometown: Morehead, Ky. Age: 53 Current Weekend Best Qualifying Time: 6.823 seconds Current Weekend Best Speed: 201.29 mph Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 6th ³We went 6.82 in the left and 6.83 in the right. Which shows there is a little bit of difference in the left and the right lane. We slowed down a little in our (60 foot times) in the right and we slowed a little bit in our elapsed time. We¹ll tune her up and get back over in that left lane tomorrow. ³We really tried some different stuff with the carburetors on that last run. We¹re going to have to read the plugs and see what we have to do.² Allen Johnson, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Johnson & Johnson Racing Hometown: Greeneville, Tenn. Age: 43 Current Weekend Best Qualifying Time: 6.820 seconds Current Weekend Best Speed: 202.38 mph Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 4th ³We stepped it up on that last run. The track out there is awesome and we¹re using a lot of gear out there. We¹re sneaking up on it one little step at a time. ³I¹m not positive there is any difference in the lanes out there. Usually every track you go to the left lane is a little quicker in the 60-foot area. I don¹t know whether its how they set the clock up or what. I didn¹t see a thing wrong with the right lane though.² NOTES: Allen Johnson is currently the fourth-fastest Pro Stock car on the weekend Larry Morgan, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Larry Morgan Racing Hometown: Newark, Ohio Age: 48 Current Weekend Best Qualifying Time: 6.917 seconds Current Weekend Best Speed: 199.73 mph Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 33rd Gene Wilson, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T Larry Morgan Racing Hometown: Canton, Ga. Age: 30 Current Weekend Best Qualifying Time: 6.881 seconds Current Weekend Best Speed: 200.80 mph Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 29th ³Car was really nice on that last run. It went down the track nice and straight. We made a pretty good run considering the conditions, since they are less than favorable right now. We¹re thinking a 6.88 is a fairly strong run for us right now because the weather has been throwing us a curveball. We have a lot of humidity and its very unpredictable. We¹re expecting to be rained out at any time. We¹re trying to tune the car up to what we think is coming. We¹ll just do the best we can with that. ³We need to take a little clutch out of it because it¹s a little tight down low. We need to change our gear ratios as well, and put a little more top gear into it. We need to leave at 100 rpm¹s higher and that should put us close to where we need to be.² -Mopar.com- For more information, contact: David Harris, Cox Marketing Group Public Relations Manager Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series davidh@coxmarketinggroup.com (704) 799-2114 office (704) 756-9301 - mobile Mike Mooney, Cox Marketing Group Account Manager Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series mikem@coxmarketinggroup.com (704) 799-2114 office (704) 906-5818 mobile