NHRA Saturday: Warren Johnson Captures the No. 1 position in Bristol

Final Qualifying Results

Warren Johnson Captures the No. 1 position in Bristol

Event:  Third Annual Mac Tools NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Location:   Bristol Dragway
                  Bristol, TN
Day/Date:  Saturday April 26, 2003 

Although inclement weather threatened to be the dominant story at Bristol 
Dragway on Saturday, by the end of qualifying, Warren Johnson and the GM 
Performance Parts Grand Am had reclaimed their place in the headlines.  
Although the first round ran as scheduled, a mid-afternoon rainstorm delayed 
the final session by nearly four hours, providing the naturally aspirated Pro 
Stock division with outstanding conditions.

As a result, fans were treated to an exciting round, producing wholesale 
changes in Sunday's starting line-up.  However, running in the final pair, 
Johnson blasted down the Tennessee quarter-mile in 6.862 seconds with a top 
speed of 200.62 mph to regain the top spot and earn the 129th No. 1 
qualifying position of his career, which leads all professional categories.   


Ironically, Johnson's initial assessment of the racing surface in the moments 
before his last run did not lead to believe there would be such a drastic 
improvement throughout the category.

"Every one in Pro Stock was concerned when we evaluated the left lane before 
the last session, because we were unsure if the Pro Mods that ran just ahead 
of us would be able to put down enough rubber, but fortunately it came 
around.    However, about one fourth of the way through the session, the 
times started picking up, which gave us our opportunity.

"With the numbers that were being posted, I was a little concerned about 
losing lane choice, but things worked out in our GM Performance Parts Grand 
Am's favor.  Besides, it was a great show for the fans, which is good for our 
sport, and ultimately good for us.

"We're looking at completely different weather conditions for tomorrow, so 
everyone's going to be checking their notes looking for a tune-up to match. 
We'll have to wait and see what happens, but it should be quite interesting. 
"