Johnson Grabs Provisional Second at Englishtown
Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals Old Bridge Township Raceway Park Englishtown, N.J. Qualifying Notes & Quotes ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (May 16, 2003) Mopar NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series drivers completed the first day of qualifying for the K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Rain moved into the area and washed out the second round of qualifying, but not before all four of Mopar¹s factory backed Pro Stock entries made it into the provisional field. Darrell Alderman, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Johnson & Johnson Racing Hometown: Morehead, Ky. Age: 53 Current Weekend Best Qualifying Time: 6.751 seconds Current Weekend Best Speed: 204.48 mph (Career Best) Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 10th Notes: Darrell Alderman maneuvered his Mopar-backed Dodge Neon R/T to the 10th-qualifed position with a 6.751-second elapsed time at 204.48 mph a career best. The three-time POWERade Pro Stock World Champion talked about his day. ³We didn¹t make a real good run out there,² said Alderman, who has won three times at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. ³We shook pretty hard and the car moved to the right. It¹s frustrating because we could have run as well as Allen and been in the top half of the field.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: 6.724 seconds (Career Best) Current Weekend Best Speed: 204.76 mph (Ties Career Best) Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 2nd Notes: Mopar¹s Allen Johnson barely missed grabbing the top slot with a career-best elapsed time of 6.724 seconds. His Dodge Neon R/T fell shy of No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson, tomorrow¹s round one King Demon Crown opponent, by a scant one thousandth of a second. Johnson also tied his career-best top speed of 204.76 mph, matching his speed set at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway Park to open the 2003 season. ³We made a nice run on that one,² Johnson said. ³The thing is, and this is what were excited about, is the fact that we could have run quicker. It shook a little bit at the top end. We found some horsepower over the break and I think we¹ll see that this weekend.² Larry Morgan, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Larry Morgan Racing Hometown: Newark, Ohio Age: 48 Current Weekend Best Qualifying Time: 6.777 seconds (Career Best) Current Weekend Best Speed: 203.34 mph (Career Best) Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 12th NOTES: Larry Morgan made his best qualifying pass of the season, logging a career-best 6.777-second elapsed time at 203.34 mph also a career best. The Newark, Ohio resident, spoke of his provisional 12th-qualifying spot. ³We¹re not there yet but that was pretty good,² Morgan said. ³We need to change some things in clutch department, and some other things, but we¹re certainly off to a nice start to the weekend.² Gene Wilson, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T Larry Morgan Racing Hometown: Adairsville, Ga. Age: 30 Current Weekend Best Qualifying Time: 6.750 seconds (Career Best) Current Weekend Best Speed: 204.98 mph (Career Best) Current Weekend Qualifying Position: 9th NOTES: Gene Wilson notched a little history for the new Dodge Stratus R/T Pro Stock entry. The 2002 NHRA Rookie of the Year recorded a career-best elapsed time of 6.750 seconds at a career best speed of 204.98 mph. It was both the quickest and fastest pass ever recorded by the Stratus R/T. ³That was a nice run,² Wilson said. ³We really stepped up to the plate today and it feels pretty good. The guys have worked really hard to get us back to where we need to be. The Stratus felt very smooth too and the track is well suited for this car.² -Mopar.com-