NHRA Saturday: Kurt Johnson's Pursuit of a Topeka Win Will Start from Second

Contact: Jon G. Knapp
									TMG Sports Marketing 
									Phone: (704) 662-3121
									jgknapp@tmgsports.net
Final Qualifying Results					

Kurt Johnson's Pursuit of a Topeka Win Will Start from Second

Event: 15th annual NHRA O'Reilly Summer Nationals
Location:  Heartland Park Topeka
       Topeka, KS
Day/Date: Saturday May 24, 2003 

Weather played a significant role during the second day of qualifying for the NHRA O'Reilly Summer Nationals.  After rain delayed the morning session by several hours, the changes in atmospheric conditions prevented any changes in the Pro Stock field for Sunday's final eliminations. 

With his ACDelco Cavalier solidly in the second position based on his 6.838-second, 201.76 mph pass from Friday evening, Kurt Johnson used his two runs on Saturday to fine-tune his set up for race day.

"I originally thought we'd have a shot at the top spot in the early session, but by the time we ran, there was just too much water in air.  In the first session, the tires bit us, so we changed the carburetors and the timing, and came back to run 6.89 on that last pass.  We're not totally displeased with that performance, but since the quicker cars went 6.87, that's where we need to be, so we're working on it for tomorrow.   

"Our ACDelco Cavalier is still running the big speeds, and it's great on the rest of the run, but from the sixty foot to the three thirty foot mark, our competition is putting a hundredth on us, which we can't afford.  We're really working on improving our performance in the first part of the race track right now.  When we get that straightened out, we'll be in a great position for race day."

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