NHRA Friday: KJ Slots Second in Denver

Event: 24th annual Mile High Nationals
Location:  Bandimere Speedway
       Morrison, CO
Day/Date: Friday July 18, 2003 

After uncharacteristically qualifying in the bottom half of the field at the last two races, Kurt Johnson and the ACDelco crew went to work on their race car.   As part of their preparation for this weekend's Mile-High Nationals in Denver, they went over their Cavalier from nose to tail, replacing any part they deemed suspect.

The team's hard work was rewarded during Friday's qualifying sessions, as Johnson was among the quickest and fastest cars on each run.  After opening with a 7.300-second effort on his first attempt, K.J. came back in the evening to post a 7.230-second elapsed time with a top speed of 190.38 mph to place second midway through qualifying.  

"We're pretty pleased with our ACDelco Cavalier.  For the last few races, it did not want to go straight, so we did some work to it over the last few weeks, replacing several pieces in the rear suspension, and today we had two perfect runs, straight as a string.  

"We may not have run a 7.21 (the time of current No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson), but we certainly had the potential to.  Right now, we're happy to be number two - we were tired of qualifying in the bottom half of the field on our last attempt, as we did at the last two races.   

"We'll keep fine-tuning it tomorrow.  It might be quicker in the morning, so we could still have a shot at the top spot. "