NHRA Sunday: Warren Johnson Posts Semi-Final Finish in Seattle

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

Final Results
					
Warren Johnson Posts Semi-Final Finish in Seattle

Event: 16th annual Carquest Nationals
Location:  Pacific Raceways
       Kent, Washington
Day/Date: Sunday July 27, 2003 

After qualifying 12th for Sunday's final eliminations of the Carquest Nationals in Seattle, WA, Warren Johnson knew he had his work cut out for him.  Pacific Raceways is notorious for the disparity in its lanes, and Johnson would face Gene Wilson in the first round without the luxury of being able to choose his lane.  

However, this apparent disadvantage made little difference to Johnson.  First, he left the starting line one hundredth of a second ahead of his opponent thanks to a .016 reaction time, and then "The Professor" completed his lesson by powering his GM Performance Parts Grand Am down the quarter-mile in 6.808 seconds (the quickest elapsed time of eliminations) with a top speed of 203.00 mph to eliminate his young rival.  

Johnson then scored an equally important victory over Jeg Coughlin in the next round.  Coughlin is currently fourth in the NHRA's POWERade points standings, directly behind Johnson, and W.J.'s win extended his lead.  

This set the stage for another important meeting, as Johnson would face current points leader Greg Anderson.  Although Johnson made a valiant effort, posting a strong 6.851-second elapsed time with a top speed of 201.61 mph, it was not enough to overcome his rival's 6.840-second, 203.40 mph run.

"After starting behind the eight ball in qualifying, the GM Performance Parts team recovered nicely to make it to the semi-finals.  Certainly we would have preferred to go on even further, but we are continuing to learn what our Grand Am needs, with each pass providing valuable information.  

"We feel confident of making significant gains with this car in the near future.  Certainly, not having lane choice against Anderson didn't help, but we were fully capable of winning that round.  Developing this car further will go a long way towards further improving our chances of success in future encounters.

"We have some work to do in the next few days, but we will definitely be ready for Sonoma."


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