NHRA Saturday: KJ Steps Up, Qualifies Fourth at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals

Final Qualifying Results		

KJ Steps Up, Qualifies Fourth at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals


Event: 18th annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals 
Location:  Texas Motorplex
       Ennis, TX
Day/Date: Saturday October 11, 2003

Kurt Johnson had several issues to address entering the second day of the Lucas Oil Nationals in Ennis, TX.  First, there was a recurring clutch problem, which had reappeared during his second attempt on Friday evening.  Second, sitting sixth on Saturday morning, Johnson realized improvement would be necessary in order to maintain his position in the top half of Sunday's final eliminations ladder.

Any doubts were quickly allayed, however, as on his first run on Saturday morning, Johnson's ACDelco Cavalier blasted down the Texas Motorplex quarter-mile in 6.843 seconds with a top speed of 202.70 mph.   This was the second best of the session, and eventually earned Johnson the fourth starting position.  KJ closed his qualifying effort with a representative 6.853-second attempt, as he looked to find the proper combination for race day.

"I was impressed by our first run and a little upset by the second one.  The ACDelco Cavalier felt good and ran good speed all day. We fixed our clutch problem from yesterday, and got it as tight as a nail on a board.  We're happy to put that behind us.  I also tuned up my lights, with an .012 reaction time on my last run.  That will help me sleep a little better tonight.   

"We still have some work to do, however.  On this afternoon's run, it hooked a hard left and got out of the groove and into the marbles.  For some reason, our car has been pulling to the left lately. That's something we'll have to address for tomorrow.  We're going to come out swinging and see what we can do, putting ourselves in a position to win this thing."