NHRA Pre Race: ACDelco Racing team sets plans for strong showing in return to Maple
Grove
Sugar Hill, Ga., October 6, 2004 - Throughout the course of the 23-race
POWERade Drag Racing season, teams encounter a variety of atmospheric
and track conditions. As part of their race routine, crews keep
detailed notes on every run made, creating an invaluable source of
reference material for future events. With a few short days between
races, this documentation will be crucial for Kurt Johnson and the
ACDelco Racing team as they prepare their Pro Stock Cavalier for this
weekend's rescheduled Lucas Oil Nationals in Reading, PA.
"The conditions we should be facing this weekend in Reading will be
similar to what we faced earlier in the year, and not quite as extreme
as we saw in Chicago," detailed Johnson. "Therefore, we will look at
our notes from the beginning of the year, like Gainesville, where we had
the top speed of the event, to see how we should set up our ACDelco
Cavalier. That should give us a good baseline for the first qualifying
session on Friday, and we'll fine tune it from there."
This event will bring to a close a hectic period that saw the
quarter-mile set racing on four consecutive weekends after the initial
race at Maple Grove Raceway was postponed due to heavy rain. Having
traveled to Texas and Illinois before returning to the Keystone State,
teams have had precious little time to prepare their race cars for
competition. Despite the tight schedule, Johnson and crew are confident
of being ready to contend when racing resumes on Friday.
"With four races in as many weeks, we've had a minimal amount of time to
work on things," said Johnson. "Naturally, our first priority is
performing the normal between-race maintenance. After that, we squeeze
in as much research and development as time allows. However, it's the
same situation for everyone, so it is our job to make sure we make the
best of the time available.
"We're looking forward to getting back to Maple Grove and letting the
clutch out. We have three races left in the season, and want to make
the most of the opportunities available. We'll have our ACDelco
Cavalier ready to run right off the trailer, and do whatever we can to
have nice, long day on Sunday."
Facts on Kurt Johnson and the ACDelco Racing Team entering the
Lucas Oil Nationals:
* KJ Runs Well at Reading: This will be Kurt's 12th appearance at
Maple Grove Raceway, where he has three wins in nine starts, and an 17-9
elimination round record.
* Winning percentage: Kurt's .645 elimination round winning
percentage (372-207) ranks 10th among all active NHRA professional
drivers.
* National event wins: Kurt's 28 national event victories ties him
for 14th on the all-time NHRA professional win list, and tie him for
fourth on the all-time Pro Stock win list. Kurt's most recent win came
at this year's Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals in Phoenix, AZ.
* Career best elapsed time: 6.716 seconds, Englishtown, NJ. 2003
* Career best top speed: 206.61 mph, Englishtown, NJ. 2003
Event schedule:
Qualifying: Friday, October 8: Two
sessions at 1:30 & 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 9: Two sessions
at 11:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.
Eliminations: Sunday, October 10:
Pre-race ceremonies and driver's
introduction start at 10:00 a.m.,
followed by the first round of eliminations at 11:00 a.m.
TV Schedule:
Final Eliminations Coverage:
Sunday, October 17:
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
NHRA2Day:
Sunday, October 10:
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon (ESPN2)
(Note: All TV times are Eastern. Please check your local listings for
updated air times, as they are subject to change.)
