NHRA Kurt Johnson Pre Race: KJ Looks for Familiarity to Breed
Competitiveness in Atlanta
Knowledge and experience will be ACDelco crew's primary weapons in
Georgia
Sugar Hill, Ga., May 9, 2005 - At the NHRA's most recent race in
Bristol, TN, Pro Stock standout Kurt Johnson and his crew faced a
variety of challenges. They had completed their revolutionary new
ACDelco Cobalt only days before the event, resulting in minimal testing
time beforehand, conditions that had forced other competitors to miss
the new Chevrolet model's scheduled debut. In addition, rains limited
qualifying to only one session on Saturday.
However, even with the limited experience with their race car and a
tricky racetrack, Johnson's team responded, finishing third in
qualifying and on race day, outperforming even those who had elected to
us their older, proven race cars. Having put this stern test behind
them, the ACDelco crew turned their attention towards preparing for this
weekend's Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Atlanta, GA,
starting with a two-day test session at Atlanta Dragway immediately
following the last race.
"Our goal in testing was rather simple - to gain additional knowledge on
this ACDelco Cobalt," said Johnson. "We made quite a few runs, some
good and some bad, and tried a variety of things. It's hard to say just
how successful we were, because we had to deal with a few issues that
cropped up during the test.
"The good part is that with every pass we accumulated more data on this
new car. It's all part of the process of sorting out a new race car.
We really won't know how effective we were until we let the clutch out
on Friday, but I suspect we'll be just fine."
With only a handful of runs in their notebook, Johnson's close-knit crew
will have to rely on their years of experience under varying conditions
to make the necessary adjustments to their still unfamiliar chassis.
Aiding in their cause will be the location of this weekend's race.
Located just over a half-hour's drive from their shop in Sugar Hill,
Atlanta Dragway has been the team's primary test facility for many
years, although its proximity remains its prime advantage.
"As often as everyone else tests in Commerce, I wouldn't say we have a
home field advantage, other than some extra fans in the stands," stated
Johnson. "Besides, Atlanta Dragway is not a good track to test on,
because it is prepared so differently for a national event. This past
week, however, the track was pretty good, so hopefully we gathered some
valuable information. The cooler temperatures we had made for ideal
conditions. Of course, the forecast is calling for much warmer
temperatures this weekend, reducing the effectiveness of the data
collected.
"At this point, we will use anything we can get. This ACDelco Cobalt is
radically different from its predecessor, so we are limited in the
tuning information we can use from the last car, using it more as a
guideline. Fortunately, after one race, the new car has already shown
the potential of being very fast, so it's up to us to quickly determine
its tuning window, which will allow us to adapt to the conditions.
Right now, our main concern will be making sure the car goes straight,
and until we get that trophy, it will be just another tool we need to
keep working on.
"As always, it's just a matter of having enough bodies in the shop and
hours in the day to get it all done. That's the biggest benefit of
having a home race. We're able to spend more time at the shop getting
ready, and by staying at home, you're more refreshed. It definitely
helps.
"We feel that we'll be putting this ACDelco Cobalt in the winner's
circle pretty soon. It's also been a long time since I last won in
Atlanta in 1996, so taking care of both this weekend works just fine for
me."
Notes on Kurt Johnson and the ACDelco Cobalt Racing team entering
The Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals:
* KJ feels right at home in Atlanta: This will be Kurt's
thirteenth appearance at Atlanta Dragway, where he has one win (in 1996)
in three final round appearances, and a 191 elimination round record for
a .633 round win percentage.
* ACDelco Cobalt, Take Two: This will be KJ's second race with
his radically new ACDelco Cobalt. In his first race two weeks ago in
Bristol, he made NHRA history by making the first start and elimination
round wins for the new Chevy Pro Stocker.
* One year ago: Kurt qualified thirteenth with an elapsed time
of 6.832 seconds and a top speed of 202.18 mph and defeated former
champions Jeg Coughlin and Darrell Alderman in advancing to the
semi-finals.
* Career Best Elapsed Time: 6.671 sec., Gainesville, FL, 3/20/05
* Career best top speed: 207.13 mph, Gainesville, FL, 3/20/05
Event Schedule:
Friday May 13 - Two qualifying sessions at 3:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 14 - Two qualifying sessions at 11:30 a.m. &
2:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 15 - Pre-race ceremonies
begin at 10:00 a.m. followed by
the first
round of eliminations at 11:00 a.m.
Television Schedule:
Qualifying: Saturday, May 14 -
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Eliminations: Sunday, May 15 -
7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
(Repeat) Monday, May 16 -
2:00 - 3:30 a.m.
NHRA2Day: Sunday, May 15 -
11:30 a.m. - 12 noon
(Please consult your local listings for exact times, as the schedule is
subject to change.)
