NHRA Warren Johnson Pre Race: It's a Marriage Made in
Horsepower Heaven: The Professor & The GTO
Sugar Hill, Ga., August 9, 2005 -Two automotive legends will join forces
this weekend, as six-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson will
introduce his new GM Performance Parts Pontiac GTO at the Lucas Oil
Nationals in Brainerd, MN. It is the latest of numerous nameplates "The
Professor" has campaigned throughout his illustrious 32-year Pro Stock
career, with most having made at least one trip to the winner's circle
and all being products of General Motors.
Viewing these varied vehicles as nothing more than tools of the trade,
Johnson attaches no emotional value to the rides that have carried him
to a class-leading 95 national event wins. However, looking at the
preliminary numbers on his latest mount, he is looking forward to
getting it out on the race track.
"I believe I've raced almost everything that General Motors has had to
offer in Pro Stock over the years, from Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles to
the Pontiacs I use today," stated Johnson. "The only exceptions are
the one-off Cadillac Eldorado that raced in Gainesville years ago, and
the Buick that Buddy Ingersoll tried to run. Fortunately, I was able to
win in just about all of them, a trend we plan to continue with this new
GM Performance Parts GTO.
"Overall, it has the same aero numbers as the Cutlass, which was a car
that was way ahead of its time in terms of its aerodynamic balance.
However, the new car has less drag and a smaller frontal area, so it
takes significantly less power to push it through the air. Given those
numbers, I look for our GTO to be an extremely fast race car.
"Racing a body style that is aerodynamically competitive will help our
program from two aspects. First we will have the confidence of being in
the most competitive car aero-wise. In addition, we will be racing new
tubing, which invariably goes faster. Any way you look at it, it's all
good."
Despite racing with an entirely new car, Johnson's approach to this
weekend's event remains the same. With only eight races left and in the
thick of the championship battle, he knows it is vital to earn as many
points as possible. Fortunately, the POWERade Drag Racing Series will be
racing a track quite familiar to "The Professor". Located in his native
state of Minnesota, WJ will be making his 24th Pro Stock appearance at
Brainerd International Raceway, having competed in every NHRA national
event held there. With four wins in five final round appearances, he
certainly knows his way to the winner's circle, a trip he hopes to
repeat this weekend.
"I really don't anticipate much of a learning curve with this new car as
people might expect," said Johnson. "With the GTO having identical
numbers to the Cutlass, we should be able to refer to our notes from
back then in terms of the down force and weight distribution. In
addition, the general layout of the chassis is the same as the Grand Am
we had been running throughout the year, making the transition somewhat
easier."
"Our game plan remains the same as it has been all season, which has
obviously been pretty effective. Simply put, we'll make sure our
equipment's performance is as good as we can make it, and do whatever we
can to win races and the championship.
"The racing surface at Brainerd has gone through so many changes due to
the severity of the winters in that part of the country that it's almost
like racing on a completely different track every year. The starting
line has been redone three or four times since I first raced there in
1982, but the back half has only been resurfaced once. Normally, that
would play in our favor, but with the track elevation at over 1,000
feet, we won't have as much power, which makes it easier to adapt to the
racetrack. Even so, we know we have the parts in place to make this a
very successful debut for the GM Performance Parts GTO, and plan to put
them all together this weekend."
Notes on Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts Pontiac GTO Racing
team entering the
Lucas Oil Nationals:
* WJ is the man in Minnesota: This will be Warren's 24th NHRA
appearance at Brainerd International Raceway, where he has four wins in
five final round appearances, which is tied with Bruce Allen and Bob
Glidden for the most among Pro Stock drivers. In addition, WJ has been
the No. 1 qualifier four times in Minnesota, with only two starts
outside the top half of the field. In his 22 previous BIR starts, WJ has
complied a 41-18 elimination round record for a .695 win percentage.
* No. 1 in National event wins: WJ's 95 national event victories
are the most ever in the history of the Pro Stock division and place him
second on the all-time NHRA win list. His most recent win came last
month at the Mile-High Nationals in Denver, CO.
* Career Best Elapsed Time: 6.679 seconds, Gainesville, FL,
3/20/05
* Career best top speed: 207.50 mph, Englishtown, NJ, 6/19/05
Event Schedule:
Friday, August 12 - Two qualifying
sessions at 2:30 & 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 13 - Two qualifying sessions
at 10:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 14 - 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, August 13 -
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
(Repeat) Sunday, August 14 -
12:30 - 2:30 a.m.
Eliminations: Sunday, August 14 -
7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
(Repeat) Monday, August 15 -
2:30 - 4:30 a.m.
NHRA2Day: Sunday, August 14 -
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon
(Please consult your local listings for exact times, as the schedule is
subject to change.)
