WJ's Wrap Sheet - Memphis Motorsports Park Edition
(Note: The following is sent as a supplement to the Warren Johnson
Memphis Pre Race release sent earlier, and serves to provide a look back
on WJ's career at Memphis Motorsports Park. We do have pictures
available upon request in JPEG format of WJ's 1988, 1989, 1991 & 1998
racecars. We thank you for your interest and support of Warren Johnson
and the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.)
Contact:
Jon Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing, Inc.
Ph: (704) 662-3121
jgknapp@tmgsports.net
WJ's Wrap Sheet -
Memphis Motorsports Park Edition
1. WJ's First Memphis Race - 1988
Race Car: 1988 ACDelco Oldsmobile Ciera GT
Performance: WJ Qualified Second, 7.447 seconds
Lost to Mark Pawuk
In Warren's Words:
"That Ciera was a short-term car we only used for part of the season in
1988. We went from the Firenza, which was a relatively narrow and short
car, with about a 100-inch wheelbase, to the Ciera in order to give the
car a better zip code to sit on. It worked halfway decent but the
aerodynamic qualities were not particularly great, so towards the latter
part of the season, we came out with our first Cutlass Supreme."
Notes of the time:
* This was the 113th NHRA Pro Stock national event of WJ's career,
and fourth of the 1988 season.
* This was the first year that Memphis Motorsports Park hosted an
NHRA national event.
* Bruce Allen was the No. 1 qualifier, edging WJ by the slimmest of
margins with a 7.446-second elapsed time.
* Warren had switched to the bigger bodied Ciera in hopes of better
applying the horsepower to the track, and minimizing tire shake.
* Ironically, WJ was slowed by severe tire shake in the first round
of eliminations, allowing No. 10 qualifier Pawuk to pull off the upset.
* The field consisted of six Chevrolet Berettas and Camaros, WJ's
Oldsmobile Ciera, Pontiac Firebirds and Trans Ams and a Ford
Thunderbird.
* In the Pro Stock final, Tony Christian defeated Kenny Delco.
* Winners in the other professional categories that weekend
included Darrell Gwynn, who defeated Dennis Forcelle in Top Fuel final
and Mark Oswald over Ed McCulloch in Funny Car.
2. WJ's First Memphis Final - 1989
Race Car: 1989 ACDelco Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Performance: WJ Qualified Second, 7.325 seconds, 189.03 mph
Defeated Morris Johnson, Butch Leal and Larry
Morgan
Lost to Bob Glidden
In Warren's Words:
"Funnily enough, I remember very little about that particular race,
which probably has something to do with our not winning. Looking back
on the details, it looked like we tried everything in our toolbox, and
still didn't get it done. Obviously, there was no reason to agonize
over it, so we just moved on to the next one, seeing what we could do to
win there."
Notes of the time:
* This was the 33rd final round appearance of Warren's Pro Stock
career, and came in his 130th career race.
* There were spectacular times in all categories that weekend due
to cooler temperatures which produced a corrected altitude of 300 feet
above sea level.
* Johnson was driving an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which he had
switched to in August of 1988 due to its better aerodynamic
characteristics.
* WJ was the beneficiary of Morris Johnson Jr.'s red-light start in
the first round.
* Warren reached the final by defeating Larry Morgan on a hole shot
in the semifinals, gaining a four hundredth of a second advantage at the
start and running a 7.393-second elapsed time to hold off Morgan's
quicker, but losing 7.357-second effort.
* Running with a hurt motor in the final Warren tried to "steal"
the win, leaving the starting line first, but Glidden used the quickest
pass of the day at 7.287 seconds to overcome the deficit and edge
Johnson for the win.
* Bob Glidden was the No.1 qualifier with a 7.282-second elapsed
time, while famed chassis builder Jerry Haas was the 16th qualifier with
an 7.401-second e.t.
* The field consisted of Olds Cutlasses, Chevy Berettas and a
single Camaro, Pontiac Trans Ams, a Dodge Daytona and a Ford Probe.
* In other pro classes, Gary Ormsby defeated Eddie Hill in the Top
Fuel final, and Kenny Bernstein topped Mark Oswald to win in Funny Car.
3. WJ's First Memphis Win - 1991
Race Car: 1991 ACDelco Oldsmobile Cutlass
Performance: WJ Qualified Third, 7.323 seconds, 188.91 mph
Defeated Gordie Rivera, Bob Glidden, Jerry
Eckman
and Darrell Alderman
In Warren's Words:
"Looking at how some of my rivals handled themselves that day, you
almost wonder if we should have had driver training prior to the event!
One didn't know how to go, and the other didn't know how to get there.
It wasn't the first run Glidden had made with the five-speed, so he must
have gone into brain fade, and I do remember wondering what Alderman was
up to wandering all over the race track. But the bottom line is that,
whatever the circumstances, things worked out in our favor, and a win is
a win. They don't give any penalty points by winning ugly."
Notes of the time:
* This was WJ's second win of the 1991 season, and came in his
fifth '91 final round.
* This also marked Warren's 23rd career NHRA national event win in
45 career finals.
* Darrell Alderman was the No. 1 qualifier with a 7.308-second
elapsed time, while Butch Leal captured the 16th and final qualifying
spot with his 7.419-second run.
* WJ had hired Scott Geoffrion to drive his second ACDelco Cutlass
in 1991, and through the first five races, one of the two vehicles had
advanced to the final.
* Fighting an unusual power loss throughout the weekend, Warren was
the beneficiary of two mental mistakes by his main rivals. First, Bob
Glidden, who was experimenting with a new 5-speed transmission, forgot
to put his car in top gear in the second round of eliminations, allowing
WJ to pull away. In the final, Alderman left the starting line with his
front wheels in the air, but cocked to the left, so that when the nose
of his Daytona touched down, it shot him towards the centerline, forcing
him to fight to maintain control, with Johnson cruising by for the easy
win. This was not an unusual occurrence for Alderman, whose team had
even named the maneuver the "Alderman sashay".
* The field was comprised of Oldsmobile Cutlasses, Chevrolet
Berettas, Pontiac Trans Ams and a solitary Dodge Daytona and Ford Probe.
* Winners in other professional categories that weekend included
Lori Johns, who defeated Don Prudhomme in the Top Fuel final, and
current ESPN TV analyst Mike Dunn, who edge Tom Hoover in Funny Car.
4. WJ's Most Recent Memphis Win - 1998
Race Car: 1998 GM Performance Parts Pontiac Firebird
Performance: WJ Qualified First, 6.881 seconds, 200.08 mph
Defeated Shawn Collins, Mark Pawuk, Jeg Coughlin
and Kurt Johnson
In Warren's Words:
"Every so often, you have a race where everything seems to go your way.
Obviously, that weekend we were fortunate to do what we did at the right
time. You can have the fastest horse at the track, but it means very
little if you don't get it to the final, no matter what the reason may
be. There are a million ways to lose a race, and only one to win. Your
chances are certainly better of winning with a fast race car, but
certainly not guaranteed. It's apparent we all did our jobs that day.
Notes of the time:
* This win was the 70th win of WJ's career.
* This was Warren's fourth win in five final round appearances in
Memphis.
* This was WJ's eighth win and 11th national event final round of
the year en route to his fourth NHRA Pro Stock championship.
* WJ's 6.881-second, 200.08 mph pass in qualifying not only earned
him the 100th No. 1 qualifying position of his career, it also set low
elapsed time and top speed for the event, and set a new Memphis
Motorsports Park top speed record.
* Ostrich farmer Shawn Collins was the 16th and final qualifier
with a 6.955-second e.t.
* The DNQ list included such Pro Stock regulars as Troy Coughlin,
Bruce Allen, Mike Edwards and Tom Martino.
* Although Kurt had advanced to the final round on the strength of
three holeshot wins over John Nobile, Richie Stevens and Jim Yates, in
the final it was WJ who used a stellar .010 light (to Kurt's strong .039
r.t.) to gain the advantage and power away for the win.
* This marked the tenth time in their respective careers that
Warren and Kurt faced each other in the final round, having been the
first father and son duo to accomplish this feat back at the Atlanta
event in 1993.
* The Pro Stock line-up was an all-GM affair, with Oldsmobile
Cutlasses, Pontiac Firebirds and Chevrolet Camaros.
* In the other professional classes, Joe Amato eliminated Kenny
Bernstein in the Top Fuel final, and Al Hofmann defeated No. 1 qualifier
Cruz Pedregon in the Funny Car final.
5. "The Grand Am's Great Escape" - 2002
Race Car: 2002 GM Performance Parts Grand Am
Performance: WJ Qualified First, 6.840 seconds, 201.31 mph
Defeated Allen Johnson
Lost to Mike Edwards
Storyline:
WJ had one of his more memorable weekends in Memphis in 2002, when his
GM Performance Parts Grand Am broke loose inside the trailer on the way
to the track, and did substantial damage to the bodywork bouncing off
the inside walls and the back tailgate, and, in fact, even forced the
back gate slightly open as the truck traveled down the highway.
Aided by the delay caused by the tremendous rainstorms that came through
the area that Friday, WJ and his crew worked tirelessly throughout the
day performing whatever repairs they could to make the car ready for
competition. Ironically, on its first pass down the track on Friday
evening, WJ blistered the quarter-mile in 6.840-seconds with a top speed
of 201.31 mph to claim the 126th No. 1 qualifying position of his
career.
In Warren's Words:
"That was the year we tried to total a race car inside the trailer.
Apparently the straps broke loose and the car was bouncing around, doing
its best imitation of a four-wheeled ping-pong ball. When it got to the
track, we knew we had a lot of work in front of us, and the rain delay
certainly didn't hurt. Of course, those types of adverse situations
usually bring up my competitive level a little bit further, and I
believe we did an adequate job of recovering."
6. WJ's Memphis Motorsports Park in a Nutshell -
"That racetrack offers a new surprise every year we go there, with new
lumps and bumps that we have to find a way to handle. Apparently, the
ground it was built on is not too stable, and shifts constantly. The
management does their best to maintain it, grinding and repaving it and
so forth, but it's just never the same. We'll have to see what we have
this year when we arrive and do our best to adapt to it."
WJ's Memphis Motorsports Park Box Score -
Races
Starts
Wins
Finals
#1
Avg. Qual.
W
L
Pct.
17
16
4
5
3
3.94
25
11
.694
WJ's Memphis Did You Know? -
* WJ's four wins at Memphis Motorsports Park are the most by a Pro
Stock competitor, and tied with John Force for the most in all NHRA
professional categories.
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