NHRA Kurt Johnson Pre Race: KJ Looks to Whet His Appetite in Dallas

Cobalt crew Targets O'Reilly Fall Nationals Win
Sugar Hill, Ga., October 5, 2005 - Kurt Johnson is hungry.  Even though
it has been only four races since his last POWERade Drag Racing Series
national event win in Brainerd, MN, and three since his last final round
appearance in Memphis, TN, this second-generation racer is anxious to
return his ACDelco Cobalt to the winner's circle.  Johnson's next
opportunity to earn his 32nd NHRA "Wally" (the nickname given to the
winner's trophy) will come at this weekend's O'Reilly Fall Nationals in
Dallas, TX, and both he and his crew are working to achieve their common
goal.

 

"We're out at every race chasing POWERade points, but the bottom line is
that we want to win," stated Johnson.  "After all, the best way to score
more points than anyone else is to win the race.  The last win for our
ACDelco Cobalt was in Brainerd four races ago, and since then we were
the runner-up once and had three other events where things didn't
exactly work in our favor.  That may not seem like a long time to some,
but for us, it's an eternity.  

 

"In Pro Stock, races are won or lost in thousandths of a second, so the
entire package has to be perfect. All three areas have to perform, from
the driver and crew to the race car.  If one of them is off, you're not
going to turn on the win light.  Therefore, we're continually working to
make sure everything is clicking so we can regain our winning form in
Dallas this weekend." 

 

One factor working in Johnson's favor is his record of success at the
Texas Motorplex, site of this weekend's race.  Starting with his rookie
year in 1993, when he qualified sixth and defeated Vince Khoury, Lewis
Worden, Bruce Allen and his father Warren Johnson en route to the third
national event win of his career, the all-concrete surface has been a
good one for the second-generation racer.  With the event having being
postponed for two weeks by Hurricane Rita, weather conditions are
predicted to be completely different, presenting a new set of tuning
conditions.  In any case, Johnson knows both he and his crew will be
ready.

 

 "The Texas Motorplex is one of the better tracks we race on, but we're
going to attack it like any other," said Johnson.  "The racing surface
is somewhat deceiving.  It looks good, but hooking up to it can be
tricky.  Before we get there, we'll look at our notes from the last few
years and come up with a game plan.  As long as they scrape the old
rubber off of it, and prepare it properly, it should be fine.  

 

"The biggest change created by the postponement will be the weather.  It
was over 100 degrees during the originally scheduled date, while it
supposed to be in the 70's this weekend.   I'm looking forward to going
back under better conditions.  We ran a career best speed in Chicago
last weekend, so we're planning to fine-tune that set-up and go forward
from there.

 

"We've won at the Motorplex in the past, so we know if everything goes
right, it's another place that we can win.  They say everything's bigger
in Texas, so it's the perfect setting for a big win by this ACDelco
Cobalt crew."

 

Notes on Kurt Johnson and the ACDelco Cobalt Racing team entering 

the O'Reilly Fall Nationals:

 

*	KJ Gets It Done in Dallas:   This will be Kurt's 17th appearance
at the Texas Motorplex, where he has three wins in 1993, 1995 & 2000,
and has a 29-13 elimination round record at the concrete quarter-mile.  

 

*	One year ago:   Kurt qualified fourteenth with an elapsed time
of 6.757 seconds and a top speed of 203.86 mph and advanced to the
quarterfinals.

 

*	Career Best Elapsed Time: 6.665 sec., Seattle, WA, 7/22/05

 

*	Career best top speed:  207.30 mph, Joliet, IL, 9/30/05

 

Event Schedule:

            Friday, October 7 -                 Two qualifying sessions
at 4:30 & 7:00 p.m.

            Saturday, October 8 -            Two qualifying sessions at
12:00 noon & 3:00 p.m.

            Sunday, October 9 -               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, October 8 -
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

                               

            Eliminations:               Sunday, October 9 -
8:00 - 11:00 p.m.

 

            NHRA2Day:                 Sunday, October 9 -
11:30 a.m. - 12 noon

(Please consult your local listings for exact times, as the schedule is
subject to change.)