NHRA Kurt Johnson Saturday Update: KJ Qualifies Third For NHRA Season Finale

Event:  41st Annual Auto Club of Southern California Nationals

Day/Date: Saturday, November 5, 2005

Location:  Pomona Raceway, Pomona, CA

 

Kurt Johnson completed a solid qualifying effort on Saturday at the Auto
Club of Southern California Finals, recording a best elapsed time of
6.683-seconds to earn the third starting position.  In addition, in
three of the four timed sessions, the ACDelco Cobalt pilot posted the
top speed among the 26 Pro Stock cars making an attempt, culminating
with his career-best, and new track record 207.62 mph on Friday
afternoon.  

 

Even with this solid showing, Johnson's primary concern entering
Sunday's final eliminations will be to effectively match their
1,400-horsepower race car to the tricky Pomona surface, which changed
radically with Saturday's warmer temperatures.  

 

"We overestimated the track today, plain and simple, so we'll make
additional adjustments tomorrow to get it hooked back up.  My reaction
times have been solid, so we think we're good there.  All we have to do
is make our ACDelco Cobalt go straight, which it really hasn't done yet
this weekend.  We know what we need to do to fix the car - it's just a
matter of making the right calls and getting a better handle on this
race track.

 

"The hard part is over, with the fun part beginning tomorrow.  The crew
has done their job, and the car is ready - it's time to let the clutch
out and head to the finish line, making sure we get there first."