NHRA Warren Johnson Pre Race: WJ Ready to Win His Tug-of-War with Firebird Raceway

Contact:

     Jon G. Knapp

     TMG Sports Marketing

     (704) 662-3121

     jgknapp@tmgsports.net

 

Warren Johnson Ready to Win His Tug-of-War with Firebird Raceway

Long hours have GM Performance Parts GTO crew prepped for Phoenix
success

 

Sugar Hill, Ga., February 20, 2006 - Warren Johnson's relationship with
Firebird International Raceway, site of this weekend's Checkers Schuck's
Kragen NHRA Nationals has been an unusual one.  Although a quick review
of Johnson's 21-year history at the famed quarter-mile shows multiple
wins and final round appearances, for 14 years it was the final stop on
the NHRA circuit where he had yet to score a national event win, the
longest holdout of any single facility in his career.  As he and his GM
Performance Parts GTO Racing team prepared to return to Arizona for this
year's race, "The Professor" took time to reflect on his roller-coaster
ride in the desert.

 

"I could understand if there was a reason why we are not as consistently
good at Firebird as we are at other tracks," said Johnson.  "Just as
there are some tracks where I do relatively well, success just seems to
elude us there.  It's not that there is any difference in our pre-race
preparation - we approach every track the same way.  We look at the
characteristics of the racing surface, decide what we need as a baseline
tune-up and work from there.

 

"However, it just seems like we end up in the wrong lane at the right
time, or have something else unusual happen.  Take last year, for
example.  Our GM Performance Parts Pontiac was more than capable of
winning the race.  We qualified second, and were the fastest car in the
first round.  In the second round against Krisher, I had him by two
hundredths at the tree and was pulling away when we broke a bearing in
the rear end, which was the first time I had ever had that happen,
taking away what would have been an easy win.  I guess you could say
that when we race in Phoenix, we have Murphy on our payroll, but we plan
on firing him this year."

 

Following his uncharacteristic second-round exit in California, the
six-time champion wanted to make sure everything was in prime condition
for the Phoenix race, giving the team their best chance for success.
Therefore, he took advantage of the time since the season-opening event
to bring his equipment back to the team's Georgia headquarters for a
thorough inspection and analysis.  Despite the long hours spent on the
road and at the shop by Johnson and his tireless crew, there is a
general consensus that their hard work will be rewarded this weekend.

 

"Although our results in Pomona where not what we wanted, it was a
productive outing in that it showed us the direction we need to head in
with our GM Performance Parts GTO," stated Johnson.  "Quite frankly,
it's an approach that we haven't really used in the past.   But, after
analyzing all our runs from the weekend, it was just staring us in the
face, telling us it's something we need to start working with.  

 

"As a result, I believe we are in extremely good shape heading forward.
We freshened up our primary race engine, and found that, given its
condition, it ran faster than it should have in California, so it should
be even better in Phoenix.  When combined with what we've learned about
our race car, we're expecting a strong showing this weekend."

 

 

Quick Notes on Warren Johnson & the GM Performance Parts GTO team
entering

the Checkers Schuck's Kragen Nationals:

 

WJ includes Firebird in his winning record:  This will be Warren's 22nd
career race at Firebird Raceway.  In his previous 21 starts, he has
scored two wins in six final round appearances, as well as 37-19
elimination round record for a .661 round win percentage.  WJ's most
recent win in Phoenix came in 2001, where he defeated Brad Jeter in the
final.

 

Warren Starts Near the Front of the Pack in Phoenix:  In his previous 21
Firebird starts, WJ has six No. 1 qualifying performances (with five
coming in consecutive years from 1995-1999), and an amazing average
starting position of 2.62.  During that time, WJ has only two starts
outside the top four, with a No. 5 effort in 2002 and No. 6 start in
2000.  

 

One year ago: Warren qualified second with an elapsed time of 6.743
seconds with a top speed of 205.16 mph, but was forced out by a
mechanical failure in the quarter-finals.

 

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, February 24:        Two qualifying sessions at 3:30 & 6:00 p.m.

            Saturday, February 25:    Two qualifying sessions at 12 noon
& 2:30 p.m.

            Sunday, February 26:       Pre-race ceremonies starting at
10:00 a.m.

                                                     First Round of
Eliminations at 11:00 a.m.

Television Coverage:

            Qualifying:

                        Saturday, February 25:    8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

            Eliminations:

                        Sunday, February 26:      7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

            NHRA2Day:

                        Sunday, February 26:      6:30 - 7:00 p.m.

 

(All times Eastern.  Please check your local listings for exact
broadcast times in your area.)

 

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