NHRA Warren Johnson Pre Race: WJ Preps to Cement Status as Top Gator in Gainesville Swamp

 

Sugar Hill, Ga., March 14, 2006 - Warren Johnson has had a special
relationship with Gainesville Raceway from the very first moment he
pulled into the famed Florida quarter-mile in 1976.   Back then, he was
a relative unknown in the NHRA's still nascent Pro Stock division, a
Minnesota native racing on a shoestring budget.  Behind the wheel of his
big-block Camaro, Johnson took on the very best of that era, qualifying
fourth and advancing to the first final round of his career.

 

Thirty years later, as Johnson and his GM Performance Parts GTO crew
return to the Sunshine State for this weekend's ACDelco Gatornationals,
"The Professor" has cemented his place among the legends of the sport
with six championships, 96 national event wins and 136 No. 1 qualifying
performances.  Gainesville Raceway has played a key role in that
success, as his nine wins there are the most among all professional
categories.  However, he is far from satisfied, and enters this edition
looking to add to his stellar Gators resume.

 

"If I could put my finger on why we have done so well in Gainesville,
I'd bottle it and apply it to every racetrack we go to," said Johnson.
"Historically, the surface has been pretty decent.  They've resurfaced
it a couple times, and extended the concrete a few years ago, but it has
remained fairly consistent.  As always, a lot will depend on how it is
prepared prior to the event, which has been somewhat a point of
contention so far this year.

 

"I'm not sure if the surface at Gainesville Raceway fits our style, or
whether we do something without realizing it, but that track has always
been good to our GM Performance Parts GTO team.  But even without an
explanation, we'll take our record at the ACDelco Gatornationals and see
if we can improve on it even further this weekend."  

 

Johnson comes into the Gatornationals as the most recent Pro Stock
winner in the POWERade Drag Racing Series, taking home the title in
Phoenix, AZ just over two weeks ago.  As the latest in a string of
exciting wins over his career, WJ has taken that success in stride,
preferring to focus on the road ahead.  However, one benefit it has
provided is the tremendous boost in confidence for his young,
hard-working crew, marking their first win together.  

 

"There's a certain art to winning, it's not all science," stated
Johnson.  "You have to make the right decisions at the proper time, and
be aware of the process involved.  With this young crew, winning has
made them more conscious of their surroundings and how decisions are
made relative to the next round, experience that will prove invaluable
in future races.  Besides, now that we have gone to a final together and
won, they'll have even more enthusiasm, if that's possible.   All in
all, it's a tremendous uplift for the entire organization.

 

"But even with the win we're not about to stand still.  Since returning
from Phoenix, we've been working non-stop to prepare for the races
ahead, trying to improve the overall performance of our GM Performance
Parts GTO.  We've spent time at the shop stockpiling parts and tested on
three different occasions.  Obviously, we won't know exactly how we
stand until we race on an NHRA-prepared track against our competitors,
but we feel we've made progress in the key areas, establishing some what
of a sweet spot in our tune-up.  I think we'll be in good shape this
weekend."

 

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

the ACDelco Gatornationals:

 

Gainesville has been The Professor's Personal Classroom:  This will be
Warren's 27th career race at Gainesville Raceway.  In his previous 25
starts, he has 9 wins in 10 final round appearances to lead all
professional categories, and an impressive 55-16 elimination round
record for a stellar .775 win percentage

 

Warren Starts Up Front at the Gators:  In 25 Gatornationals starts, WJ
has eight No. 1 qualifying performances (with five coming in consecutive
years from 1993-1997), and a strong average starting position of 3.615.
During that time, WJ has only four starts outside the top half of the
field.  

 

One year ago: Warren qualified ninth with an elapsed time of 6.683
seconds with a top speed of 206.65 mph, and advanced to the semi-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, March 17:             Two qualifying sessions at 11:30 a.m. &
2:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 18:                     Two qualifying sessions at 11:30
a.m. & 2:30 p.m.

            Sunday, March 19:             Pre-race ceremonies starting
at 10:00 a.m.

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

Television Coverage:

            Qualifying:

                        Sunday, March 19:          12:30 - 2:30 a.m.

            Eliminations:

                        Sunday, March 19:           5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

            NHRA2Day:

                        Sunday, February 26:      11:30 a.m. - 12 noon.

 

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