Kurt Johnson NHRA Race Wrap Up: Freak Failure Cuts KJ's Day Short in Baytown

 


Event:  19th Annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals

Day/Date: Sunday, April 2, 2006

Location:  Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX

 

After qualifying fifth for Sunday's final eliminations of the O'Reilly
NHRA Spring Nationals, Kurt Johnson and his ACDelco Cobalt Racing team
looked to parlay their consistent performance into their third career
win at Houston Raceway Park.    However, their day ended before it even
began, as an unusual mechanical malfunction forced Johnson's car across
the starting line early, handing the automatic win to their opponent,
David Connolly.

 

"We were having a great weekend until the first round.  Our ACDelco
Cobalt had been consistent, making good runs, and we seemed to have a
handle on adjusting it for the conditions.

 

"Our problems started when the line-lock broke on the burnout.  Even so,
it still gave me enough pressure that I felt I could stage.  However,
when I put it on the rev limiter, it went right to the high side chip,
putting the engine at 10,000 rpm, which dragged me over the starting
line.   It was one of those freakish things, but I guess if you do this
long enough, you're going to experience it all.   

 

"The hardest part is that we honestly felt our ACDelco Cobalt was
capable of winning today.  If I hadn't run well, been late off the line,
or had just gotten beat, it would have been hard to take, but to not
even go down the track is just frustrating.  

 

"I don't know what we have to do to win a round, but we're not about to
give up.  We're going to test tomorrow, make sure we fixed today's
problem, and get ready to come out with both guns blazing in Vegas."