Warren Johnson NHRA Race Wrap Up: WJ's Hopes of a Repeat are Shattered Early in Houston

 

Event:  19th Annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals

Day/Date: Sunday, April 2, 2006

Location:  Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX

 

Warren Johnson entered Sunday's final eliminations of the O'Reilly NHRA
Spring Nationals looking to defend his Pro Stock title from a year ago.
After qualifying 11th, things seemed to be going as planned for the GM
Performance Parts GTO Racing team in the early stages of the first
round, as "The Professor " grabbed the advantage by nearly five
hundredths at the starting line.

 

However, within moments, Johnson's charge was suddenly slowed to a crawl
by an unusual mechanical failure, allowing his opponent to overcome his
lead and drive on for the win.

 

"With the jump I had at the start, all I had to run was a 6.751 to win,
which should have been easily attainable given the way our GM
Performance Parts GTO had been running.  It was going straight until it
broke the rear end just as I was putting it into second gear.  We
haven't broken a rear end since 1987 in the first round at Atlanta.  The
unit we ran today only had ten or eleven runs on it, and looked fine
when we checked it last night.  I guess my X-Ray vision just wasn't
working as well as it should.

 

"I tend to look at the big picture, so I guess our misfortune today
balances out the good luck we had in Phoenix.  We'll put a fresh ring
and pinion in it and do a little testing to make sure everything else is
working properly so we can get after it in Las Vegas next weekend."