NHRA Warren Johnson St. Louis Pre Race: WJ Hopes to Boost
his Midterm Grade in Madison
Contact:
Jon G. Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing
(704) 662-3121
jgknapp@tmgsports.net
WJ Hopes to Boost his Midterm Grade in Madison
GM Performance Parts GTO team aims for third win at Gateway
International Raceway
Sugar Hill, Ga., June 21, 2006 - The 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
season will reach its midpoint this weekend with the running of the
O'Reilly Midwest Nationals in Madison, IL. As such, it offers drivers
and teams the opportunity to look back and critique their performance in
the first eleven races. For Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts
Pontiac Racing team, the past four months have been a series of highs
and lows, highlighted by their stirring win from the 11th starting
position in Phoenix.
However, as the long-time standard by which success in the highly
competitive Pro Stock category is measured, Johnson tends to be his own
harshest critic, and is not satisfied in any position but first.
Entering this weekend in the ninth position, he arrives at Gateway
International Raceway determined to move up and end the first half on a
positive note.
"I may be a little stiff on grading, but it's for a purpose," said
Johnson. "This is not a social event, it is how we make a living.
Therefore, I have to be pretty critical of all our performances, because
everyone in this organization contributes to the effort. We all have to
work together to get the job done.
"We're currently in ninth, and since grading goes A, B, C, D and F, with
F being the fifth position, you can pretty much see for yourself the
grade I would give us for the first eleven races. However, I believe
last week's race in Englishtown may have been a turning point.
"We finally got some data acquisition that we've been looking for over
the last two years so I can make heads or tails of some of the functions
of the car. As a result, after the first two rounds of qualifying a week
ago, we were able to turn our GM Performance Parts GTO's performance
around, picking up the pace to where we were the fourth quickest car in
the final qualifying session, and right in the thick of things on
Sunday. I'm really optimistic as to where we can go with this, but we
have to be somewhat cautious, because making wholesale changes can be
disastrous. But, based on what we found in both (son) Kurt's and my
cars, we should be able to increase the performance significantly in the
very near future."
Founded primarily on his distinctively painted GTO's recent improved
performance, Johnson's cautious optimism is buoyed even further by his
prior record of success in the shadow of the St. Louis Arch. This year
marks the tenth anniversary of the arrival of an NHRA national event at
the multipurpose motorsports facility, and from the very start, "The
Professor" has left his mark, defeating Jim Yates in the final round to
win the inaugural race.
Having added another victory in 2000, he enters this year's edition as
one of only three Pro Stock drivers with multiple Gateway wins. As
such, he is well-versed in what it takes to succeed on the Illinois
quarter-mile, information that could prove particularly useful in light
of this weekend's afternoon and evening format. With atmospheric and
track conditions varying from session to session, the team that best
adapts will have the best chance of taking home the trophy, and, with
three decades of experience under all conditions, Johnson likes his
chances.
"With the incessant heat and humidity in St. Louis at this time of year,
we have to be concerned with the comfort of the fans, so we're obligated
to race in the late afternoon and evening, and we do so willingly," said
Johnson. "The changing atmospheric conditions may present a greater
challenge, but the fans are always our top priority, because without
them, we wouldn't even be here.
"The racing surface in Madison has never had an abundance of traction,
and when it gets hot during the day, the surface temperature skyrockets,
reducing the amount of available grip even further. Therefore, you're
constantly balancing the variable amount of traction with the available
power, which is also changing with the shifting atmospheric conditions.
It's a proverbial juggling act, including gear ratios, clutch, engine
tune-ups and suspension settings.
"Fortunately, we've had some success there, but then again, I've raced
under those conditions before, so it's not something totally foreign.
Based on our results last week in the heat in Englishtown, where our GM
Performance Parts GTO was the only car consistently under one second in
the first sixty feet, I think we can take what we found to St. Louis and
build on it, seeing if we can pull that grade up a little higher going
into the second half."
Quick Notes on Warren Johnson & the GM Performance Parts GTO team
entering
The 10th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals:
WJ Has Gotten It Done at Gateway: This will be Warren's 10th career
NHRA national event in Madison. In his previous nine starts at Gateway
International Raceway, he has two wins (including the inaugural race in
1997), and a 13-7 elimination round record for a .650 win percentage.
Warren Qualifies Well in Madison: In nine Gateway starts, WJ has three
No. 1 qualifying performances, eight starts in the top half of the field
and a 4.33 average starting position.
One Year Ago: Warren qualified third with a 6.757-second elapsed time
with a top speed of 203.89 mph, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Career Best Elapsed Time: 6.679 seconds, Gainesville, FL, 3/20/05
Career best top speed: 207.88 mph, Englishtown, NJ, 6/16/06
Event Schedule:
Friday, June 23: Two qualifying sessions at 5:00 & 8:00
p.m.
Saturday, June 24: Two qualifying sessions at 2:00 & 7:00 P.M.
Sunday, June 25: Pre-race ceremonies starting
at 2:00 p.m.
First Round of
Eliminations at 3:00 p.m.
Television Coverage:
Qualifying:
Saturday, June 24: 10:00 p.m.- 12:00 midnight
Eliminations:
Sunday, June 25: 10:00 p.m. - 12:00
midnight
NHRA2Day:
Sunday, June 25: 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon
(All times Eastern. Please check your local listings for exact
broadcast times in your area.) # # #
