NHRA Warren Johnson Denver Pre-Race: WJ Looks for Some Mountain Medicine to Cure His On Track Ailments

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     Jon G. Knapp

     TMG Sports Marketing

     (704) 662-3121

     jgknapp@tmgsports.net

 

WJ Looks for Some Mountain Medicine to Cure His On Track Ailments

 Strong record in Denver bodes well for GM Performance Parts GTO team 

 

Sugar Hill, Ga., July 11, 2006 - When a normally successful participant
in any competitive endeavor experiences less than expected results, they
will immediately take corrective action in order to regain their winning
form, which usually entails additional practice to verify that no aspect
of their game has been adversely altered.  For example, a baseball
player mired in a hitting slump will spend extended time in a batting
cage working on their swing.  At the same time, they will also look for
any edge that will assist them in getting back on track, including
looking forward to competing at a location where they have excelled in
the past.

 

The same scenario applies in the world of NHRA drag racing.  Since
winning at the second stop on the POWERade Drag Racing circuit in
Phoenix, AZ, Warren Johnson and his GM Performance Parts GTO Racing team
have, by their own admission, struggled to find the consistency
necessary to duplicate that effort.  They have worked tirelessly,
testing whenever possible and spending countless hours going over the
race car at their shop in Sugar Hill, GA.  Although the turnaround is
far from complete, there have been some flashes of brilliance in recent
races. Therefore, they enter this weekend's Mile-High Nationals in
Denver, CO determined to put all the pieces together and return to their
winning ways.

 

"Naturally, our goal is to run well all the time, but, unfortunately, as
of late that has not been the case," stated Johnson.  "Therefore, we
look to take advantage of any opportunity to get our program back on
track, and Denver looks like the perfect place to start our
resurrection.  Historically, we have performed well at Bandimere
Speedway, and we had a good test there a few weeks ago. I was pleased
with what we learned, and believe we can even step it up a notch further
when we go back for the Mile-Highs this weekend."  

 

Aiding in the Johnson crew's recuperative efforts is their long history
of prior successes at Bandimere Speedway, site of this weekend's event.
Located on the outskirts of Denver near the town of Morrison, this
picturesque facility offers dramatic views and tremendous competition as
participants strive to make horsepower in the 5,860-foot altitude.
Despite the challenging conditions, it has been a track where "The
Professor" has taught repeated lessons, as evidenced by his five wins
(including three of the last five years) in 10 final round appearances,
four No. 1 qualifying performances and a stellar 51-17 elimination round
record.  Arriving in the Centennial State as the defending Mile-High
Nationals winner, Johnson credits his early days of competing at tracks
across the Rockies with his skill for adapting to racing in the thin
air.  

 

"I'm not entirely sure there is a secret to our success on the mountain,
because we've had an equal amount of success racing in Gainesville,
where the conditions are the exact opposite end of the spectrum,"
related Johnson.  "I guess you could say that I'm good at racing under
extreme conditions, because I love a challenge.  It's just that I've
raced there for so long, including in Pueblo, where it's five to six
hundred feet higher and Continental Divide, which is also over 5,000
feet.  

 

"I also competed in the altitude before the advent of computers, so I
had to learn to race under these conditions using the tried and true
method of reading spark plugs, retarding timing and doing whatever it
takes to make the car run faster.  Without having all the modern day
tuning tools at my disposal, I developed a better feeling of what needed
to be changed, instead of relying on a computer to tell me what to do."

 

This race also marks the start of the second half of the season,
increasing the importance of getting off to a good start.  Confident
that they have regained control of their 1,400-horsepower hot rod,
Johnson has a renewed sense of confidence heading into Denver and the
three-race West Coast Swing.

 

"The race car has not been our problem," stated Johnson.  "We just have
not been attacking it properly.  We put some additional data acquisition
equipment in it, which took some fine tuning to get it to work properly,
and over the last few races we've shown that we can bring it back to
life.  It started to run fairly well in Englishtown, but we had a
slip-up in St. Louis.   Having gotten that out of our system, we can get
back to work this weekend in Denver.

 

"Entering the second half of the season I actually feel a lot better
about our GM Performance Parts GTO than I did at the start of the year,
because there were a few areas I didn't think we were strong in, which
showed in a couple of races.  I think we have shored that area up, so we
can come back and improve significantly from here on out."

 

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

The 27th annual NHRA Mile-High Nationals:

 

WJ Has Mastered Climbing the Mountain:  This will be Warren's 23rd
career NHRA national event "on the mountain."  In his previous 22 starts
at Bandimere Speedway, he has five wins (including one year ago), and a
strong 51-17 elimination round record for a .750 win percentage.  

 

Warren Qualifies Well in Morrison:  In 22 Bandimere starts, WJ has four
No. 1 qualifying performances, 19 starts in the top half of the field
and a 4.13 average starting position.

 

One Year Ago - Defending Champion:  Warren qualified second with a
7.112-second elapsed time with a top speed of 194.24 mph, and defeated
Erica Enders, Ron Krisher, Jim Yates and David Connolly en route to the
95th national event win of his career.

 

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, July 14:                Two qualifying sessions at 4:15 & 7:15
p.m.

Saturday, July 15:            Two qualifying sessions at 10:30 a.m. &
5:15 P.M.

            Sunday, July 16:               Pre-race ceremonies starting
at 11:00 a.m.

                                                     First Round of
Eliminations at 12:00 noon

Television Coverage:

            Qualifying:

                        Saturday, July 15:    10:00 p.m. - 12:00
midnight

            Eliminations:

                        Sunday, July 16:      9:00 p.m. - 12:00 midnight

            NHRA2Day:

                        Sunday, July 16:      11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

 

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