NHRA Kurt Johnson Seattle Pre Race: KJ & Seattle Have a History Together

Contact:

     Jon G. Knapp

     TMG Sports Marketing

     (704) 662-3121

     jgknapp@tmgsports.net

 

KJ & Seattle Have a History Together

ACDelco Cobalt crew preps for successful defense of 2005 Pacific
Raceways win

 

Sugar Hill, Ga., July 18, 2006 - This weekend, the POWERade Drag Racing
Series will be making its annual visit to the Pacific Northwest with the
running of the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals in Kent, WA.  For
most racers it is simply the second stop on the traditional "Western
Swing", a demanding three consecutive weekends of racing, where teams
travel from Denver to Seattle to Sonoma to kick off the second half of
the season.

 

However, every trip to Pacific Raceways elicits additional special
memories for Pro Stock standout Kurt Johnson, for it was at this track
in 1993 that he earned his first NHRA national event win as a promising
rookie.  Thirteen years later, as he returns for this year's edition,
the ACDelco Cobalt racer arrives not only as an established star in this
highly competitive division, but also as the defending champion, having
won this event a year ago.  Despite his elevated status, his desire to
win remains just as strong.

 

"The entire ACDelco Cobalt crew is pretty excited to go back to
Seattle," said Johnson.  "Every driver in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro
Stock can tell you where they won their first race and what that track
means to them.  For me, that means Pacific Raceways.   As the site of my
first win, any categorization of Seattle includes either the number one
or the letter A because it's at the top.  We've also done well there
since then, with a total of three wins in twelve tries, so we're batting
just about .250, which is pretty good in drag racing.

 

"Overall, it's not a bad track.  It's nice and wide, and it goes
downhill.  It's also located in a beautiful part of the country, where
things seems a little more relaxed.  We're hoping that will be a key -
keeping our focus while staying relaxed, and picking up our fourth
Seattle winner's trophy."  

 

Despite his impressive record in previous Seattle outings, Johnson knows
that, with the level of competition in the Pro Stock elevated higher
than ever, in order to successfully defend his title he will need to
extract maximum from both himself and his race car.  After a
less-than-satisfactory result in Denver one week ago, the entire ACDelco
crew is determined to bounce back with a strong showing in the Evergreen
State.

 

"We expected to do much better than we did in Denver, but things just
didn't work out," explained Johnson.  "We had a car we felt was capable
of winning the race, but we got bit in the first round, which was the
first time that happened since Houston in April.  It left a sour taste
in our mouth, but we're not going to waste time worrying about it.

 

"The atmospheric conditions in Kent will be completely different from
last week, so we'll have to make the right changes in the gearing and
the rest of the set-up to take advantage of the better air.  We'll look
at our notes from last year and re-carburetor, re-gear and regroup, get
ourselves in the show and see if we can put it together.  It will
certainly feel better to go fast, but the key is to get win lights,
which is what this ACDelco Cobalt Racing team is looking for - wins."

 

Quick Notes on Kurt Johnson & the ACDelco Cobalt Racing team entering

The Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals:

 

Kurt is batting .750 in Seattle:  This will be KJ's 14th career
appearance at Pacific Raceways, where he has three wins (in 1993, 1999 &
2005) and a 27-9 elimination round record for a .750 win percentage.  

 

KJ's Kent Qualifying Stats:  In his 12 previous career starts in the
Pacific Northwest, Kurt has one No. 1 qualifying performance (in 1997),
nine starts in the top five positions, and an average starting position
of 3.92.

 

One year ago - Defending Champion:  Kurt qualified second with a then
career best elapsed time of 6.665 seconds and  top speed of 207.15 mph,
and defeated David Connolly, Greg Stanfield and Bob Panella before
running unopposed in the final round to score the 30th national event
win of his career.

 

Career Best Elapsed Time: 6.646 sec., Joliet, IL, 6/11/06

 

Career best top speed:  207.72 mph, Pomona, CA, 2/12/06

 

Event Schedule:

Friday, July 21:                Two qualifying sessions at 3:30 & 6:00
p.m.

Saturday, July 22:            Two qualifying sessions at 11:30 a.m. &
2:30 P.M.

            Sunday, July 23:               Pre-race ceremonies starting
at 10:00 a.m.

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

Television Coverage:

            Qualifying:

                        Saturday, July 22:    8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

            Eliminations:

                        Sunday, July 22:      8:00 - 11:00 p.m

            NHRA2Day:

                        Sunday, July 23:      11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

 

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

 

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