NHRA Warren Johnson Pre Race: The Professor is Well-Versed on Winning in Dallas

Contact:

     Jon G. Knapp

     TMG Sports Marketing

     (704) 662-3121

     jgknapp@tmgsports.net

 

 The Professor is Well-Versed on Winning in Dallas

  GM Performance Parts crew looks for sixth win at concrete quarter-mile

 

Sugar Hill, Ga., September 20, 2006 - Throughout his stellar career, GM
Performance Parts GTO racer Warren Johnson has raced on virtually every
type of racing surface.  From his early days at Minnesota Dragways to
the state-of-the-art facilities on today's POWERade Drag Racing Series
circuit, WJ has adapted to them all, winning at virtually every track on
which he has set foot.

 

"Over the years I have raced on just about every type of surface,
including an occasional unplanned excursion on grass, as well as a few
other tracks that might make some of today's drivers reconsider their
career choice," kidded Johnson.  "I've seen it all and done it all, with
about the only thing I haven't raced on is mud.  

 

"For the most part, the NHRA tracks have been among the best available
overall, as well as select stops on the IHRA circuit, including
Rockingham (Dragway) Norwalk (Raceway Park), and Darlington, which were
pretty good when I first started out. To say the least, it's been a
rather remarkable experience, which has served me well over the years,
helping to adapt to whatever is thrown our way."

 

Among the many tracks on Johnson's resume is the Texas Motorplex in
Ennis, TX, site of this weekend's O'Reilly Fall Nationals.  With its
trademark racing surface made entirely of concrete, it is capable of
handling all the horsepower the "factory hot rods" can dish out.   With
five wins and eleven final round appearances in his previous visits,
Johnson leads all Pro Stock competitors in success on the Ennis
quarter-mile, making him uniquely qualified to comment on what it takes
to win there.  As "The Professor" explains, the car must be properly set
up and the driver must be on his game to take advantage of what the
track will give. 

 

"The Texas Motorplex is a rather unique track, not only in that it is
concrete all the way to the finish line, but that it also has a
notoriously narrow groove," detailed Johnson.  "With the high amount of
traction that is normally available on the starting line, if you make a
straight clean run, it is as good as it gets.  

 

"However, if for some reason you get out of the groove, it is
notoriously slippery, because very few cars get out there and put down
rubber.  An extreme example of what can happen is last year's dramatic
accident between Bruce Allen and Kenny Koretsky when Bruce got out of
the groove.  The bottom line is that it's a pretty decent racetrack, but
you had better mind your P's and Q's, because if you have a car that
wanders, you could be in trouble.  This is one track that can be very
fast as well as very dangerous."

 

Arriving in the Lone Star State with their sights set on a sixth Ennis
win, Johnson and his young GM Performance Parts crew come armed with a
new and relatively untested GTO.    Although this will be only their
second national event with this current chassis, the six-time champion
remains optimistic about his chances.

 

"Although we have limited experience with this new GM Performance Parts
GTO, we still have a pretty good idea of what it needs, because it is
basically identical to Kurt's ACDelco Cobalt," said Johnson.  "They were
built to our specifications by Jerry Haas, giving them different
characteristics from his standard models.  Fortunately, Kurt has more
time on his car, and it came around relatively quickly, so we have
pretty much taken his notes and run with them.  

 

"As soon as time permits, we'll do some experimentation of our own to
see where the boundaries are, but for now, we'll stick to the basics.
The good news is that it already seems to be better than the car it
replaced.  I think we're headed in the right direction with the engine
and chassis tune-up, and now it's a matter of adapting the other
equipment to it so it can perform at its best.  We're looking forward to
seeing what we can do this weekend."

 

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

The 21st annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals:

 

WJ Has Been a Top Hand in Dallas:  This will be Warren's 24th career
NHRA national event at the Texas Motorplex.  In his previous 23 starts,
he has five wins (which is the most by any Pro Stock driver) in eleven
final round appearances, and a 44-17 elimination round record for a .721
win percentage.  WJ's most recent Dallas win came in 1999, when he
defeated Jim Yates in the final.

 

WJ Normally Starts Near the Top at the 'Plex:  In 23 Texas Motorplex
starts, WJ has eleven No. 1 qualifying performances (including five in a
row from 1991-1995), 18 starts in the top three positions and a stellar
3.26 average starting position.  In fact, in his first 17 races on the
concrete quarter-mile, WJ qualified lower than second only once.

 

One Year Ago:  Warren qualified eighth with a 6.696-second, 206.76 mph
pass, and advanced to the quarterfinals.

 

Career Best Elapsed Time: 6.644 seconds, Sonoma, CA, 7/29/06

 

Career best top speed:  207.88 mph, Englishtown, NJ, 6/16/06

 

Event Schedule:

Friday, September 22:            One qualifying sessions at 4:00 & 7:00
p.m.

Saturday, September 23:        Two qualifying sessions at 12:00 noon &
3:00 p.m.

            Sunday, September 24:           Pre-race ceremonies starting
at 10:00 a.m.

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

Television Coverage:

            Qualifying:

                        Saturday, September 23:    11:00 p.m. - 1:00
a.m.

            Eliminations:

                        Sunday, September 24:      7:00  - 10:00 p.m.

            NHRA2Day:

                        Sunday, September 24:      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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