NHRA Kurt Johnson Friday Update: Friday in Vegas Finds KJ in Tenth with an Eye on Moving Up

Las Vegas, NV (October 27, 2006) - With close to 4,000 ACDelco customers, distributors and employees in the stands at the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals on Friday, Kurt Johnson and the ACDelco Cobalt Racing team certainly had extra incentive to do well during their two qualifying sessions. After taking time prior to their first attempt to unveil their special Billy Gibbons paint scheme, the Johnson-led crew went right to work, making two solid runs down The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with their 6.760-second, 203.71 mph pass in the evening attempt slotting them in the 10th position midway through the qualifying procedure.

Although this delighted the ACDelco contingent, who showed their appreciation by giving Johnson a raucous greeting when he towed back to the pits in front of the grandstands, the second-generation racer was immediately looking for ways to improve his standing during one of his final two attempts on Saturday.

"It's getting out of the groove right away and then I'm fighting it the rest of the way down. It was a little better tonight, but I was still sawing at the wheel, which scrubbed off e.t. and speed, which we can't afford to do. If we can fix that, we should be right near the top. We'll make some adjustments and see if we can creep our ACDelco Cobalt up higher in the morning. We have two more runs to practice and put ourselves in a good position for Sunday, and we just have to make the best of it.

"Tonight was the second or third time we've been able to go back to the pits in front of the grandstands filled with people from ACDelco, and although we had a good idea of what the reception would be like, it was even more overwhelming than in the past. They're all part of our family, and hearing them cheer as they did really pumps us up."