Team Mopar's Allen Johnson Claims Runner-up at Norwalk

June 27, 2010


Norwalk Event Contact: Michael Smith (734) 347-9871
E-mail: msmith@jrthompson.com  

 

TEAM MOPAR(r) PRO STOCK RACE REPORT
2010 NHRA Full Throttle DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 13 of 23
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, Ohio


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Team Mopar(r)'s Allen Johnson Claims Runner-up at Norwalk

First Round Win Locks Him into NHRA Countdown to the Championship

 

Norwalk, Ohio - Team Mopar(r) NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro
Stock driver Allen Johnson made the 20th final round appearance of his
career and came away with a runner-up finish Sunday at the Summit Racing
Equipment NHRA Nationals.

 

The Mopar Dodge Avenger driver squared off against Greg Anderson in the
finals at Summit Motorsports Park, but strayed out of the groove midway
down the track to watch his opponent take the win light. It was
Johnson's third runner-up finish of the season and provides momentum as
the team prepares to head off on a three-race Western swing.

 

"All in all it was a great weekend for us," Johnson said. "For whatever
reason, we didn't have the fastest car today but we did what we had to
do to get to the finals. I got over to the right into the loose stuff
against Anderson and I just couldn't get the car back."

 

It was an all-HEMI matchup in the semifinals, as the Team Mopar Dodge
Avenger went against the Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger of V. Gaines.
Johnson easily advanced as Gaines slowed to a 6.976 second, 204.05 mph
run vs. 6.740 seconds at 206.01 mph for Johnson.

 

Johnson's journey through the first two rounds of eliminations was not
as easy. Rookie Shane Gray beat Johnson off the starting line in the
first round, but the Team Mopar driver ran him down to win by
approximately eight inches on a 6.718 second, 206.16 mph run. Johnson
then had to run down Greg Stanfield in the quarterfinals, but ended up
with a more substantial win margin of 15 feet on a 6.734 second, 205.69
mph run.

 

By virtue of his first round win over Gray, Johnson became the second
Pro Stock driver to clinch a spot in The Countdown to the Championship.
He joins point leader Mike Edwards with locked-in spots with four races
remaining.

 

The Countdown to the Championship's 17-race regular season runs through
the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd Aug. 12-15 and sets 10-driver
fields for the six-race Countdown playoffs that begin at the Mac Tools
U.S. Nationals and conclude at the Automobile Club of Southern
California World Finals in mid-November.

 

 

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