NHRA: Warren Johnson Sets Pro Stock Speed Record at Over 200 mph

04/26/97

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WARREN JOHNSON BREAKS 200mph PRO STOCK BARRIER!


WJ Sets NHRA National Records at 6.894/200.13 mph in Pennzoil
Nationals Qualifying

Dinwiddie, Va.; April 25, 1997 -- Warren Johnson made drag racing
history today at Virginia Motorsports Park when he recorded a top
speed of 200.13 mph in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac.  Johnson's
historic run at 7:27 p.m. EDT was the first 200 mph pass by a Pro
Stock driver in NHRA national event competition.  WJ's record-setting
performance during the second round of qualifying for the Pennzoil
Nationals earned him a $25,000 prize and the first membership in the
Speed-Pro 200 mph Pro Stock Club.

"We knew we had the horsepower to run 200 mph," said Johnson.  "Greg
Anderson (Johnson's crew chief) made the right call on the clutch and
chassis combination.  Lo and behold, it all worked!"

Johnson covered the quarter-mile in just 6.894 seconds, the quickest
Pro Stock run in NHRA history and the first pass in the 6.80's at an
NHRA event.  If his time is not bettered before the conclusion of the
Pennzoil Nationals, he will take both the NHRA national elapsed time
record and a $15,000 bonus from the MBNA World Record Club back to his
race shop in Sugar Hill, Georgia.  Johnson has already backed up both
the new speed and e.t. marks within one percent as required by NHRA
rules.

"When I ran 199 mph on my first qualifying run, we realized it was
possible to go 200 here," Johnson reported.  "We changed the
transmission and rearend gear ratios, tuned the engine for the
atmospheric conditions we anticipated in the second session, and
adjusted the chassis attitude.  I'm sure I wasn't the only driver
gunning for 200 mph tonight!

"By the time I got to the 1/8th mile mark, I knew the elapsed time
record was in jeopardy because the car went perfectly straight when it
left the starting line," Johnson recalled.  "Then in the last half of
the run, the car bounced a few times going over the bumps, and for a
nanosecond I thought that 200 mph was out of reach.  When I crossed
the finish line, the engine was turning 9400 rpm and the rear tires
were spinning."

Johnson's 200 mph Pro Stock run was the last of the six great
milestones in drag racing's modern era.  It ranks alongside the first
four-second elapsed times and the first 300 mph runs in Top Fuel and
Funny Car, and the first 6-second e.t. in Pro Stock.  Kurt Johnson,
Warren's 34-year-old son, recorded the first 6-second Pro Stock
elapsed time (6.988 seconds) in May, 1994, in Englishtown, New Jersey.

"I have a feeling of relief now that we've finally broken the last
barrier," Warren revealed.  "We've been chasing this for years.  It
happened just the way I envisioned it, with Kurt first in the sixes,
and me first to 200 mph.  Reaching these two milestones was an
accomplishment for our entire team -- Kurt, his crew, and my crew
together.  No individual or single team could have achieved this
alone.  I'm also grateful to GM Performance Parts for providing the
components and the support we needed to get the job done."

Johnson, a 53-year-old mechanical genius known as the "Professor of
Pro Stock," was the first Pro Stock driver to break the 180 mph and
190 mph barriers in NHRA competition.  Widely regarded as the reigning
king of horsepower, Johnson has run the fastest speed at 120 national
events in his 22-year career on the NHRA circuit -- more top speeds
than any other Pro Stock driver in NHRA history.

Few expected that Virginia Motorsports Park would be the site of the
most anticipated run of the season.  "Everybody scratched this track
off the list of possible venues for the first 200 mph run because it
hasn't produced fast runs in the past," Johnson noted.  "The weather
conditions are typically warm and humid, and the track speed record
was only 197.15 mph.  But the asphalt is three years old now, and it's
relatively smooth and seasoned.  When we had good atmospheric
conditions, it was simply a matter of being in the right place at the
right time."

Johnson relied on the same 500-cubic-inch GM Drag Race Competition
Engine that he used to set the elapsed time and speed records earlier
this season.  "The bad news for our competition is that we've got
engines back in the shop that look significantly better than this
one," Warren noted.  "I predict that if we have these same conditions
in another three months, we'll see low-6.80 runs."

Now that Johnson has garnered the prestige and prize money that come
with breaking the 200 mph barrier, he is focused on winning the
Pennzoil Nationals -- and on capturing his fourth NHRA championship.