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NHRA: W.J. Goes All the Way at Route 66 Raceway, Scores 76th Victory

7 June 1999

JOLIET, Ill. - Warren Johnson took the direct route to the winner's
circle today at Route 66 Raceway, scoring his fourth win of the season with
a final-round victory over Troy Coughlin. With his win at the
stadium-style supertrack south of Chicago, W.J. has now won at every track
on the NHRA circuit.

    Johnson notched his 76th career victory today, tying him with Funny
Car driver John Force for the most wins among active NHRA drivers. W.J.
continues to close in on Bob Glidden's record of 85 career victories.

    "We may have had a handle on this track, but I feel we could have
gone faster," Warren reported. "We always had in the back of our mind that
we ran a relatively soft setup last year and it bit us in the final when I
lost to Mike Thomas."

    Warren ran the quickest elapsed time in every round of eliminations,
and was the only Pro Stock driver in the sixes today. Running in stifling
heat and humidity, W.J. defeated Richie Stevens in the opening round, Jeg
Coughlin, Jr. in the second stanza, and Jim Yates in the semi-final round.
Troy Coughlin was first off the starting line in the final round, but
Warren ran him down with a 6.987 at 198.06 mph to Troy's 7.110 at 196.19
mph.

    "We changed the transmission ratios after the first round just to
settle the car down a little," W.J. explained. "We didn't change anything
else. It appeared that Troy's car didn't get down the right lane very
successfully, so we didn't want to shoot ourselves in the foot. Steel-toed
shoes are hard to walk in after a while."

    Warren qualified his GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac in the No. 2
spot behind the ACDelco Camaro driven by his son Kurt - the sixth time this
season that the Johnsons have qualified 1-2. Warren extended his lead in
the championship race to 99 points over his second-ranked son, who lost in
the first round after encountering severe tire shake.

    "Based on our performance today, I think we have a hot weather
combination we can be comfortable with," Warren noted. It's likely he'll
have to use that combination again next weekend at the Pontiac Excitement
Nationals Presented by Summit Racing in Columbus, Ohio.

WARREN JOHNSON RACE RESULTS:
Qualifying: Warren Johnson qualified No. 2 at 6.964/198.70

Eliminations:
Round 1: Warren Johnson (6.985/198.50) defeated Richie Stevens
(7.072/194.55)
Round 2: Warren Johnson (6.995/198.09) defeated Jeg Coughlin,
Jr. (7.089/197.08)
Semi-Final: Warren Johnson (7.010/197.94) defeated Jim Yates (7.073/195.14)
Final Round: Warren Johnson (6.987/198.06) defeated Troy
Coughlin (7.110/196.19)

Low ET: Kurt Johnson, 6.955 seconds (track record)
Top Speed: Warren Johnson, 198.70 mph (track record)

POINTS RACE:
(After 9 of 22 events)
Driver             Wins    Points
1. Warren Johnson    4      760
2. Kurt Johnson      2      661
3. Richie Stevens    1      517
4. Jim Yates         0      500
5. Troy Coughlin     0      464

NEXT RACE:
Pontiac Excitement Nationals, June 10-13, Columbus, Ohio
TV: ABC, June 20, 3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific - check local
listings.

  

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