NHRA: Warren Report: Bristol/Denver Edition
7 July 1999
THE WARREN REPORT: WARREN JOHNSON GM GOODWRENCH SERVICE PLUS NEWS & NOTES
FOR THE WINSTON SHOWDOWN AND MOPAR PARTS MILE-HIGH NATIONALS
NEXT RACES:
Winston Showdown (non-points special event), July 8-10, Bristol, Tenn.
TV: ESPN, July 10, 9:30-10:30 p.m. EDT
Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals, July 15-18, Denver, Colo.
TV: ESPN2, July 18, 6:30-7:30 p.m. EDT - check local listings.
50,000 REASONS TO WIN
It's not about the money - well, yes it is. As a professional racer who
pays his bills with the proceeds of his racing program, Warren Johnson has
50,000 incentives to win the Winston Showdown. This non-points all-star
event at the newly refurbished Bristol Dragway in Tennessee's Thunder
Valley offers a $50,000 prize for the Pro Stock winner. W.J. figures they
might as well write his name on the big check.
"There are 50 big carrots over there in Bristol, so I plan to go
get them," Warren said. "There is really no difference in our approach
whether we're racing for championship points or money. The object is to win
the race."
Warren is already seeded in the 16-car field as the reigning NHRA
Winston champion. The remaining spots will be filled with the most recent
race winners and the six quickest qualifiers.
With a total of five victories, W.J. is the most prolific driver in
the ten-year history of drag racing's big-buck bonus event formerly known
as the Winston All-Stars and the Winston Invitational. He won the inaugural
race at the Texas Motorplex in 1988, and notched four victories
(including back-to-back wins in 1996-97) during the race's residency in
Rockingham, N.C.
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
The Bristol bash will feature Top Fuel dragsters racing against
their Funny Car counterparts for a $200,000 top prize. It's a concept that
intrigues the Professor.
"I think we'll see the future of drag racing," Warren predicted. "I
don't believe that the sport can sustain two fuel-burning classes because
of the tremendous cost of racing those cars. I anticipate a movement
toward streamlining the show by reducing the number of classes.
"NHRA understands that we're out there to provide entertainment, and
that means producing a marketable package that's attractive to television."
So would Warren be willing to take on the Pro Stock Trucks to
heighten interest in the "doorslammer" classes?
"Absolutely, as long as there are no handicap starts!" Warren replied.
"As I said before, we're in the entertainment business. We can't tolerate
handicap starts that confuse the fans. If they put bigger motors in the Pro
Stock Trucks and lightened them up so they are closer in performance to the
cars, I say bring 'em on!
"It wouldn't make any difference to me if the trucks ran
single-stage nitrous oxide systems, as long as the rules limited how much
nitrous they could use," W.J. asserted.
"Heck, I've raced against cars using nitrous before," he added with
a wink.
WESTWARD HO!
Following the Winston Showdown, Warren and his GM Goodwrench Service Plus
team will embark on the month-long "Western Swing." An extra week has been
added to the three-race marathon that will take the NHRA tour to Denver,
Seattle, and Sonoma, Calif. Instead of the three-races-in-three-weeks grind
of previous seasons, this year's schedule calls for a one-week break
following the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
Warren broke the championship race wide open during last year's
Western Swing with a runner-up finish in Denver and back-to-back wins in
Sonoma and Seattle. He is optimistic that he can reproduce those results.
"I think we can enjoy the same kind of success," Warren offered. "We
have a fair amount of data on Denver from the testing we did there last
year. The track has been resurfaced, so it should be smooth, which is a
potential advantage for us.
"Seattle has historically favored our tuneup, and we know we can run
fast there. Until last year, the track in Sonoma was always our nemesis -
it can be very hot and very slick. Based on our performances in the heat in
Joliet and Chicago [where W.J. posted consecutive wins], I think we have a
setup that will work under those conditions."
THE PROFESSOR'S NOTE PAD
* Neck and Neck: Warren Johnson and Funny Car driver John Force are again
tied with 77 career victories following Force's win at the Sears
Craftsman Nationals. With 11 races remaining on the 1999 schedule, either
(or both) could break Bob Glidden's record of 85 career wins before the end
of the season.
* Into Thin Air: Warren has been racing on "The Mountain" since he began
his career as a sportsman driver competing in NHRA's Division 5. Even with
W.J.'s years of experience, it is a challenge to make horsepower at
Bandimere Speedway, the site of the upcoming Mile-High Nationals.
"The thin air at high altitude affects a naturally aspirated Pro
Stock engine much more than it does a supercharged, nitro-burning motor
which effectively creates its own atmosphere with blower boost and
oxygen-bearing fuel," Warren explained. "With fewer oxygen molecules
available, less fuel can be burned efficiently. A naturally aspirated,
gasoline-burning engine loses one to two percent of its power for every
1,000 feet of elevation. At 5,000 feet, a Pro Stock engine makes
approximately 100 less horsepower than it would at sea level.
"The low humidity at high altitude also exacts a toll on
performance," W.J. added. "With less than 30 percent humidity, an engine
has an increased tendency to detonate because there are fewer water
molecules to slow down the fuel's burn rate. Detonation is uncontrolled
combustion caused by self-ignition of the fuel-air mixture - and it's
deadly to engine components."
SIDETRACKED IN ST. LOUIS
After consecutive victories in Chicago and Columbus, the Johnson
juggernaut came off the tracks at the Sears Craftsman Nationals, held at
Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis on June 26. Following a
lengthy rain delay before eliminations on Saturday night, W.J. suffered a
holeshot loss in the first round to young gun Jeg Coughlin, Jr.
The Johnson family had won the two previous national events at
Gateway International Raceway, with Warren taking the inaugural race in
1997 and his son Kurt winning in 1998. This year, however, both Johnsons
were on the trailer after the first round of eliminations.
"There was nothing wrong with the track," Warren declared. "We just
didn't have the right setup. That was all there was to it."
A QUALIFIED SUCCESS
Warren struggled in qualifying for the Sears Craftsman Nationals,
taking the 11th spot on the list - the first time this season that W.J.
didn't claim one of the top two spots. The last time that W.J.'s name
appeared that far down on the qualifying list was at the 1997 Pontiac
Excitement Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. You have to go back nearly a decade
to the 1989 NorthStar Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., to find a worse
qualifying performance on W.J.'s resume: He was the 16th qualifier at that
race.
Warren has only won once after qualifying in the bottom half of the
field - at the 1989 Northwest Nationals in Seattle, where he qualified in
the tenth spot and went on to defeat Bruce Allen in the final round with a
holeshot. On the other hand, he's scored 41 of his 77 career victories from
the Pro Stock "pole."
Here is a summary of W.J.'s national event victories based on his
starting spots:
Qualifying Position Victories
1 41
2 21
3 8
4 3
5 2
8 1
10 1
LAST RACE:
Sears Craftsman Nationals, Madison, Ill., June 26, 1999
Qualifying: Warren Johnson qualified No. 11 at 7.008/197.74
Eliminations:
Round 1: Jeg Coughlin, Jr. (7.041/195.73) defeated Warren
Johnson (7.017/196.99)
Final Round: Jim Yates defeated Allen Johnson
Low ET: Kurt Johnson, 6.932 seconds (track record)
Top Speed: Warren Johnson, 198.96 mph (track record)
POINTS RACE:
(After 11 of 22 events)
Driver Wins Points
1. Warren Johnson 5 910
2. Kurt Johnson 2 731
3. Jim Yates 1 644
4. Richie Stevens 1 601
5. Jeg Coughlin, Jr. 1 582
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