NHRA: The Warren Report: Pomona Edition
8 November 2000
THE WARREN REPORT: Warren Johnson GM Goodwrench Service Plus News & Notes
for the Auto Club NHRA Finals
NEXT RACE:
Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Nov. 9-12, Pomona, Calif.
TV: ESPN2, Nov. 12, 10:00 p.m. (ET)
THE END OF THE ROAD
One race does not a season make, but Warren Johnson's victory in the
Matco Tools SuperNationals in Houston on October 29 has put the five-time
NHRA champion back on track. Johnson's victory over first-time finalist
Brad Jeter broke a 17-race drought and gave the Professor of Pro Stock his
tenth straight year with at least two national event victories.
"As Mark Twain once said, the reports of my demise are
greatly exaggerated," Johnson joked after notching his 81st career victory
at Houston Raceway Park.
"It's not that we've lacked performance, but rather that we've made
a series of mental and mechanical errors," W.J. explained. "It's been
little things like a two-cent spring in the fuel regulator failing in the
first round of eliminations at the U.S. Nationals. We also had to get
everyone on the team working on the same wavelength. Now it's finally all
coming together."
Johnson's GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac was the picture
of consistency in Houston, making four runs on race day with elapsed
times between 6.906 and 6.917 seconds. Warren also recorded the event's
fastest speed at 200.00 mph, the tenth time this season that he ran the
fastest speed in Pro Stock.
WHAT GOES AROUND
Now Johnson has set his sights on winning the Automobile Club of
Southern California NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway on November 9-12, the
season finale of the 23-race NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series. The NHRA tour
will complete its annual cycle, returning to Pomona Raceway where it all
began nine long months ago.
"A victory at the NHRA Finals would give us a psychological advantage
for next year because our competition will have all winter to think about
it," Warren noted. "They know we're back, we're consistent, and we're
competitive. Never discount the intimidation factor!"
FINAL FLIGHT
The NHRA Finals will mark the final race for Warren's GM Goodwrench
Service Plus Firebird. He will debut a smaller, more aerodynamic Grand Am
at the 2001 AutoZone Winternationals.
"I think the change will do us good," said Johnson. "We've had a great
run with the Firebird, but after five years with the same design I'm ready
to take on a new challenge."
Following a long association with Oldsmobile, Johnson unveiled his
first Firebird at the 1996 Winternationals. He scored 27 of his 81 career
victories with Pontiac's muscle car, including a victory in the 1997
Winternationals at Pomona Raceway. But don't look for Warren to shed any
tears when he finally retires his Firebird.
"I'm not sentimental about my race cars," said the Professor. "A car
is simply a tool, like a hammer or a wrench. I don't get emotionally
attached to my tools."
When Oldsmobile concluded its factory drag racing program at the end
of the 1995 season, Johnson gave the Oldsmobile Cutlass a farewell victory
at the NHRA Finals. W.J. is planning a similar send-off for his Firebird.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
While the race for the Pro Stock championship was decided in favor of
Jeg Coughlin Jr. weeks ago, the battle for the No. 2 spot still rages
between Kurt and Warren Johnson. Warren's win in Houston narrowed his son's
advantage to one round of racing, but K.J. parlayed a victory last week in
Dallas into an 80-point lead. Kurt has never finished ahead of his father
in the championship standings in his eight-year career.
"We're going to approach the Finals the same way we've done at every
race in the second half of this season," Warren reported. "Since we got our
engine program back on track in June, we've been able to apply what we've
learned with Kurt's car and my car. We've made real progress in the chassis
department since the Winternationals, and we're working on refinements that
will pay dividends when we come back to Pomona in February."
COVERING THE BASES
Johnson plans to have four new race cars in his stable at the start of
his 2001 campaign. Chassis craftsman Don Ness will construct a Cavalier for
Kurt and a Grand Am for Warren with double frame rails, while all-star
chassis builder Jerry Haas will produce two cars with single frame rails.
"Kurt and I will have one of each type of chassis," Johnson revealed.
"As soon as we determine which design is better, we'll have another car
built. All four cars will use the same infinitely adjustable rear
suspension mounts. That will give us the ability to home in on the sweet
spot."
THE WAY IT WAS
The NHRA Finals is a well-traveled event. NHRA has conducted its season
finale in Tulsa, Okla., Dallas and Amarillo, Texas, Ontario, Calif., and
Irvine, Calif. Johnson won back-to-back Finals titles at the late, lamented
Orange County International Raceway in Irvine, Calif., in 1982-83. He
defeated Lee Shepherd in both final rounds at OCIR.
Johnson added four more Finals victories to his resume after the
race moved to its permanent home in Pomona in 1984. The 1988 final saw two
Johnsons racing for the title when Warren faced Morris Johnson Jr. - no
relation. In 1993, Warren defeated Kurt Johnson in the last race of the
season, marking the first 1-2 finish by a father and son in the NHRA
championship.
W.J.'s NHRA FINALS RECORD:
Year Qual. Result
1975 Ontario Alt. First Round
1976 Ontario 2 First Round
1977 Ontario 7 Second Round
1978 Ontario 5 Second Round
1982 Irvine 1 Winner (over Shepherd)
1983 Irvine 3 Winner (over Shepherd)
1984 5 First Round
1985 5 Second Round
1986 2 Second Round
1987 2 Semi-final
1988 1 Winner (over M. Johnson, Jr.)
1989 3 Runner-up (to Glidden)
1990 2 First Round
1992 3 Winner (over Eckman)
1993 1 Winner (over K. Johnson)
1994 1 Semi-final
1995 1 Winner (over Schmidt)
1996 1 Second Round
1997 7 Semi-final
1998 1 Semi-final
1999 3 Runner-up (to J. Coughlin Jr.)
LAST RACES:
Matco Tools SuperNationals, Houston, Oct. 29
Qualified: No. 4
Finished: Winner; defeated Brad Jeter in final round.
O'Reilly Fall Nationals, Dallas, Nov. 4
Qualified: No. 3 based on driver points
Finished: Lost to Troy Coughlin in second round with foul start.
POINTS RACE:
(After 22 of 23 events)
Driver Wins Points
1. Jeg Coughlin Jr. 10 1,956
2. Kurt Johnson 5 1,490
3. Warren Johnson 2 1,410
4. Ron Krisher 2 1,359
5. Mark Pawuk 1 1,180