Auburn Hills, Mich. — Mopar® Dodge Avenger NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson earned his first win of the season today at the 42nd Annual NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., defeating teammate Vincent Nobile in an all-Mopar final round to earn his ninth career win in 22 final-round appearances.
Johnson won at the starting line, as Nobile, who also competes with Mopar HEMI® engines supplied by Roy Johnson, Allen’s father, fouled out on a red-light start by a mere 0.006-seconds. Allen Johnson, owner and driver of the J&J Racing Mopar Dodge Avenger, turned in a pass of 6.689-seconds at 210.64 mph with a reaction time of 0.013 in the final round. The matchup marked the first all-Mopar Dodge final in Pro Stock since the Fall 2009 Las Vegas event (Larry Morgan vs. Rickie Jones).
“It feels great to win,” said an exuberant Johnson. “We’ve been close this season. This Mopar Dodge Avenger has been fast, and we always have plenty of power with the Mopar HEMI under the hood. We have been taking a different approach this year and have been working into developing a good product with this new chassis. I think we are almost there, but not quite. We are almost where we want to be with six races left until the Countdown. We are still refining things, and continue to work hard each and every day.”
“All of us at Mopar are proud of Allen’s performance,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Having two Mopar-powered Dodge cars in the final round serves as a validation of the power and performance of our Mopar HEMI engines in NHRA competition.”
Johnson, the No. 6 qualifier, downed Kurt Johnson (no relation) in the first round with a run of 6.536/211.86 to his opponent’s 6.671/209.43. In the quarterfinals Allen Johnson used a 0.029 reaction time to defeat Erica Enders, recording a run of 6.533/211.23 to Ender’s 6.547/211.36 mark with a 0.031 reaction time. The semifinals found AJ matched up against veteran Greg Stanfield. Johnson’s reaction time of 0.030, followed by a run of 6.555/210.70, helped the Mopar Dodge driver edge Stanfield, who ran a 6.559/210.87 with a reaction time of 0.040.
“It was great to have two Mopar-powered Dodge Avengers in the final, especially with Vincent being the car that we power and help out,” said Johnson. “Once again Mopar power has proven it can get the job done, and that’s our recipe for the rest of the season. Earlier in the year, we almost had a couple of final rounds that would have put Vincent and us against each other, so to do that here today, it felt great.”
Johnson, who moved up to seventh in the NHRA Pro Stock points after the win on Sunday, will look to carry the momentum from his win into the 11th Annual Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals at Bristol Dragway, his home track, June 17–19. Bristol is just an hour north of the J&J Racing Shop in Greeneville, Tenn., with Johnson seeking his first career win at the venue.
“Momentum in racing anytime is great, but to have some heading into your home race is even better,” shared the Team Mopar veteran. “The car is very consistent right now and we can continue to fine tune it and learn things. We are really looking forward to heading to Bristol and hopefully we can keep it going for Mopar and Dodge, and make it two wins in a row.”
Johnson won at the starting line, as Nobile, who also competes with Mopar HEMI® engines supplied by Roy Johnson, Allen’s father, fouled out on a red-light start by a mere 0.006-seconds. Allen Johnson, owner and driver of the J&J Racing Mopar Dodge Avenger, turned in a pass of 6.689-seconds at 210.64 mph with a reaction time of 0.013 in the final round. The matchup marked the first all-Mopar Dodge final in Pro Stock since the Fall 2009 Las Vegas event (Larry Morgan vs. Rickie Jones).
“It feels great to win,” said an exuberant Johnson. “We’ve been close this season. This Mopar Dodge Avenger has been fast, and we always have plenty of power with the Mopar HEMI under the hood. We have been taking a different approach this year and have been working into developing a good product with this new chassis. I think we are almost there, but not quite. We are almost where we want to be with six races left until the Countdown. We are still refining things, and continue to work hard each and every day.”
“All of us at Mopar are proud of Allen’s performance,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Having two Mopar-powered Dodge cars in the final round serves as a validation of the power and performance of our Mopar HEMI engines in NHRA competition.”
Johnson, the No. 6 qualifier, downed Kurt Johnson (no relation) in the first round with a run of 6.536/211.86 to his opponent’s 6.671/209.43. In the quarterfinals Allen Johnson used a 0.029 reaction time to defeat Erica Enders, recording a run of 6.533/211.23 to Ender’s 6.547/211.36 mark with a 0.031 reaction time. The semifinals found AJ matched up against veteran Greg Stanfield. Johnson’s reaction time of 0.030, followed by a run of 6.555/210.70, helped the Mopar Dodge driver edge Stanfield, who ran a 6.559/210.87 with a reaction time of 0.040.
“It was great to have two Mopar-powered Dodge Avengers in the final, especially with Vincent being the car that we power and help out,” said Johnson. “Once again Mopar power has proven it can get the job done, and that’s our recipe for the rest of the season. Earlier in the year, we almost had a couple of final rounds that would have put Vincent and us against each other, so to do that here today, it felt great.”
Johnson, who moved up to seventh in the NHRA Pro Stock points after the win on Sunday, will look to carry the momentum from his win into the 11th Annual Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals at Bristol Dragway, his home track, June 17–19. Bristol is just an hour north of the J&J Racing Shop in Greeneville, Tenn., with Johnson seeking his first career win at the venue.
“Momentum in racing anytime is great, but to have some heading into your home race is even better,” shared the Team Mopar veteran. “The car is very consistent right now and we can continue to fine tune it and learn things. We are really looking forward to heading to Bristol and hopefully we can keep it going for Mopar and Dodge, and make it two wins in a row.”
