EIGHT THOUSANDANTHS OF A SECOND SEPARATES TOMMY JOHNSON FROM FIRST ROUND VICTORY IN SEATTLE
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/t_johnson.jpg" alt="t_johnson"align="right"borders="0" />
KENT, Wash. (July 20) -- Tommy Johnson, Jr. and the Monster Energy Funny Car team enjoyed their best qualifying effort this season, climbing to No. 3 in the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals final qualifying order with a 4.083/299.20.
Then in the first round of eliminations, despite a solid performance, Johnson lost by a scant eight thousandths of a second to opponent Jack Beckman. Johnson was first out of the starting gate but at the finish line it was Beckman by a nose. Beckman clocked 4.163/297.94 and Johnson was at his side with a 4.189/298.54.
“It’s heartbreaking to lose for as good as the team’s doing now,” said Johnson. “But at the same time it goes to show you how close and competitive we are.
“The car ran really good. The Monster Energy team did a great job. I left the starting line before Jack, but it just wasn’t enough to hold him off. Even though it’s tough to lose, at the same time it’s encouraging to see how close we are to winning one of these races. Not only have we made the car competitive enough to be able to go rounds, this car is now capable of winning a race. It’s just a matter of time before things go our way. Each race we’ve made improvements in qualifying. We’ve worked our way up the ladder and we came out here the No. 3 qualifier. It’s a shame to get beat in the first round but at the same time we’re very encouraged for the next few races on the tour.”
On Thursday of race week, Johnson made a trip on behalf of Monster Energy to visit wounded soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis Army Base.
“It was rewarding to spend time with the soldiers at Fort Lewis that had been wounded in battle. But for me, it brought back a lot of memories when I visited wounded soldiers in Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstsein Air Base in Germany where they are first evacuated out of Iraq . We know what they’ve been through on their journey back home and we thank them for what they’ve done for our country. Maybe we were able to put a bright spot in their day. They’re having a bad time. It makes losing first round look pretty small when you see what these guys have been through. Hopefully we cheered them up a bit.”
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/t_johnson.jpg" alt="t_johnson"align="right"borders="0" />
KENT, Wash. (July 20) -- Tommy Johnson, Jr. and the Monster Energy Funny Car team enjoyed their best qualifying effort this season, climbing to No. 3 in the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals final qualifying order with a 4.083/299.20.
Then in the first round of eliminations, despite a solid performance, Johnson lost by a scant eight thousandths of a second to opponent Jack Beckman. Johnson was first out of the starting gate but at the finish line it was Beckman by a nose. Beckman clocked 4.163/297.94 and Johnson was at his side with a 4.189/298.54.
“It’s heartbreaking to lose for as good as the team’s doing now,” said Johnson. “But at the same time it goes to show you how close and competitive we are.
“The car ran really good. The Monster Energy team did a great job. I left the starting line before Jack, but it just wasn’t enough to hold him off. Even though it’s tough to lose, at the same time it’s encouraging to see how close we are to winning one of these races. Not only have we made the car competitive enough to be able to go rounds, this car is now capable of winning a race. It’s just a matter of time before things go our way. Each race we’ve made improvements in qualifying. We’ve worked our way up the ladder and we came out here the No. 3 qualifier. It’s a shame to get beat in the first round but at the same time we’re very encouraged for the next few races on the tour.”
On Thursday of race week, Johnson made a trip on behalf of Monster Energy to visit wounded soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis Army Base.
“It was rewarding to spend time with the soldiers at Fort Lewis that had been wounded in battle. But for me, it brought back a lot of memories when I visited wounded soldiers in Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstsein Air Base in Germany where they are first evacuated out of Iraq . We know what they’ve been through on their journey back home and we thank them for what they’ve done for our country. Maybe we were able to put a bright spot in their day. They’re having a bad time. It makes losing first round look pretty small when you see what these guys have been through. Hopefully we cheered them up a bit.”
