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BRAINERD, Minn. (8/12/06) -- On the strength of a 6.771-second, 203.61 mph pass made on Friday afternoon, Virginia, MN native (an area of the state known as the Iron Range) Warren Johnson qualified his GM Performance Parts GTO in the eleventh position for Sunday's final eliminations of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, in Brainerd, MN. As he heads into his 24th NHRA national event start in his home state, Johnson's outlook is buoyed by the consistency show by his race car in the last three qualifying sessions, where his elapsed times were all within seven thousandths of a second. In addition, his 203.49 mph top speed in the final session on Saturday was the fastest among the 24 Pro Stock cars making an attempt.
"Although we would certainly prefer to be higher on the ladder, we're fairly pleased with our GM Performance Parts GTO's performance. We made it down the track on all four attempts, including the first, where we had a mechanical issue that caused us to roll the (starting line) beams. We took what it would give us and made adjustments throughout qualifying trying to make it better, including making an engine change for the last session and I believe it's coming around.
"We made a decent run this morning, showing that we could run with the competition, and then came back this afternoon with one of the quickest runs in that lane, as well as posting the top speed for the session.
"We're getting to the point of being able to adapt the power to the ground just a little bit better, and what we've learned we'll be able to use comfortably in the new car, which we will. For tomorrow, it's given us something to work with, and it's up to us to make the best of it."
"Iron Ranger" WJ Will Roll Off Eleventh in Brainerd
BRAINERD, Minn. (8/12/06) -- On the strength of a 6.771-second, 203.61 mph pass made on Friday afternoon, Virginia, MN native (an area of the state known as the Iron Range) Warren Johnson qualified his GM Performance Parts GTO in the eleventh position for Sunday's final eliminations of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, in Brainerd, MN. As he heads into his 24th NHRA national event start in his home state, Johnson's outlook is buoyed by the consistency show by his race car in the last three qualifying sessions, where his elapsed times were all within seven thousandths of a second. In addition, his 203.49 mph top speed in the final session on Saturday was the fastest among the 24 Pro Stock cars making an attempt.
"Although we would certainly prefer to be higher on the ladder, we're fairly pleased with our GM Performance Parts GTO's performance. We made it down the track on all four attempts, including the first, where we had a mechanical issue that caused us to roll the (starting line) beams. We took what it would give us and made adjustments throughout qualifying trying to make it better, including making an engine change for the last session and I believe it's coming around.
"We made a decent run this morning, showing that we could run with the competition, and then came back this afternoon with one of the quickest runs in that lane, as well as posting the top speed for the session.
"We're getting to the point of being able to adapt the power to the ground just a little bit better, and what we've learned we'll be able to use comfortably in the new car, which we will. For tomorrow, it's given us something to work with, and it's up to us to make the best of it."
