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•Early berth in Countdown to 4 begins to payoff for Allen Johnson
•Richie Stevens Jr. has goal to be in the top 10 in standings
•Allen Johnson stats
•Richie Stevens Jr. stats
•O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals event details
Center Line, Mich. — Team Mopar® Pro Stocker Allen Johnson heads to the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis in the third spot in the NHRA POWERade Countdown to 4 playoff standings. With the top four drivers advancing to the two-race Countdown to 1 shootout for the NHRA Pro Stock championship, a solid outing in Memphis is a must for Johnson to maintain his title hopes.
Richie Stevens Jr., Johnson’s teammate, did not qualify among the eight drivers who advanced to the Countdown to 4. However, the Louisiana native is still determined to post a strong finish to his 2007 season. His focus has shifted to scoring a top-10 finish in the final NHRA Pro Stock standings and helping Johnson as much as possible by eliminating some of his Countdown to 4 competition.
Early berth in Countdown to 4 begins to payoff for Allen Johnson
Johnson qualified his Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T in the Countdown to 4 with two races to spare. With his spot in the Countdown locked up, Johnson and his father, J&J Racing co-owner and engine builder Roy Johnson, were able to experiment with modifications to the HEMI® engine in his Dodge Stratus R/T. That extra preparation time is just now beginning to pay dividends.
“Everything we learned [Roy] has incorporated into a couple of engines, and changed them around and definitely picked them up,” said Johnson. “I feel very confident. I feel like we gave away two rounds at Indy. We should have got runner-up at worst. We made one boo-boo, and that was that we didn’t make a very good run in the first round and lost lane choice for the second round. I think we were right on our game plan. We just missed it by a couple of thousands of a second. We’ll go into Memphis with exactly the same game plan—qualify in the top half, win first round, and get lane choice for the second round.”
Johnson believes his J&J Racing team is beginning to fire on all cylinders. It couldn’t come at a better time, during Countdown to 4 crunch time in the ultra-competitive NHRA POWERade Pro Stock division.
“We’ve always done pretty good in Memphis. Of course, it’s in our home state,” Johnson said. “We’re just now really getting in our stride, and Dad’s really getting in his stride on the engines. I feel like my driving has come around here a little bit in the last week. I just feel like we are in a really good position to do something good over the next three weeks. There is no room for error. We have to be perfect.”
Richie Stevens Jr. has goal to be in the top 10 in standings
It’s difficult to be on the sidelines looking in, as is the case for Stevens, driver of the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T owned by Don Schumacher Racing and maintained by J&J Racing. Although his championship run is over, Stevens’ pride and competitiveness will drive him as he pursues his sixth career NHRA Pro Stock top-10 points finish.
“We’ve got the car running good. I think the car is where it needs to be,” remarked Stevens. “I just need to do a good job. Hopefully we can go some rounds. The championship battle is pretty much out of sight, out of mind. The best I could do is ninth, and hopefully I can get that spot before the year is out. I think we can come away with one [spot in the top-ten] if we can go a few rounds.
“The game plan now is just to go out there and win races. We go into Memphis which is kind of my second home race. I’ve got a lot of friends and family coming out to the race so hopefully we can put on a good show for them.”
Another goal of Stevens is to aid his teammate, Johnson, in his NHRA Pro Stock title chase.
“We’ve got five races left and it would be good to go out there and win one,” Stevens said. “We’ll just suck it up and go out there and play spoiler. Maybe we can go out there and meet up in couple of rounds with the people that A.J. is battling for points. Hopefully we can get matched up against those top cars. If I can do my job and Mark [Ingersoll, crew chief] can get the car set up right, we can go out there and win some rounds and keep those other guys from gaining points on A.J. and give him a little push.”
Allen Johnson stats•Has 22-16 round record in 2007
•Has 3rd spot in the NHRA POWERade Countdown to 4 playoff, only 81 points behind leader Dave Connolly
•Advanced to the semifinals at the 2006 O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
•Captured his 5th career win at the 28th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals in July
•Took his third career No. 1 qualifier spot at the Mile-High Nationals and set the Bandimere Speedway track record
•Has 12 quarterfinals, six semifinals, and three finals appearance in 2007 (to date)
Richie Stevens Jr. stats•Has the 10th spot in the NHRA Pro Stock points standings
•Finished ninth in the 2006 NHRA Pro Stock points standings
•Recorded a career best ET and speed of 6.598/209.20 in qualifying second at Englishtown in June
•Had two wins (Dallas, Las Vegas) in the final five events of 2006
•Finished in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock top 10 for the fifth time in his career in 2006
•Has six career wins and 11 career final round appearances
O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals event details
The O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals is scheduled for Sept. 14 – 16 at Memphis Motorsports Park. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 16 starting at 12 midnight (EDT) on ESPN2. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 16 starting at 7 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2. For more info on the NHRA, log on to NHRA.com.
70 Years of Mopar
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.
Originally used in the 1920s, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It was also widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “Special Parts” for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.
Today, Chrysler LLC’s Global Service & Parts division is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of nearly 250,000 authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles sold around the world. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering standards.
Johnson is in the Thick of Fight in the Countdown to 4 While Stevens Resolves to Remain in the Top 10 at O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
•Early berth in Countdown to 4 begins to payoff for Allen Johnson
•Richie Stevens Jr. has goal to be in the top 10 in standings
•Allen Johnson stats
•Richie Stevens Jr. stats
•O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals event details
Center Line, Mich. — Team Mopar® Pro Stocker Allen Johnson heads to the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis in the third spot in the NHRA POWERade Countdown to 4 playoff standings. With the top four drivers advancing to the two-race Countdown to 1 shootout for the NHRA Pro Stock championship, a solid outing in Memphis is a must for Johnson to maintain his title hopes.
Richie Stevens Jr., Johnson’s teammate, did not qualify among the eight drivers who advanced to the Countdown to 4. However, the Louisiana native is still determined to post a strong finish to his 2007 season. His focus has shifted to scoring a top-10 finish in the final NHRA Pro Stock standings and helping Johnson as much as possible by eliminating some of his Countdown to 4 competition.
Early berth in Countdown to 4 begins to payoff for Allen Johnson
Johnson qualified his Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T in the Countdown to 4 with two races to spare. With his spot in the Countdown locked up, Johnson and his father, J&J Racing co-owner and engine builder Roy Johnson, were able to experiment with modifications to the HEMI® engine in his Dodge Stratus R/T. That extra preparation time is just now beginning to pay dividends.
“Everything we learned [Roy] has incorporated into a couple of engines, and changed them around and definitely picked them up,” said Johnson. “I feel very confident. I feel like we gave away two rounds at Indy. We should have got runner-up at worst. We made one boo-boo, and that was that we didn’t make a very good run in the first round and lost lane choice for the second round. I think we were right on our game plan. We just missed it by a couple of thousands of a second. We’ll go into Memphis with exactly the same game plan—qualify in the top half, win first round, and get lane choice for the second round.”
Johnson believes his J&J Racing team is beginning to fire on all cylinders. It couldn’t come at a better time, during Countdown to 4 crunch time in the ultra-competitive NHRA POWERade Pro Stock division.
“We’ve always done pretty good in Memphis. Of course, it’s in our home state,” Johnson said. “We’re just now really getting in our stride, and Dad’s really getting in his stride on the engines. I feel like my driving has come around here a little bit in the last week. I just feel like we are in a really good position to do something good over the next three weeks. There is no room for error. We have to be perfect.”
Richie Stevens Jr. has goal to be in the top 10 in standings
It’s difficult to be on the sidelines looking in, as is the case for Stevens, driver of the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T owned by Don Schumacher Racing and maintained by J&J Racing. Although his championship run is over, Stevens’ pride and competitiveness will drive him as he pursues his sixth career NHRA Pro Stock top-10 points finish.
“We’ve got the car running good. I think the car is where it needs to be,” remarked Stevens. “I just need to do a good job. Hopefully we can go some rounds. The championship battle is pretty much out of sight, out of mind. The best I could do is ninth, and hopefully I can get that spot before the year is out. I think we can come away with one [spot in the top-ten] if we can go a few rounds.
“The game plan now is just to go out there and win races. We go into Memphis which is kind of my second home race. I’ve got a lot of friends and family coming out to the race so hopefully we can put on a good show for them.”
Another goal of Stevens is to aid his teammate, Johnson, in his NHRA Pro Stock title chase.
“We’ve got five races left and it would be good to go out there and win one,” Stevens said. “We’ll just suck it up and go out there and play spoiler. Maybe we can go out there and meet up in couple of rounds with the people that A.J. is battling for points. Hopefully we can get matched up against those top cars. If I can do my job and Mark [Ingersoll, crew chief] can get the car set up right, we can go out there and win some rounds and keep those other guys from gaining points on A.J. and give him a little push.”
Allen Johnson stats•Has 22-16 round record in 2007
•Has 3rd spot in the NHRA POWERade Countdown to 4 playoff, only 81 points behind leader Dave Connolly
•Advanced to the semifinals at the 2006 O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
•Captured his 5th career win at the 28th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals in July
•Took his third career No. 1 qualifier spot at the Mile-High Nationals and set the Bandimere Speedway track record
•Has 12 quarterfinals, six semifinals, and three finals appearance in 2007 (to date)
Richie Stevens Jr. stats•Has the 10th spot in the NHRA Pro Stock points standings
•Finished ninth in the 2006 NHRA Pro Stock points standings
•Recorded a career best ET and speed of 6.598/209.20 in qualifying second at Englishtown in June
•Had two wins (Dallas, Las Vegas) in the final five events of 2006
•Finished in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock top 10 for the fifth time in his career in 2006
•Has six career wins and 11 career final round appearances
O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals event details
The O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals is scheduled for Sept. 14 – 16 at Memphis Motorsports Park. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 16 starting at 12 midnight (EDT) on ESPN2. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 16 starting at 7 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2. For more info on the NHRA, log on to NHRA.com.
70 Years of Mopar
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.
Originally used in the 1920s, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It was also widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “Special Parts” for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.
Today, Chrysler LLC’s Global Service & Parts division is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of nearly 250,000 authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles sold around the world. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering standards.
