[coverattach=1]NORWALK, Ohio, June 24, 2009 – The third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals starting Friday at Summit Racing Motorsports Park will mark the halfway point of the 24-event 2009 Full Throttle Series campaign. It's also a unique, double-race weekend for eight drivers in the Pro Stock class who will have a golden opportunity to pocket an additional $50,000 by winning Saturday's K & N Horsepower Challenge, a race-within-a-race, featuring the eight drivers who have accumulated the most points in qualifying over the past year.
ACDelco's Kurt Johnson has won the special bonus event four times during his career, the most of any Pro Stock driver in the history of the sport, so he knows all about hitting that Horsepower Challenge jackpot.
"To have won it more than anyone else says a lot about this ACDelco team," Johnson said. "It's an exciting event for the fans as well as the eight elite racers who have earned their way into the field over the course of a year.
"It's a fun day, with no pressure as far as the championship points are concerned. With all that money on the line, you don't really wing it, but you definitely go up there hopped up. There's that $50,000 bone at the end of the day, and you're just a hungry dog going after it."
VIDEO: Kurt's post-race interview following record fourth win in the Horsepower Challenge in Joliet, Ill., on June 9, 2007: YouTube - Kurt Johnson Post-Race Win Interview/2007 Horsepower Challenge
This will be Johnson's 16th consecutive appearance in the Horsepower Challenge – the longest active streak among Pro Stock competitors and second all time to his dad, Warren Johnson's, 23 races. Kurt has raced in the Horsepower Challenge every year in which he's been eligible going back to 1994 with his victories coming in 1994, '98, 2003, and most recently in 2007. He is qualified No. 5 for this year's bonus race and will face No. 4 qualifier Jason Line in round one.
"That's a payoff you can get excited about," Johnson said. "When you wake up on Saturday morning and realize that someone's going to leave the track $50,000 richer than they were when they arrived, you can't wait to get the day started."
In addition to trying to bank that extra cash during Saturday's bonus feature, the ACDelco team will be multi-tasking and trying to secure a strong qualifying position for Sunday's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
"You have to keep your eye on the ball, as far as that's concerned," Johnson said. "That means running well and making a pair of good passes right out of the box on Friday so that we're not trying to fight our way into the field on Saturday."
Johnson comes into this weekend's NHRA Full Throttle contest seventh in the standings and with his ACDelco Chevrolet the best it's been all season. The ACDelco team is looking to build on the momentum it established during the last two races, and a win this weekend, either in Saturday's Horsepower Challenge or Sunday's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, would be a nice morale lifter heading into the second half of the season.
"From a performance standpoint, we've made up a lot of ground over the past couple of races, and we're getting to the point now where we're running at the front of the pack," Johnson said. "Now we need to win a race. We have all the right equipment and all the right people to get that done. It's a matter of putting the right pegs in the right holes. Right now, there seems to be about six or seven of us in the middle of the pack chasing the two at the top. The good thing is that we can get on a run just like the leaders and make a move – I'm certain of that."
The third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on June 25 – 28 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, is the 12th race on the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Series tour.
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights beginning at 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, June 27. NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 28, on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 10 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 28.
Kurt Johnson/ACDelco stats and facts 2009 NHRA SuperNationals
* The 500 Club - Johnson's 513 career round wins (.629) ranks third among active full-time professional drivers behind John Force (1,024) and Warren Johnson (857), and Kurt's career round wins rank him sixth all-time among NHRA professional drivers.
* This will be Kurt's 361st race as an NHRA Pro Stock competitor.
* This will also be Kurt's 16th consecutive appearance in the K & N Horsepower Challenge, the longest active streak among Pro Stock competitors. Johnson has won the bonus event four times (1994, '98, '03 and '07), more than any other Pro Stock driver.
* KJ's best season was in 2003 when he captured 49 round wins and did not lose a single first-round matchup. Among Pro Stock drivers, Johnson's 49 round wins in '03 is the seventh-best single-season total since 2000.
* Johnson was NHRA Rookie of the Year in 1993.
* Johnson is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the NHRA. The native-born Minnesotan and current resident of Lawrenceville, Ga., has 39 career victories, and has finished second in the Pro Stock standings four times (1993, 2000, '03 and '05) and third five times (1995, '97-99, 2008).
ACDelco's Kurt Johnson has won the special bonus event four times during his career, the most of any Pro Stock driver in the history of the sport, so he knows all about hitting that Horsepower Challenge jackpot.
"To have won it more than anyone else says a lot about this ACDelco team," Johnson said. "It's an exciting event for the fans as well as the eight elite racers who have earned their way into the field over the course of a year.
"It's a fun day, with no pressure as far as the championship points are concerned. With all that money on the line, you don't really wing it, but you definitely go up there hopped up. There's that $50,000 bone at the end of the day, and you're just a hungry dog going after it."
VIDEO: Kurt's post-race interview following record fourth win in the Horsepower Challenge in Joliet, Ill., on June 9, 2007: YouTube - Kurt Johnson Post-Race Win Interview/2007 Horsepower Challenge
This will be Johnson's 16th consecutive appearance in the Horsepower Challenge – the longest active streak among Pro Stock competitors and second all time to his dad, Warren Johnson's, 23 races. Kurt has raced in the Horsepower Challenge every year in which he's been eligible going back to 1994 with his victories coming in 1994, '98, 2003, and most recently in 2007. He is qualified No. 5 for this year's bonus race and will face No. 4 qualifier Jason Line in round one.
"That's a payoff you can get excited about," Johnson said. "When you wake up on Saturday morning and realize that someone's going to leave the track $50,000 richer than they were when they arrived, you can't wait to get the day started."
In addition to trying to bank that extra cash during Saturday's bonus feature, the ACDelco team will be multi-tasking and trying to secure a strong qualifying position for Sunday's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
"You have to keep your eye on the ball, as far as that's concerned," Johnson said. "That means running well and making a pair of good passes right out of the box on Friday so that we're not trying to fight our way into the field on Saturday."
Johnson comes into this weekend's NHRA Full Throttle contest seventh in the standings and with his ACDelco Chevrolet the best it's been all season. The ACDelco team is looking to build on the momentum it established during the last two races, and a win this weekend, either in Saturday's Horsepower Challenge or Sunday's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, would be a nice morale lifter heading into the second half of the season.
"From a performance standpoint, we've made up a lot of ground over the past couple of races, and we're getting to the point now where we're running at the front of the pack," Johnson said. "Now we need to win a race. We have all the right equipment and all the right people to get that done. It's a matter of putting the right pegs in the right holes. Right now, there seems to be about six or seven of us in the middle of the pack chasing the two at the top. The good thing is that we can get on a run just like the leaders and make a move – I'm certain of that."
The third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on June 25 – 28 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, is the 12th race on the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Series tour.
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights beginning at 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, June 27. NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 28, on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 10 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 28.
Kurt Johnson/ACDelco stats and facts 2009 NHRA SuperNationals
* The 500 Club - Johnson's 513 career round wins (.629) ranks third among active full-time professional drivers behind John Force (1,024) and Warren Johnson (857), and Kurt's career round wins rank him sixth all-time among NHRA professional drivers.
* This will be Kurt's 361st race as an NHRA Pro Stock competitor.
* This will also be Kurt's 16th consecutive appearance in the K & N Horsepower Challenge, the longest active streak among Pro Stock competitors. Johnson has won the bonus event four times (1994, '98, '03 and '07), more than any other Pro Stock driver.
* KJ's best season was in 2003 when he captured 49 round wins and did not lose a single first-round matchup. Among Pro Stock drivers, Johnson's 49 round wins in '03 is the seventh-best single-season total since 2000.
* Johnson was NHRA Rookie of the Year in 1993.
* Johnson is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the NHRA. The native-born Minnesotan and current resident of Lawrenceville, Ga., has 39 career victories, and has finished second in the Pro Stock standings four times (1993, 2000, '03 and '05) and third five times (1995, '97-99, 2008).
