[coverattach=1]MADISON, Ill., May 3, 2009 – Turning the corner, that's how ACDelco's Kurt Johnson aptly described his performance at the 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals. For a team that once again demonstrated its ability to run at the front of the pack, there were some encouraging lessons learned this weekend at Gateway International Raceway.
"For the last couple of races it's been a situation where we've had some components in the car that we feel are faster, but we just didn't have a consistent handle on the car,” Johnson said. "We finally came here to a decent racetrack, actually did a little bit of testing and were able to funnel all these components in the right direction. The ACDelco Chevrolet ran good, I did a good job driving, and now it's just a matter of time."
Johnson's ACDelco program showed all the signs of a race team ready to bust out and make a run late into the day on Sunday. The ACDelco Chevy started race day in the No. 3 position with a 6.576 e.t. at 210.21 mph, Johnson's best qualifying effort since starting from the No. 2 spot last month at Houston.
The Northeast Georgia resident defeated Steve Spiess in the first round of the eliminator with a 6.639 e.t. at 209.46 mph, and cut a lightning-quick .011 light on the starting to advance to round two to face Jason Line. Johnson admitted his first round win over Spiess wasn't the best run he's ever made.
"It was going left, and it was a matter of saving the run more than anything," Johnson said. "It was headed to the wall and I had to rip it into second gear probably a 1000 rpm too early, and it just slips the clutch when it does that. The ACDelco Chevy ran a 6.63 but I think we can run a 6.58 or a (6.)59 and have something for the Summit car in round two."
In the second session, Johnson served up another viciously quick .018 light on the starting line, grabbed the early advantage and delivered the second best elapsed time of the entire Pro Stock session at 6.586 seconds. But Line's Pontiac ran a better 6.578 e.t. and narrowly edged past the ACDelco Chevrolet at the finish stripe by a razor-thin .006 of a second.
"In the less favorable lane we were actually very quick," Johnson said. "We lost lane choice going into the second round and had to run, the way I look at it, one of the fastest cars out here right now. Jason (Line) has two wins this year, he's been running good and we got beat by a good team. It's probably the lane that made the difference."
Johnson will remain eighth in the point standings heading into the next stop on the schedule, the Ninth annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on May 15 – 17 at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn. Johnson says the team will be testing the ACDelco Chevrolet later this week at Bristol Dragway in preparation for the upcoming race. He won at Bristol in 2003.
"We're going to run at Bristol on Wednesday – make the short trip up there from Sugar Hill (Ga.). We can leave Wednesday morning, make some runs and maybe get a little bit closer with some other new components that need to be tested. It's a matter of finding the bumps on the track, getting the gear ratios right and going out there and being quick. Allen Johnson will be there, and Greg (Anderson) and Jason (Line) will be testing, so we'll all be comparing notes, trying to go faster than everyone else. It's like a mini race before the race."
"For the last couple of races it's been a situation where we've had some components in the car that we feel are faster, but we just didn't have a consistent handle on the car,” Johnson said. "We finally came here to a decent racetrack, actually did a little bit of testing and were able to funnel all these components in the right direction. The ACDelco Chevrolet ran good, I did a good job driving, and now it's just a matter of time."
Johnson's ACDelco program showed all the signs of a race team ready to bust out and make a run late into the day on Sunday. The ACDelco Chevy started race day in the No. 3 position with a 6.576 e.t. at 210.21 mph, Johnson's best qualifying effort since starting from the No. 2 spot last month at Houston.
The Northeast Georgia resident defeated Steve Spiess in the first round of the eliminator with a 6.639 e.t. at 209.46 mph, and cut a lightning-quick .011 light on the starting to advance to round two to face Jason Line. Johnson admitted his first round win over Spiess wasn't the best run he's ever made.
"It was going left, and it was a matter of saving the run more than anything," Johnson said. "It was headed to the wall and I had to rip it into second gear probably a 1000 rpm too early, and it just slips the clutch when it does that. The ACDelco Chevy ran a 6.63 but I think we can run a 6.58 or a (6.)59 and have something for the Summit car in round two."
In the second session, Johnson served up another viciously quick .018 light on the starting line, grabbed the early advantage and delivered the second best elapsed time of the entire Pro Stock session at 6.586 seconds. But Line's Pontiac ran a better 6.578 e.t. and narrowly edged past the ACDelco Chevrolet at the finish stripe by a razor-thin .006 of a second.
"In the less favorable lane we were actually very quick," Johnson said. "We lost lane choice going into the second round and had to run, the way I look at it, one of the fastest cars out here right now. Jason (Line) has two wins this year, he's been running good and we got beat by a good team. It's probably the lane that made the difference."
Johnson will remain eighth in the point standings heading into the next stop on the schedule, the Ninth annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on May 15 – 17 at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn. Johnson says the team will be testing the ACDelco Chevrolet later this week at Bristol Dragway in preparation for the upcoming race. He won at Bristol in 2003.
"We're going to run at Bristol on Wednesday – make the short trip up there from Sugar Hill (Ga.). We can leave Wednesday morning, make some runs and maybe get a little bit closer with some other new components that need to be tested. It's a matter of finding the bumps on the track, getting the gear ratios right and going out there and being quick. Allen Johnson will be there, and Greg (Anderson) and Jason (Line) will be testing, so we'll all be comparing notes, trying to go faster than everyone else. It's like a mini race before the race."
