[coverattach=1]JOLIET, Ill., June 7 , 2009 – A semifinal round performance for ACDelco's Kurt Johnson at today's 12th annual NHRA Route 66 Nationals will move the veteran Pro Stock driver into seventh place in the Full Throttle points standings as the team gets ready for the third and final race of this late-spring swing next weekend in Englishtown, N.J.
Johnson came into today's eliminator qualified in the No. 5 position after his ACDelco Chevrolet ran some of its best numbers of the season. That carried over into race day for the 46-year-old Johnson when he eliminated Justin Humphreys in round one with a 6.648 e.t. at 207.46 mph, and then Allen Johnson in round two with a holeshot, 6.656-second run to a 6.642 e.t.
"Once you get in the rhythm and you start going rounds, things kind of start falling together," Johnson said. "We qualified fifth, and really felt that with the way we ran today we could actually pick it up in the semifinals. It's so tough out there, though, because all of these drivers are really good, and all the cars are good, so you have to be on top of your game every run. It's like a 500-mile race that's over instantly because you're either going to win or lose in a little over six- and-half seconds."
In round three against No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards, the ACDelco Chevrolet took a starting-line advantage of nearly five-hundredths of a second down the strip, and crossed the finish line with a 6.691-second run at 206.64 mph, but Edwards' 6.638 e.t. edged out Johnson at the finish stripe by a razor-thin 17 ten-thousandths (.0017) of a second.
"I had to run Justin (Humphreys) first round, he's a great driver, and then Allen Johnson, who won last weekend in Topeka, and then the hottest driver on the planet, Mike Edwards, who cut the .000 light on me at Bristol," explained Johnson. "Against Mike, we slowed down and you can't do that on Sunday. The track changed a little bit there for that semifinal race. Our 60-foot was off, and the car was heavy on clutch all weekend and it just went over the edge there."
The next stop on the schedule is the 40th annual United Association NHRA Super Nationals in Englishtown, N.J., on June 11 – 14. It is the 11th race on the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Series tour, and the third race on the schedule held on consecutive weekends.
"We're hoping this can carry over to Englishtown," Johnson said. "I think we may have broken the tide. The ACDelco Chevrolet really acted well this weekend and that's what we were after. It's going to be interesting when we get back on a hot racetrack to see if we can address that. After leaving Topeka, when it was hot there, we knew what we had to do, and we just ran out of adjustment – that's all there was to it. We'll continue to address this project, but we're going to get that win soon."
Johnson came into today's eliminator qualified in the No. 5 position after his ACDelco Chevrolet ran some of its best numbers of the season. That carried over into race day for the 46-year-old Johnson when he eliminated Justin Humphreys in round one with a 6.648 e.t. at 207.46 mph, and then Allen Johnson in round two with a holeshot, 6.656-second run to a 6.642 e.t.
"Once you get in the rhythm and you start going rounds, things kind of start falling together," Johnson said. "We qualified fifth, and really felt that with the way we ran today we could actually pick it up in the semifinals. It's so tough out there, though, because all of these drivers are really good, and all the cars are good, so you have to be on top of your game every run. It's like a 500-mile race that's over instantly because you're either going to win or lose in a little over six- and-half seconds."
In round three against No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards, the ACDelco Chevrolet took a starting-line advantage of nearly five-hundredths of a second down the strip, and crossed the finish line with a 6.691-second run at 206.64 mph, but Edwards' 6.638 e.t. edged out Johnson at the finish stripe by a razor-thin 17 ten-thousandths (.0017) of a second.
"I had to run Justin (Humphreys) first round, he's a great driver, and then Allen Johnson, who won last weekend in Topeka, and then the hottest driver on the planet, Mike Edwards, who cut the .000 light on me at Bristol," explained Johnson. "Against Mike, we slowed down and you can't do that on Sunday. The track changed a little bit there for that semifinal race. Our 60-foot was off, and the car was heavy on clutch all weekend and it just went over the edge there."
The next stop on the schedule is the 40th annual United Association NHRA Super Nationals in Englishtown, N.J., on June 11 – 14. It is the 11th race on the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Series tour, and the third race on the schedule held on consecutive weekends.
"We're hoping this can carry over to Englishtown," Johnson said. "I think we may have broken the tide. The ACDelco Chevrolet really acted well this weekend and that's what we were after. It's going to be interesting when we get back on a hot racetrack to see if we can address that. After leaving Topeka, when it was hot there, we knew what we had to do, and we just ran out of adjustment – that's all there was to it. We'll continue to address this project, but we're going to get that win soon."
