[coverattach=1]COMMERCE, Ga., April 18, 2009 – After battling his way through the final day of time trials at the 29th annual Summit Racing Southern Nationals, ACDelco's Kurt Johnson will start Sunday's eliminator from the No. 16 position. Johnson entered Saturday's two remaining qualifying rounds still needing to fill one of the four remaining open slots of the 16-car Pro Stock field, and if that weren't difficult enough, he was also fighting flu-like symptoms.
"I don't worry about it," Johnson said, referring to his feeling under the weather. "You know you're eventually going to get better, so you work through it and get the job done."
Adversity aside, Johnson and his ACDelco teammates rose to the challenge and took advantage of Saturday's first round of qualifying. The red-white-and-blue Chevrolet posted a 6.638 e.t. at 208.81 mph, and that put the Northeast Georgia resident in the No. 16 position for Sunday's eliminator. It marks the 50th consecutive national event in which Johnson has qualified.
"We survived – barely though, by two-thousandths of a second. We have some new parts in the car that dyno all right, but the car doesn't seem to be running right. We're going to change the motor and do our normal routine when the car isn’t running right.
The ACDelco driver, and 39 career national-event winner, will race No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson in round one on Sunday. Last year the two met six times during eliminations with both drivers winning three apiece. This is the first time this season that the two veteran drivers have faced each other in eliminations.
"I'll have to get on the tree tomorrow and we'll have to do our job," Johnson said. "It should be a fun first round. To win this thing all you need is a spot in the show and we have that. We also know we can find more performance out of the racecar."
ACDelco is a global leader in high-quality automotive replacement parts and related services and offers quality aftermarket products for all makes and models, plus GM original equipment replacement parts.
"I don't worry about it," Johnson said, referring to his feeling under the weather. "You know you're eventually going to get better, so you work through it and get the job done."
Adversity aside, Johnson and his ACDelco teammates rose to the challenge and took advantage of Saturday's first round of qualifying. The red-white-and-blue Chevrolet posted a 6.638 e.t. at 208.81 mph, and that put the Northeast Georgia resident in the No. 16 position for Sunday's eliminator. It marks the 50th consecutive national event in which Johnson has qualified.
"We survived – barely though, by two-thousandths of a second. We have some new parts in the car that dyno all right, but the car doesn't seem to be running right. We're going to change the motor and do our normal routine when the car isn’t running right.
The ACDelco driver, and 39 career national-event winner, will race No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson in round one on Sunday. Last year the two met six times during eliminations with both drivers winning three apiece. This is the first time this season that the two veteran drivers have faced each other in eliminations.
"I'll have to get on the tree tomorrow and we'll have to do our job," Johnson said. "It should be a fun first round. To win this thing all you need is a spot in the show and we have that. We also know we can find more performance out of the racecar."
ACDelco is a global leader in high-quality automotive replacement parts and related services and offers quality aftermarket products for all makes and models, plus GM original equipment replacement parts.
