<img src="https://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/1/r_stevens06.jpg" alt="r_stevens06" align="left"borders="0"/><img src="https://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/1/a_johnson_235374.jpg" alt="a_johnson_235374"align="left"borders="0"/>
• RICHIE STEVENS JR. AND ALLEN JOHNSON ON THE 2007 SEASON
• ALLEN JOHNSON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• RICHIE STEVENS JR. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• NHRA WINTERNATIONALS EVENT DETAILS
• ABOUT DAIMLERCHRYSLER’S MOPAR BRAND
Center Line, Mich. — Team Mopar® Pro Stockers Allen Johnson and Richie Stevens Jr., who joined forces last year to power Stevens Jr. to two wins in the last five events, will attempt to repeat their successful partnership in 2007. The duo will go into battle together again at this weekend’s season opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.
Stevens Jr., driver of the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T owned by Don Schumacher Racing, tasted victory at Dallas and Las Vegas last year with Johnson. Johnson and his father, Roy Johnson, are co-owners of Johnson & Johnson Racing and tuned the HEMI®s of Stevens Jr.’s car. Johnson also excelled in 2006 in his Mopar/Johnson & Johnson Racing Dodge Stratus R/T, taking a win at Seattle and finishing sixth in the final NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings. Together, Stevens Jr., and Johnson are looking to wage a double-barreled assault on the NHRA Pro Stock Series in 2007.
RICHIE STEVENS JR. AND ALLEN JOHNSON ON THE 2007 SEASON
Both Stevens Jr. and Johnson feel the two-team approach is the way to go in today’s ultra-competitive Pro Stock Series, where mere thousandths of a second make the difference between winning and losing.
“In the past couple of years, two-car teams have pretty much dominated Pro Stock and won the championships,” said Stevens Jr., who will drive a Dodge Stratus R/T with a paint scheme provided by Valspar’s “House of Kolor,” as will Johnson. “As a team, maybe Allen or I can go out and do that this year. We should be able to give some of these top-notch teams a run for their money.”
“It means a lot to my dad and the crew chief [Mark Ingersoll] to have double the data, both on engines and cars,” said Johnson. “If I’m the first one out and we miss [the setup] just a little, usually Richie will make a perfect run. And if it [the setup] worked for Richie’s car, the next round I’ll make a perfect run. Also, a little bit of additional funding through merging forces helps us have a little more money to spend to do R&D work on the engines, and that pays dividends.”
The J&J crew’s outstanding performance and teamwork in the last half of 2006has Johnson and Stevens Jr. feeling confident as the season-opening event approaches.
“The power that Roy Johnson is making is unbelievable,” Stevens Jr. said. “The consistent qualifying, which comes from having good power, has been a real big plus. It takes team chemistry to make things work, which J&J definitely has. It builds confidence, when you go up there and you know that you have a team that is behind you and supporting you. I feel really relaxed with them behind me.”
“Dad [Roy] has done a real good job on the engines, so I feel confident,” said Johnson. “I think we’ve got our attack together on the chassis and track setup a lot better than we did going into the start of last year.”
“I’m ready,” said an excited Stevens Jr. “I almost didn’t want last year to end, as well as we were doing toward the end of the season. It was kind of hard to say goodbye, with both me and Allen doing great. I had the best last quarter of all the seasons I’ve driven. We’ll just try to pick up where we left off last year. I feel confident about the season. We did some testing last month in Valdosta [Ga.], and everything went good. I’m feeling pretty pumped about it. I hope one of us can leave Pomona with the points lead.”
ALLEN JOHNSON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Has four career NHRA POWERade Pro Stock victories.
• Finished in the top 10 of the final Pro Stock points standings four times.
• Captured two No.1 qualifier spots, both in 2006 (Columbus, Englishtown).
• Made eight semifinal appearances in 2006.
RICHIE STEVENS JR. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Has captured six career NHRA POWERade Pro Stock victories.
• Earned three No.1 qualifier spots during his career.
• Finished in the top 10 of the final Pro Stock points standings five times in his eight-year career.
• Posted a win in his first-ever final round appearance, in his rookie season(1998).
NHRA WINTERNATIONALS EVENT DETAILS
Team Mopar’s Johnson and Stevens Jr., will return to action this weekend, Feb. 8–11, 2007, in the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.
Qualifying coverage will air this Saturday, Feb. 10, from 10 p.m. to midnight, EST on ESPN2. Eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Feb. 11, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST, also on ESPN2. For more info on the NHRA, log on to NHRA.com.
ABOUT DAIMLERCHRYSLER’S MOPAR BRAND
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts supplier led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Division. In 1937, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was created for the business of distributing parts through a depot system and car divisional wholesalers.
Mopar made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle car era. Beginning in 1962, 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, the Chrysler Group’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 DaimlerChrysler engineering standards.
TEAM MOPAR’S® PRO STOCK PAIR CONTINUES TWO-TEAM APPROACH IN 2007
• RICHIE STEVENS JR. AND ALLEN JOHNSON ON THE 2007 SEASON
• ALLEN JOHNSON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• RICHIE STEVENS JR. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• NHRA WINTERNATIONALS EVENT DETAILS
• ABOUT DAIMLERCHRYSLER’S MOPAR BRAND
Center Line, Mich. — Team Mopar® Pro Stockers Allen Johnson and Richie Stevens Jr., who joined forces last year to power Stevens Jr. to two wins in the last five events, will attempt to repeat their successful partnership in 2007. The duo will go into battle together again at this weekend’s season opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.
Stevens Jr., driver of the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T owned by Don Schumacher Racing, tasted victory at Dallas and Las Vegas last year with Johnson. Johnson and his father, Roy Johnson, are co-owners of Johnson & Johnson Racing and tuned the HEMI®s of Stevens Jr.’s car. Johnson also excelled in 2006 in his Mopar/Johnson & Johnson Racing Dodge Stratus R/T, taking a win at Seattle and finishing sixth in the final NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings. Together, Stevens Jr., and Johnson are looking to wage a double-barreled assault on the NHRA Pro Stock Series in 2007.
RICHIE STEVENS JR. AND ALLEN JOHNSON ON THE 2007 SEASON
Both Stevens Jr. and Johnson feel the two-team approach is the way to go in today’s ultra-competitive Pro Stock Series, where mere thousandths of a second make the difference between winning and losing.
“In the past couple of years, two-car teams have pretty much dominated Pro Stock and won the championships,” said Stevens Jr., who will drive a Dodge Stratus R/T with a paint scheme provided by Valspar’s “House of Kolor,” as will Johnson. “As a team, maybe Allen or I can go out and do that this year. We should be able to give some of these top-notch teams a run for their money.”
“It means a lot to my dad and the crew chief [Mark Ingersoll] to have double the data, both on engines and cars,” said Johnson. “If I’m the first one out and we miss [the setup] just a little, usually Richie will make a perfect run. And if it [the setup] worked for Richie’s car, the next round I’ll make a perfect run. Also, a little bit of additional funding through merging forces helps us have a little more money to spend to do R&D work on the engines, and that pays dividends.”
The J&J crew’s outstanding performance and teamwork in the last half of 2006has Johnson and Stevens Jr. feeling confident as the season-opening event approaches.
“The power that Roy Johnson is making is unbelievable,” Stevens Jr. said. “The consistent qualifying, which comes from having good power, has been a real big plus. It takes team chemistry to make things work, which J&J definitely has. It builds confidence, when you go up there and you know that you have a team that is behind you and supporting you. I feel really relaxed with them behind me.”
“Dad [Roy] has done a real good job on the engines, so I feel confident,” said Johnson. “I think we’ve got our attack together on the chassis and track setup a lot better than we did going into the start of last year.”
“I’m ready,” said an excited Stevens Jr. “I almost didn’t want last year to end, as well as we were doing toward the end of the season. It was kind of hard to say goodbye, with both me and Allen doing great. I had the best last quarter of all the seasons I’ve driven. We’ll just try to pick up where we left off last year. I feel confident about the season. We did some testing last month in Valdosta [Ga.], and everything went good. I’m feeling pretty pumped about it. I hope one of us can leave Pomona with the points lead.”
ALLEN JOHNSON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Has four career NHRA POWERade Pro Stock victories.
• Finished in the top 10 of the final Pro Stock points standings four times.
• Captured two No.1 qualifier spots, both in 2006 (Columbus, Englishtown).
• Made eight semifinal appearances in 2006.
RICHIE STEVENS JR. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Has captured six career NHRA POWERade Pro Stock victories.
• Earned three No.1 qualifier spots during his career.
• Finished in the top 10 of the final Pro Stock points standings five times in his eight-year career.
• Posted a win in his first-ever final round appearance, in his rookie season(1998).
NHRA WINTERNATIONALS EVENT DETAILS
Team Mopar’s Johnson and Stevens Jr., will return to action this weekend, Feb. 8–11, 2007, in the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.
Qualifying coverage will air this Saturday, Feb. 10, from 10 p.m. to midnight, EST on ESPN2. Eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Feb. 11, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST, also on ESPN2. For more info on the NHRA, log on to NHRA.com.
ABOUT DAIMLERCHRYSLER’S MOPAR BRAND
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts supplier led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Division. In 1937, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was created for the business of distributing parts through a depot system and car divisional wholesalers.
Mopar made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle car era. Beginning in 1962, 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, the Chrysler Group’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 DaimlerChrysler engineering standards.
