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BAYTOWN, Texas (March 30) – Tommy Johnson, Jr. contributed an extra dose of driving skill to help the Kenny Bernstein-owned Monster Energy Funny Car team gain a round win at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals and positions in the NHRA point standings.
Johnson qualified No. 10 with a 4.913/303.16 for his 300th career event.
In the opening round of eliminations, Johnson squared off against veteran driver Gary Densham. Both drivers were on and off the throttle, trying to get traction to the ground, and Tommy’s efforts paid off in the form of a round win, 6.088/217.63 to Densham’s 13.512.
“The Monster Energy car left really hard,” explained Johnson, “but it started to shake about 150 feet out. The track conditions are way different from yesterday. (Much cooler today.) I was a little worried about tire shake and I was kind of ready for it. I caught it pretty quick, but it just didn ' t want to hook up.
“I pedaled it once and it took off. But then it kept coming loose and coming loose. I couldn’t see Densham and couldn’t hear him. I kept watching the guard wall and the center line and kept pedaling. I figured as long as I wasn’t close to either one and it was still running, I’d keep going.
“That was probably not text book on how to pedal a car, but that is text book on ‘never quit, never die and get there first on Sunday’."
In the second round against Tony Bartone, Johnson had to call on his pedaling skills once again. Though Johnson had a significant reaction time advantage, he was not able to capitalize on the edge that afforded him. Both drivers were off and on the throttle and Bartone ultimately crossed the finish line first, 5.071/287.05 to Johnson’s 6.104/170.26.
“It was better early in the run than the first round but it got in trouble further down the track,” said Johnson. “I really wasn’t expecting it to come loose but I corrected it and got back in the groove and it just wouldn’t hold out there. The track has been marginal in the middle and we just had a little too much for that part of the track, I guess. We had a good starting line advantage, but we couldn’t use it much.
“Even with the season we’ve had, we’re right in the point battle. The class as a whole is really tough so there’s nobody running away with it. Even through the struggles you’ve got to keep digging because you’re not out of it by any means.
“Hopefully we’re starting to turn the corner. We just had small problems that everybody’s having. If we were the only ones having these problems I’d be worried, but almost everyone in the class is having the same difficulties. We just need to solve them before they do.”
Johnson is 11th in NHRA Funny Car point standings.
TOMMY JOHNSON’S DRIVING SKILLS HELPS MONSTER ENERGY FUNNY CAR TEAM MAKE GAINS AT HOUSTON
BAYTOWN, Texas (March 30) – Tommy Johnson, Jr. contributed an extra dose of driving skill to help the Kenny Bernstein-owned Monster Energy Funny Car team gain a round win at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals and positions in the NHRA point standings.
Johnson qualified No. 10 with a 4.913/303.16 for his 300th career event.
In the opening round of eliminations, Johnson squared off against veteran driver Gary Densham. Both drivers were on and off the throttle, trying to get traction to the ground, and Tommy’s efforts paid off in the form of a round win, 6.088/217.63 to Densham’s 13.512.
“The Monster Energy car left really hard,” explained Johnson, “but it started to shake about 150 feet out. The track conditions are way different from yesterday. (Much cooler today.) I was a little worried about tire shake and I was kind of ready for it. I caught it pretty quick, but it just didn ' t want to hook up.
“I pedaled it once and it took off. But then it kept coming loose and coming loose. I couldn’t see Densham and couldn’t hear him. I kept watching the guard wall and the center line and kept pedaling. I figured as long as I wasn’t close to either one and it was still running, I’d keep going.
“That was probably not text book on how to pedal a car, but that is text book on ‘never quit, never die and get there first on Sunday’."
In the second round against Tony Bartone, Johnson had to call on his pedaling skills once again. Though Johnson had a significant reaction time advantage, he was not able to capitalize on the edge that afforded him. Both drivers were off and on the throttle and Bartone ultimately crossed the finish line first, 5.071/287.05 to Johnson’s 6.104/170.26.
“It was better early in the run than the first round but it got in trouble further down the track,” said Johnson. “I really wasn’t expecting it to come loose but I corrected it and got back in the groove and it just wouldn’t hold out there. The track has been marginal in the middle and we just had a little too much for that part of the track, I guess. We had a good starting line advantage, but we couldn’t use it much.
“Even with the season we’ve had, we’re right in the point battle. The class as a whole is really tough so there’s nobody running away with it. Even through the struggles you’ve got to keep digging because you’re not out of it by any means.
“Hopefully we’re starting to turn the corner. We just had small problems that everybody’s having. If we were the only ones having these problems I’d be worried, but almost everyone in the class is having the same difficulties. We just need to solve them before they do.”
Johnson is 11th in NHRA Funny Car point standings.
