TOMMY JOHNSON BELIEVES MONSTER ENERGY TEAM CLOSE TO CASHING IN ON PERFORMANCE GAINS
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/t_johnson.jpg" alt="t_johnson"align="left"borders="0" />
DENVER, Colo. (July 13) – The Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway are contested on one of the most picturesque racetracks on the circuit, carved on the side of the mountain.
The heat and altitude of the mile-high city have presented tuning challenges through the years. In order to help combat the elements, John Bandimere, Jr. became the first track operator to install cooling coils under the first 120 feet of the racing surface.
Also new beginning with this event was a switch for the two nitro categories to race to the 1000-foot mark instead of the traditional 1320-foot quarter-mile. This was an interim safety measure instituted in the wake of the untimely death of Scott Kalitta.
Under the new format, Tommy Johnson, Jr. qualified the Monster Energy Funny Car in the No. 7 position with a 4.242/294.94.
In the opening round of race day competition, Johnson pulled to the starting line to face Jack Beckman. Though Johnson appeared to be gaining on his opponent, the Monster Energy Dodge lost traction and Beckman was able to gain the round win with a 4.296/292.33 to Johnson’s 4.487/254.57.
“At the 330-foot mark the numbers were basically even, but then the Monster car made a really good move and we started to pull away from him,” said Johnson. “Then right before the 1/8 mile the tires broke loose. We were really close to making it.
“It was a shame that the track temperature came up so much today. Rick ( Cassel , crew chief) did a great job of trying to adjust for it. The car was on a really good run. The progress we’ve made this weekend and the job that Rick’s doing to get the car turned around is real exciting. We may not have had the results we were looking for today, but the future is looking bright. The more runs Rick gets, the better the team gets, the more confidence we all get. We’re going to get those results we’re looking for.”
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/t_johnson.jpg" alt="t_johnson"align="left"borders="0" />
DENVER, Colo. (July 13) – The Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway are contested on one of the most picturesque racetracks on the circuit, carved on the side of the mountain.
The heat and altitude of the mile-high city have presented tuning challenges through the years. In order to help combat the elements, John Bandimere, Jr. became the first track operator to install cooling coils under the first 120 feet of the racing surface.
Also new beginning with this event was a switch for the two nitro categories to race to the 1000-foot mark instead of the traditional 1320-foot quarter-mile. This was an interim safety measure instituted in the wake of the untimely death of Scott Kalitta.
Under the new format, Tommy Johnson, Jr. qualified the Monster Energy Funny Car in the No. 7 position with a 4.242/294.94.
In the opening round of race day competition, Johnson pulled to the starting line to face Jack Beckman. Though Johnson appeared to be gaining on his opponent, the Monster Energy Dodge lost traction and Beckman was able to gain the round win with a 4.296/292.33 to Johnson’s 4.487/254.57.
“At the 330-foot mark the numbers were basically even, but then the Monster car made a really good move and we started to pull away from him,” said Johnson. “Then right before the 1/8 mile the tires broke loose. We were really close to making it.
“It was a shame that the track temperature came up so much today. Rick ( Cassel , crew chief) did a great job of trying to adjust for it. The car was on a really good run. The progress we’ve made this weekend and the job that Rick’s doing to get the car turned around is real exciting. We may not have had the results we were looking for today, but the future is looking bright. The more runs Rick gets, the better the team gets, the more confidence we all get. We’re going to get those results we’re looking for.”
