NHRA News: Pro Stock's best come together for preseason tests (12/22/2001)

Pro Stock's best come together for preseason tests

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
12/22/2001

A big group of Pro Stock frontrunners made the annual pilgrimage to Southern Florida for a quick week of testing. As expected, the numbers showed most teams within a few hundredths of second of each other with leader Kurt Johnson (6.81 at 202 mph) followed closely by frontrunners Warren Johnson (6.82 at 201 mph), Jim Yates (6.82 at 200 mph), Tom Lee (6.82 at 201 mph), Tom Martino (6.82 at 201 mph), and Mike Thomas (6.83 at 201 mph).

There were even a few surprise hirings announced. Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson picked up Mark Ingersoll to assist his father with the crew chief duties, while Buddy Ingersoll signed on with Warren and Kurt Johnson's expanding operation as a consultant.

Kurt Johnson

The two related Johnsons, son Kurt and father Warren, had an ever-so-slight lead on the pack in their brand new GM-branded hot rods. Kurt was the quickest and fastest with a 6.817 at 202.42 mph in his Don Ness-built ACDelco Chevrolet Cavalier, while current series champ Warren registered a second-best 6.820 at 201.79 mph in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac Grand Am constructed by Jerry Haas.

"We made 11 attempts and completed 11 successful runs," Kurt said. "The first pass on the new car was a 6.88, and on the second day it ran 6.81 right off the bat. We're happy but we still have room for improvement. We were shaking the left tire just a little on every run. If we can clean that up, we'll definitely have a fast racecar. The car is smooth as silk after second gear, just like my Camaro that won six races in 2000.

"We ran the same engine that we used at the Finals with a new fuel system and a new electrical system. The engine didn't shut off in first and second gear like it did in Pomona, so we've cured that problem. That was a nice gift for the holidays."

Warren Johnson

Warren also made 11 runs with elapsed times ranging from 6.820 to 6.881 and a top speed of 201.79 mph.

"The first pass on the new car was a 6.885," the six-time Pro Stock champ said. "We made some adjustments and ran 6.86, 6.84, and 6.83. After a little more work it ran three 6.82s.

"The conditions were virtually the same as the last race at Pomona, with relative altitudes between 1,400 and 1,900 feet. The first 60 feet of the track were typical of a national event track, and with 14 cars testing we had a good yardstick to measure our performance."

The Johnsons were happy to have Buddy Ingersoll along as well.

"I guess we'll see whether two grouchy old men can win some races," W.J. said with a laugh. "Buddy has a lot of track savvy and we think he can help us achieve the consistency we've lacked at times. His role will be to evaluate the overall car setup in relation to the track conditions. That's an area where his experience will be an asset."

Jim Yates

Just as he showed throughout the past year, the feisty Yates proved equal to the task in his SplitFire/Peak Pontiac Grand Am, running a 6.828 of his own at a steady 200.93 mph.

"We were running the car Rickie [Smith] drove at the end of the year, trying to get used to it in case we need it," Yates said. "I had never driven it before and it's a different animal for sure. We'll be starting the season in Pomona with the same car I qualified No. 1 there five weeks ago but I did want to get some seat time in this other car. Plus, we hurt a motor and left a day before it got real good down there so I'm not exactly sure how we stacked up to the others.

"We're a big believer in not showing our cards at these deals. It's called a 'test session,' not a 'go-fast session.' You don't want to motivate others to work any harder in the off-season then they already do. We had some motor, transmission, gear ratio, and clutch combinations that we'd developed and wanted to try out. We tested and it paid dividends, so we're happy."

Another driver in the 6.82-second range was Dodge pro Tom Lee, who wheeled Allen Johnson's new Rick Jones-built Amoco Ultimate 93 Neon R/T to a pair of 6.82s at 201.70 and 201.90 mph. While they were there, Johnson took a few squirts in his other Jerry Bickel-built machine and posted a best of 6.86 at 200.70 mph.

Allen Johnson

The soft-spoken pro from Greenville, Tenn., made the biggest news of the week when he formally hired Mark Ingersoll as a crew chief. Ingersoll, who spent the last few seasons with David Nickens' Team Mopar, had joined Johnson and his father Roy just to help them out during this test session but the group worked so well together that Johnson hired him full-time.

"Mark's experience with the Neons proved to be a big help to dad," Johnson said. "He worked with RJ [Rick Jones] cars all year and he really knows how to make them go. I wasn't thinking about hiring him but we all clicked and the car was up to speed in just a few laps. Plus, it gave dad time to concentrate on the motors and that paid immediate dividends. We're very happy to have him on board.

"Because Mark was there we worked on the RJ car a lot more than the Bickel car. We could have been just as quick with it if we had made more laps. It's satisfying to test and be right there with the best cars. It sure has us excited about the season, but we'll test again before Pomona."

Tom Martino

Joining the fray, Jesel Motorsports pro Tom Martino piloted his Pontiac Grand Am to a best of 6.82 at 201.50 mph on the second day of action.

"Overall, we're pretty happy with the test," Martino said. "Even though we were focused on trying new combinations, testing carburetors and camshafts and such, we had the second quickest run each of the two days we were there. [Martino posted a best of 6.84 on his first day there]. The best part is that we made a lot of headway with the car. We learned a couple things about our Grand Am that could be valuable once the season starts."

Mike Thomas

Running his own Finish Line Racing Engines as well as a few of Steve Schmidt's best pieces, veteran Mike Thomas carded his personal-best elapsed time and top speed with a competitive 6.830 at 201.11 mph.

"Every time we made a pass we were right there at the top of the grouping," Thomas said. "We're real happy with that result. If you're within a hundredth of the top guy then you know it's anyone's game if you were actually racing. You always aim for a top-half qualifying spot and I think we would have been there every time had this been a real race scenario.

"I still think we can make a little more horsepower and we're already working on that as we speak. We ran well with our motors and with Steve's stuff so it was a good few days of testing. But there's still plenty of work to do before Pomona."

Mark Osborne

With Mark Osborne and new crew chief "Tricky Rickie" Smith handling the driving chores, David Nickens guided his two-car Dodge Neon R/T operation through a series of test passes, the best of which showed 6.841 at 201.20 mph on the scoreboard.

"Considering we made our best runs in the middle of the day when it was a little warmer, we're very happy with how things turned out," Nickens said. "We were there to test. There were some things Rickie has seen since he's come on board and he wanted to try some different combinations with the chassis, the four-link, and the height of the motor.

"To be honest, we weren't really aiming for big times and speeds. We were moving so much stuff around that we were concentrating a lot more on how everything worked in relation to other parts of the cars. Overall, this was a pretty good test session and it told us plenty of things we need to work on to get better. That's always the goal at these deals."

Others drivers reported to be in attendance over the course of the past week include John Nobile, Terry Adams, Larry Morgan, Robert Patrick, and J.R. Carr, who has teamed with former Team Jeg's engine building wizard Dick Maskin.

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