NHRA News: Johnson & Johnson Racing expects no more tears in new role with Mopar (12/3/2002)

Johnson & Johnson Racing expects no more tears in new role with Mopar

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
12/3/2002

"Dad was pissed and I knew that he had the taste back in his mouth and the fight back in his eyes."
– Allen Johnson

Allen Johnson got the news he'd been waiting a lifetime to hear two months ago in Dallas when executives at DaimlerChrysler informed him that his racing program was their choice to carry the Mopar banner into the future. The seven-year Pro, who began his racing career right out of high school in 1978, had done enough to impress the right people and consequently landed one of the biggest sponsors in the sport.

"It was a shock when it actually happened," Johnson said. "The first thing I thought of was how happy Dad would be. If not for him, no one would've looked our way. He's the reason for our success. His 30-plus years in this sport finally paid off. Now the real fun will start."

Coming off a career season in which he finished eighth in the POWERade points on the strength of one win in two final-round appearances and a 17-15 elimination-round record, Johnson was informed that Mopar wanted to go in a new direction. The plans called for Johnson to be joined by three-time series champion Darrell Alderman and for longtime campaigner Larry Morgan to be paired up with Rookie of the Year driver Gene Wilson in what would be an unprecedented two-team, four-car assault on the Pro Stock championship.

"This is the top of the heap, the pinnacle of the sport, as far as I'm concerned," Johnson said. "We finally have the factory backing and all the technology and engineering benefits of the best manufacturer in Pro Stock racing. It's awesome for us. Now we need to perform, and I know we're ready for the challenge. Dad's fired up."

Giving credit where credit is due
Johnson, who turns 43 Sunday, refuses to talk about his on-track success, which includes a pair of top-10 finishes, two wins, and three runner-up honors. Instead, he'll go on for hours about the crucial role his father, Roy Johnson, has played in the team's recent run of good luck. The affection he has for his father comes through in every sentence and he can recite dear old dad's accomplishments by rote.

Using motors made by his father Roy, Allen Johnson drove his Dodge Neon R/T to a 17-15 elimination round record in 2002.

"He comes off like an old country farm boy, but dad's the reason we got this deal," the younger Johnson said. "He's the one making the power. He's the one who's using 30 years of experience, from the days when he was winning championships alongside ["Big Daddy" Don] Garlits and [Bob] Glidden, to make motors that put me out in front of the pack. It's dad, and I couldn't be prouder of him."

Throughout most of their combined racing careers and certainly since Allen turned Pro in 1996, Johnson & Johnson Racing have sworn by the Chrysler brand. It hasn't always been easy, especially during Allen's seven years in the Pro Stock class where they've had to chase their dreams – and build their own powerplants – out of their own pockets with engine combinations and designs Roy has come up with on his own.

"I'll tell you exactly what has motivated us," Allen said, "because I remember it like it was yesterday. We went to a race in 1995 when we were thinking about getting back into racing fulltime and we knew we wanted to run a Dodge. At the time Darrell Alderman was the man. He had won the last three titles for Mike Sullivan and Dave Hutchens and their car was the one to beat. Dad approached them about renting a motor and they totally blew him off. Well, that got his dander up and he came back to me and said, 'By God, we're gonna build our own motors and show them guys. It might take me a few years to figure it out, but we'll get there.' Dad was pissed and I knew that he had the taste back in his mouth and the fight back in his eyes."

Drawing from a wealth of experience
Roy wasn't going off half-cocked when he vowed to build his way to contender status. The crafty veteran had done a fair share of grassroots racing himself and had the hardware to show for it. Beginning in the 1960s when Roy joined forces with Dwight Arrowood and campaigned a pair of 383 big-block Plymouth Sports Furys in the AHRA's Stock class, he earned his stripes the old fashioned way – with a lot of hard work.

"Dad kicked ass when he was driving," Allen said. "He just out-worked everybody. And he was plenty smart when it came time to build a motor."

Johnson, far left, joined a happy bunch in the Winner's Circle at Atlanta Dragway.

In the early 1970s, Roy switched to Super Stock and ran a series of Dodge entries anywhere there was a race title on the line. He did so well as an independent that Dodge inked him to a five-year deal and he delivered with back-to-back titles IHRA championships in 1976-'77.

"He was my hero," Allen said. "I bet he won 80 percent of the races he entered. He was every bit as dominant as Glidden was in Pro Stock."

By the late '70s Allen went from idolizing dad to competing himself. The two teamed up in 1979 with the younger Johnson driving his 1962 Plymouth to within five points of the championship. If not for a broken crankshaft at the last race of the year, Allen would have begun his career as a champion. "I finished second and dad was fifth," Johnson said. "Not a bad start. We worked together well; still do."

Roy switched to NHRA's Competition eliminator in 1980 and competed for six years in a C/Econo Altered Opel while Allen pursued an accounting degree at East Tennessee State University. Along the way Allen got married, had a few kids, collected his degree, and took a job working the books at the Greeneville Oil Company. Within a few years, he owned the place and has since expanded it into a lucrative lubricant distribution company that services 75 convenience stores and oil change facilities, 40 of which are company owned and operated.

Getting re-acclimated and turning Pro
Johnson's success in the professional world is what rekindled his competitive fire. All of his convenience stores are Amoco branded and in 1995 the parent company asked Johnson to sit on an advisory board that was exploring the company's interest in motorsports.

"They sent me to Daytona for a week because they were an associate on Bill Elliott's McDonald's car," Johnson said. "I knew at that time they weren't willing to spend the money to be a full sponsor. I got to thinking they should be in drag racing. Dad and I decided to go out to a few races and we saw that all the guys we used to race with were now in Pro Stock. It was a class dad had always dreamed of being a part of and we began looking seriously at getting involved."

Then came the snub from Sullivan and Hutchens and the wheels were set in motion. "After dad got shut down by those guys, we went full speed ahead," Johnson said. "We ordered a Jerry Haas Avenger and a motor from Steve Schmidt and shipped everything to Phoenix. I took a course at Roy Hill's [Pro Stock driving school] and showed up at the race ready to go. We put everything together at the track.

"My first lap was a comedy. Roy Hill taught us to stop without parachutes because he wanted us to be aware of the track and the shutdown area. When I made my first lap I drove all the way to the bridge, which was well past the finish line, and then I didn't pull the chutes. I went screaming by the turnoff and ended up in the sand trap. Dad was at the starting line and said, 'Well, if he hasn't killed himself, he's already learned a big lesson.' "

Allen only qualified for one race that year, but in harbinger of things to come, it was in Denver at the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals. A few years later, just as Johnson & Johnson Racing had begun to figure out its wedge combination and began winning rounds an unexpected curveball, Dodge's switch to Hemi motors, set them back once again. Now, with a few more years of experience under their belts, they're back in the top 10.

Additionally, Johnson has surrounded himself with men who have been heavily involved in Dodge's reemergence, including "Tricky Rickie" Smith, Mark Ingersoll, Mike Gott, and Tom Lee.

"I've been very fortunate in the business world," Johnson said. "Now I have a chance to be fortunate in the racing world. I'm just thrilled for this chance and I'm even happier for dad. Not many guys get to work with their fathers and have as much fun as we're having."

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