Championship Drag Racing

K&N Filters Winternationals
Pomona
(Feb. 6-9)

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Warren Johnson GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pro Stocker

Reports: Sunday Saturday Pre-race

Pomona, Sunday: Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts Racing team started the 2003 NHRA POWERade season in impressive fashion today by winning the 43rd annual Winternationals in Pomona, California. After defeating Troy Coughlin, Kurt Johnson and Darrell Alderman in the earlier rounds, Johnson used a nearly perfect .003 second reaction time to leave Allen Johnson at the starting line and never looked back, using his fourth 6.7 second, 204 mph pass of the day to gain the victory. It was Johnson's eighty-ninth career national event win and tenth at Pomona Raceway, site of the traditional drag racing season-opener.

"It's always a good day when you win," stated Johnson. "It's certainly beneficial for the team, paying early dividends for all the hard work they did during the wintertime. Our GM Performance Parts team worked intensively during the off-season, spending a lot of time on our engine program and aero package, and today's results speak for themselves."

After qualifying second in the quickest field in Pro Stock history, Johnson wasted little time in demonstrating his intentions on race day. Facing Troy Coughlin in the first round, WJ easily advanced by not only posting the quickest elapsed time of the round at 6.767 seconds, but also recording the fastest Top Speed in the history of the division at 204.91 mph. This marked the twenty-second time that Johnson has held the national top speed record.

"We were fortunate to have almost ideal conditions today," said Johnson. "The track surface, which is one of the smoothest we race on, never got above ninety-three degrees and it came around pretty well after the NHRA ground the starting line on Friday night. Kurt and I both ran 205 during testing in Bradenton, so we knew our GM Performance Parts Grand Am was capable. Fortunately, it all worked out today."

The second round found WJ paired against his son Kurt. The elder Johnson maintained the family order by combining a lightning quick .005 reaction time with a 6.780-second, 204.39-mph pass to earn the narrow victory.

However, "The Professor's" assignment did not get any easier. In the semi-finals he faced long-time rival Darrell Alderman, and responded by posting the quickest elapsed time of the weekend at 6.764 seconds to reach the 139th final round of his illustrious career.

This set the stage for a final round encounter with Alderman team owner Allen Johnson, another competitor known for his starting line prowess. Reacting almost instinctively to the new LED starting line "Christmas tree", W.J.'s distinctive yellow Grand Am shot ahead at the start and streaked down the quarter-mile in 6.788 seconds with a top speed of 204.01 mph to earn Johnson his first victory since the Bristol event in 2002.

"I really can't afford to worry about who is in the other lane," joked Johnson, "because my arms are too short to reach over and drive that car. Therefore I prefer to focus on extracting the most from our GM Performance Parts Grand Am. However, both Darrell and Allen are excellent drivers, so we do our best to prepare and race them competitively. This was a big win for our team, and the best possible way to start the year, but we've got a long way to go."

Pomona, Saturday: Entering the final day of qualifying for the NHRA Winternationals, Warren Johnson faced an unfamiliar situation. After battling a tricky Pomona Raceway during the first two days, WJ's chances of earning a spot in final eliminations came down to the last two sessions on Saturday.

However, any doubts of Johnson's participation on race day were quickly erased on his first attempt, as he blasted down the quarter-mile in 6.779 seconds with a top speed of 204.54 mph. This not only represented a career-best elapsed time for Johnson (bettering his previous best of 6.783), but also the highest top speed ever posted in the Pro Stock division (besting the mark of 204.35 mph, set in October 2001).

Despite the impressive nature of the run, Johnson allowed that there was room for even further improvement.

"The elapsed time surprised me somewhat," said Johnson. "I know our GM Performance Parts Grand Am is fully capable, but it really rattled the tires in second gear, which hurt the e.t. In addition, it got off to the right a little bit, which also didn't help. If we had made a nice clean pass, it could have certainly gone a 6.75 or 6.76.

"Tomorrow, however, we'll have no choice but to get it back down to where we'll be on the safe side. We certainly have enough power to drive around anyone out here, so we'll just have to use a conservative approach."

Pomona, pre-race: For over 27 years, Warren Johnson has come to Pomona Raceway for the start of the NHRA season. In that time, "The Professor" has played a vital role in the Pro Stock division's evolution from a relatively new professional category to the most competitive in all of motorsports. Part of this progression has included a series of changes.

For example, WJ's sleek, wind tunnel-tuned GM Performance Parts Pontiac Grand Am with which he will compete at next weekend's Winternationals bears little resemblance to the relatively boxy Camaro he raced in 1976. However, one constant through each of "The Professor's" forays down the quarter-mile is his competitive fire.

"Today's race cars are much more sophisticated than they were 27 years ago," said Johnson. "The proof is in the performance. We're running elapsed times that are two seconds quicker and top speeds almost fifty mph faster.

"In addition, while racing continues to be my only business, it has blossomed from a program run out of a garage in the backyard to working in a shop with state-of-the art equipment, full-time employees and an ongoing R&D program. But through it all, one thing has remained unchanged – my desire to win."

Therefore, as the 2003 POWERade Drag Racing season gets underway, Johnson's goals remain the same as the first time he took to the track, namely to win the race and eventually the championship. Based on the results of preseason testing, he appears to be in a good position to accomplish both.

"We recently spent a couple days testing in Florida and produced some excellent numbers," Johnson said. "Naturally, the weather conditions were conducive to that type of performance, but considering we ran quicker and faster than anyone in the history of Pro Stock, I'd say our GM Performance Parts Grand Am is going in the right direction. Given the right weather conditions, I believe we'll be seeing Pro Stock cars going in the 6.60s this year at over 205 mph."

"Our objective for this year is quite simple – we are looking for one of our two cars to win the championship. We feel we are the only team with the R&D program and the personnel to not only maintain this performance level that we have, but also extend it even further. It's just up to us to apply it to the track on race day."