NHRA News: K.J. picked the wrong time to have a career-best season (12/1/2003)

K.J. picked the wrong time to have a career-best season

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
12/1/2003

"Greg [Anderson] just didn't kick our butts. He kicked everyone's butt."
– Kurt Johnson

If only Kurt Johnson could drive his ACDelco Chevrolet Cavalier around the world so fast that he could reverse time – like Superman did when he found Lois Lane dead after a massive earthquake – then the 11-year pro might finally have that elusive first POWERade title he so covets.

But alas, K.J. actually ran into Superman (a.k.a. Greg Anderson) this year, so the career-high 1,754 points he earned, which would have been enough to win the championship outright in six of his other 10 professional campaigns, left him in second place yet again. It's not that Johnson had a bad year in 2003; quite the contrary. It's just that Anderson had the best season ever recorded in Pro Stock's 33-year history.

"Being No. 2 sucks," said Johnson, who also finished second in 2000 and in 1993. "We race for one thing and one thing only, and that's to be No. 1 at the end of the year. But, hey, it didn't happen this year and we're conditioned for that, so we'll get back to work and go after it again next year. That's really all you can do. No need to worry. My skin's pretty tough."

Johnson's four wins on the season lifted him to
fifth place on the all-time list for Pro Stock.
RacersEdge Photography

Oh, there were plenty of positives for Johnson, the son of six-time champion Warren Johnson. Aside from the fact he accumulated more points in a single season than he ever had before, Johnson posted four wins in 10 final-round appearances. The number of wins is the second most he's ever had in a year, while the money-round showings is clearly a career best.

The 40-year-old Georgian can also boost about being the only driver with no first-round losses on the year, although that stat is tempered somewhat by a regrettable DNQ at the rain-shortened Reading event. His 49-18 elimination-round record was another personal best, and this year he broke into the top-five of Pro Stock's all-time victory list by pushing his career total to 27 wins.

"Some teams have one year they're proud of and then they fade away," Johnson said. "Others maintain a high level of performance year after year. That's us. This is our job, and it's a job we all love. I know it's a blast for me. I love coming to work every day.

"This is quite a group we have here. There's absolutely no reason to think we won't be right back in the mix next year. We have exceptional brain power, great sponsors, and all the technology we need. We'll be fine. We had a good season but, truthfully, I don't think about the past. We're always looking ahead."

K.J. had quite a season in 2003, but he never warmed up enough to challenge Greg Anderson.
RacersEdge Photography

Truly, the only real stumbling block to Johnson's would-be dream season was Anderson himself. The duo met 11 times in competition with Anderson posting a commanding 10-1 mark versus his old buddy, including a perfect 6-0 record with the trophy on the line.

The scale balanced or tipped in Johnson's favor against every other driver he faced in 2003, with the exception of Allen Johnson, no relation, who posted a 2-1 mark against K.J.

"Greg just didn't kick our butts," Johnson said. "He kicked everyone's butt. You'd think if you leave on a guy 80 percent of the time in your final-round match-ups you'd win one or two of those races, but it didn't happen. I guess he kept getting out of the right side of the bed. Seriously, they flat-out did a better job than anyone else.

"We're great friends and I'll gladly have a beer with him at the other end of the racetrack, but when the helmet goes on it's all business."

Although he refuses to use it as an excuse, Johnson battled a painful back problem throughout the second half of the season. The pain was so severe that he had spinal surgery on Nov. 17 to correct the problem.

"I had a herniated disc in the L4/L5 area," Johnson said. "It was a fairly easy procedure to correct, although any type of back surgery makes you a little nervous. I had it done Monday morning and I was back at the shop Tuesday afternoon. It had been bugging me since Brainerd, sometimes to the point where my left leg would go numb, so I wanted to get it fixed. I should be good to go now."

The main thing slowing Johnson this year down
was his dismal 1-10 record against Anderson.
RacersEdge Photography

Over the last few weeks of the season and again at the annual awards ceremony, Anderson told anyone who would listen that he didn't ease-up and switch to test mode after clinching the title because he wanted his rivals to worry about him during the off-season. The mental game, Anderson said, is half the battle. So is Johnson concerned?

"What, me worry?" Johnson said in his best Alfred E. Newman impersonation. "I'm not worried. If we were 10th or 12th or 15th in the points and had a lot of work to do to close the gap on him, then I'd be worried. But that's not the case. We just need to fine-tune.

"In Brainerd and Indy I was basically in test mode and we out-qualified him. Then I slumped a little and had three quarterfinal losses and that DNQ and my season was pretty much toast.

"The ball just seemed to bounce his way this year. I think Greg would be the first to admit he got some lucky breaks along the way. There were I don't know how many races where he won by one or two hundredth. When it's that close I think anyone out there will tell you it's just a matter of who the sun was shining on that particular day. Hopefully, the sun will shine on us a little more next year."

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