Championship Drag Racing

Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals
Atlanta, Ga.
(May 13-16)

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Warren Johnson GM Performance Parts Pontiac Pro Stocker

Reports: Saturday Friday Pre-race

Atlanta, Saturday: Warren Johnson completed a solid qualifying effort on Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia. In each of his first three attempts, Johnson's GM Performance Parts Grand Am bettered its previous effort, with his quickest pass of 6.828 seconds with a top speed of 203.12 mph on Saturday morning placing the Georgia driver in the ninth position for Sunday's final eliminations.

Although a problem in the transmission prevented "The Professor" from further improving his standing on his final attempt, the early performance indicators had him confident of repeating his winning effort in Atlanta a year ago.

"We're certainly headed in the right direction. We've gone over our runs for the weekend, and considering the various factors, we've averaged being the fourth quickest. That's much better than the 12th or 13th we averaged at the last race, so our testing in South Carolina last week paid off.

"We broke a slider in fifth gear on our last run, but the incremental numbers up to the eighth mile, just before it let go, indicate that it was actually a pretty good run, probably around 6.82, which would have been very good for that session. The entire GM Performance Parts Grand Am team is pretty optimistic heading into tomorrow."

Atlanta, Friday: Warren Johnson opened the defense of his 2003 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals title in fine fashion during Friday's first day of qualifying. In each of the two sessions, Johnson was among the quickest cars in his lane, with his best effort of 6.830 seconds with a top speed of 201.97 mph placing the GM Performance Parts Grand Am in the sixth position midway through qualifying. Despite the solid effort, WJ set his sights on improving his standing during Saturday's final attempts.

"We're fairly pleased with today's performance. Our GM Performance Parts Grand Am made two solid runs today, and was one of the quickest cars in the right hand lane in the second session. After analyzing the data, we have a few adjustments that we will make in the morning, and I see no reason why we can't move up to at least second or third. Overall, I'd say we're in pretty good shape."

Atlanta, pre-race: Preparation for an NHRA national event takes long hours as teams work to ensure their racecar is in top condition. From massaging the 500-cubic-inch V-8 on the dynamometer to poring over data from previous races to determine what will be the starting set-up, no detail is left unattended.

The first test of the crew's efforts comes in the space of thirty seconds during the two days of qualifying. In each of their four six-second attempts, they will look to not only capture a top starting spot, but also find the right combination for race day. Entering this weekend's Summit Racing Southern NHRA Nationals presented by Pontiac, GM Performance Parts driver Warren Johnson sees that single combined mile of racing as the key to success on Sunday.

"With the level of competition in Pro Stock, there's no room for error on race day, so it is imperative to find the correct combination in qualifying," said Johnson. "We don't have the luxury of time as they do in other forms of racing. For example, if the round-trackers miss the set-up, they have 500 laps to work on their car and get it right. In drag racing, we get four passes in qualifying, and if you miss the combination, you could be facing a short day on Sunday."

Naturally, every team has their own concerns to address as they prepare for this weekend's event. In the case of the Johnson crew, the focus is on delivering on their race car's winning potential by extracting consistent and competitive performance from it. Therefore, prior to their arrival at Atlanta Dragway, they will spend time at another facility making numerous runs in search of the winning set-up.

"In simple terms, we need to do a better job of adapting to the race track than we have so far," said Johnson. "The performance is there, we just have to find it before it's too late to use it. We have it pinpointed to something in the springs, shocks, four-link, clutch and weight distribution, which is about all you have in a Pro Stock race car.

"Therefore, we'll be putting some test laps on our GM Performance Parts Grand Am in the next few days. Unfortunately, Atlanta Dragway has been closed for the last two weeks for painting, so we'll head elsewhere and see what we can learn."

Of the 20 tracks on which the POWERade Drag Racing Series will compete in 2004, it would seem that the Johnson crew would have the greatest advantage at the Atlanta quarter-mile. Located less than a half-hour's drive from the team's Sugar Hill headquarters, it is also their favorite testing location. However, despite five wins in eight final round appearances, including his exciting hole-shot defeat of rival Greg Anderson in last year's championship round, "The Professor" is quick to discount any notion of a home-field advantage.

"With the difference in the track preparation from when we test at Atlanta to when we race at the national event this weekend, we might as well be starting from the other end," said Johnson. "With the way the NHRA prepares a track, the coefficient of friction will be completely different.

"For example, we'll run 6.75s at 2500 feet in testing, while we'll be lucky to go 6.90 during the race. It's the same for racers who live near other tracks across the country. The surface will be a relative unknown, with the only thing that doesn't change being the location of the bumps, knowledge of which is a negligible advantage at best.

"Even though we'll be sleeping in our own beds, our job will be the same as it is at the nineteen other facilities on the circuit - to get down the track better than our competition. The GM Performance Parts Grand Am team worked that plan to perfection one year ago, and we have our sights set on doing it again this year."