Allen Johnson
Well, the Countdown to 1 playoffs are ready to start, and thankfully we made the cut and are in the hunt to bring home an NHRA Pro Stock championship for the Mopar®/J&J Racing team.
Heading into the first playoff race at Charlotte, the NHRA Carolinas Nationals, it’s been a little hectic, especially having the huge Indy race a few weeks ago. We tested in St. Louis before heading out there to O’Reilly Raceway Park. I was supposed to play in a golf tournament for Morgan Lucas on Thursday the week of the race, but we stayed an extra day and tested in St. Louis because we weren’t satisfied with the set up, so that nixed the golfing.
My wife Pam wasn’t able to get to Indy until Saturday due to some work obligations, so she missed Friday’s qualifying for the U.S. Nationals. We were able to visit with Justin Humphreys and his wife and Dave Connolly and his girlfriend during the week. They’re close friends of ours who we spend a lot of time with, and Pam hadn’t had the chance to see them for awhile, so it was nice to have the chance to catch up.
Indy, the U.S. Nationals—it’s just awesome. It’s a long weekend, and you’re absolutely worn out when it’s done, but it’s fun. I love watching the Darts and Barracudas run against each other in the Mopar HEMI® Challenge. It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year. I raced sportsman cars back in the day, just like my dad, so I have a special place in my heart for them.
We had a hiccup in the race at Indy and exited in the first round, but we just got right back to work. After our loss at Indy we drove home to Greeneville, Tenn., and spent less than a day there before we headed out for Charlotte to test for the NHRA Carolinas Nationals.
I had to break away to attend a Tennessee Oil Marketer’s conference in Hilton Head, trying to stay on top of happenings in the industry in my other role as owner of a chain of gas stations. I’m flying out to Charlotte today, and then tomorrow I’m attending a dinner to support B.R.A.K.E.S., the organization founded by Doug Herbert to promote safe driving by teenagers. Doug founded B.R.A.K.E.S. in honor of his two young sons, Jon and James, who were killed in a car accident. I’m proud to help out in anyway I can to support Doug and his organization.
Come Friday we’ll do our best to qualify high at Charlotte and take advantage of the new point system just instituted by the NHRA that gives points to the car with the lowest E.T. of each qualifying session. We’re in the home stretch now. Six races to go with the title in sight!