Allen Johnson
It’s hard to believe we’re in the homestretch of the season, with the Countdown to 1 playoffs in full swing. Heading into the first Countdown event at Charlotte, I took part in the B.R.A.K.E.S. dinner on Thursday prior to the race, where I spoke a little bit about the organization. It’s a very important cause for me, helping to promote safe driving by teenagers. During the dinner/auction I sat next to Anna Lisa Smith, the daughter of Bruton Smith, owner of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Anna was in a severe car accident herself last year.
The auction included a puppy to bid on. She bid around $1,500 and then someone went to $1,600. I heard Anna Lisa tell her friend she really wanted that dog. The bid was at $1,600, and the auctioneer called out, “Going once, going twice …” I stood up and said, “$10,000!” The whole crowd went crazy. I got the puppy, walked over and gave it to Anna Lisa. She was tickled, to say the least. I bid $10,000 on an item last year as well. I do it to help out B.R.A.K.E.S. It’s a great cause and it saves a lot of lives.
Charlotte was a great race; we put our Mopar®/J&J Racing Dodge in the semis and got off to a great start in the Countdown. I feel like I’m really driving well again. I’ve been working hard on the simulator, trying to get better off the tree. I think it’s starting to pay off.
It’s been a whirlwind since Charlotte. We stayed over and tested the Monday after the race, then the next day I went to Rick Jones’ shop to get fitted for a new car. I got back that night at 7:30 p.m., then flew out the next morning for the Dallas race. I played in the Greg Morris Memorial golf tournament in Dallas. Greg worked at Texas Motorplex before he passed away from brain cancer. His little daughter Heather also lost her mother in a traffic accident, so the event helps raise money for her college expenses later in life. Top Fuel driver Shaun Langdon and several sportsman racers also took part in the event. It’s another great and worthwhile cause.
I thought I drove well at Dallas, but we just had some bad luck. We experienced some mechanical issues that got us behind the eight ball. But in the last round of qualifying and the first round of eliminations we had the second-quickest car of the field. We were happy with that, despite losing a close race to Greg [Anderson] in the quarterfinals by only one inch!
I got home from Dallas and only had time to uncover my desk full of papers, then I left today for Memphis and the race this weekend. We have to get on our game at Memphis right out of the gate during qualifying, get some of those extra bonus points, and try to catch up to Mike [Edwards]. We have to find a little bit better performance on the track. If I can be within a hundredth of a second or two of him, we have a chance to win if I can outdrive him. We’ll see how it plays out this weekend!