Allen Johnson
The title of my Bristol blog should be “Running My You-Know-What-Off!” Between trying to get all my employees, family and friends suite passes and tickets and satisfying all the media requests, I was on the go the entire race. The Bristol weekend is a lot of fun for us since it’s at our home track, but it’s also very tiring.
I did an appearance at Grindstaff Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Elizabethtown, Tenn. the week of the event. I brought out my Mopar® Dodge Avenger and had a nice time visiting with the folks at the dealership. The media was in a frenzy over us during the event. I felt like Jimmy Johnson in NASCAR! Being at our home race, each day somebody was calling us and asking us to do something. I made a morning show appearance, did a number of TV interviews, and our J&J Racing team was featured in so many newspapers that I lost count. I love doing the media stuff, helping to promote the Mopar brand and the Dodge brand. That’s what we’re out here to do, help them sell more parts and cars, and hopefully we helped do that.
Once Sunday night hit, after the race, my wife Pam said she had never seen me so tired. I’m like an Energizer bunny; it’s hard to drag me down. But when I laid down on the bed on Sunday night and turned on the TV, I was asleep before I could even see what was on!
It was just a dream weekend, though. It was awesome watching my dad Roy drive his Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak in Stock Eliminator, and seeing my mom and dad and the joy and the pride they had in racing again, in doing that thing that they had done so well for so many years. Watching them do it together, that was worth every minute for me.
As for me, it was special to get the No. 1 Qualifier Award and advance to the semis at Bristol. It was my best showing at my home track ever. I’m still looking for my first Pro Stock win there, though, so maybe I can bring it home next year.
What really stands out for me was when Dad got his class win over David Rampy. Seeing the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak be that much faster than a Chevy is one thing, and then for Dad to beat a guy who has won so many races and championships, it was really awesome. I qualified No. 1 in Pro Stock and Dad qualified No. 2 in Stock Eliminator; not bad for a guy who hadn’t raced in almost 30 years! He didn’t miss a beat. He went out there and battled the big boys and took out a few of them. The guys at the J&J Racing shop said Dad can be a little crusty now and then, he’s so focused on making horsepower, but he smiled more last weekend than he smiled in a year combined.
My dad will be back tuning the engines this weekend at Norwalk. The race is only a couple hours from Mopar’s HQ, so we’re expecting some Mopar brass to stop by and visit this weekend. I’m hoping to show off for them a little bit and capture my second K&N Horsepower Challenger title on Saturday and then double up with a main-event win on Sunday.
If you’re in the area, stop by my pits and say hello!