Johnson goes to finals for second year in a row at Mopar Mile-High Nationals
Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T driver Allen Johnson came up just short in his quest to win a second straight Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals title. The defending champ made his first finals appearance of 2008 in his primary sponsor's flagship race but fell in a matchup with Greg Anderson at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo.
The Greeneville, Tenn. native defeated Warren Johnson, fellow HEMI-powered driver Larry Morgan and Ron Krisher to set up a face-off with Greg Anderson, the man he beat at the NHRA Norwalk event to win the $50,000 K%26N Horsepower Challenge. Johnson posted a superb pass of 7.028/195.79 but it wasn't enough to beat Anderson's run of 7.024/196.39. Anderson's margin of victory was a mere six feet.
Johnson's runner-up finish capped a weekend in which the veteran Team Mopar driver qualified No. 3, moved up to the fifth spot in the NHRA Pro Stock standings and saw his J%26J Racing team capture the Full Throttle Pit Crew event award.
"I think we're on the turnaround mode," said an upbeat Johnson. "We would have really liked to win this one, but we'll take a runner-up here at our sponsor Mopar's race and smile about it. I hope all the folks at Mopar are happy. We've been gaining momentum and I think we proved it today. Last year we won here and went runner-up in Seattle. This year we're going to reverse it."
"Allen is a longtime member of Team Mopar, and he has a great history here at Bandimere Speedway, Mopar's ‘home track,'" said Sunil Lahoti, Mopar's Senior Manager, Marketing %26 Strategy. "We're very proud of Allen's result here today. It's a testament to the performance of Mopar parts and also Allen's skill as a driver. When you put those two together, you're going to have success."
Mopar-powered driver Johnny Gray made an impressive run to the quarterfinals, defeating No. 2 qualifier Mike Edwards before losing to Ron Krisher. Denver area resident V. Gaines was among a group of HEMI-fueled drivers that included Justin Humphreys and Rickie Jones that exited in the first round.
Next up for the Team Mopar Pro Stock contingent is the NHRA Nationals, round 14 of 24, at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash., outside of Seattle, July 18-20. For more information on the NHRA, visit nhra.com.