Johnson Bows Out in Quarterfinals at Memphis
Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson would have been more than happy if his outing at the rain-delayed O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park had lasted just a bit longer. Johnson exited in the quarterfinals of eliminations, which had been scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4, but were delayed until Monday, Oct. 5, due to persistent rain showers.
Johnson qualified No. 6 in his Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T and faced Warren Johnson in the opening round of eliminations. Allen Johnson recorded the round win with an elapsed time of 6.624 seconds and a speed of 208.68 mph to Warren Johnson’s 6.653/208.75 run.
In the quarterfinals Allen Johnson faced fellow NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs competitor Jason Line. Johnson has worked hard recently to improve his reaction time off the starting line, and his practice paid off with a .017 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Line’s slower .025 mark. Unfortunately, Johnson’s pass of 6.620/208.49 was bettered by Line’s 6.601/209.60 mark. Line’s margin of victory over Johnson was approximately 4 feet.
Mopar-powered Pro Stocker Johnny Gray also advanced to the quarterfinals, losing to Mike Edwards. Johnson is fifth in the Countdown to 1 point standings; Gray is seventh. Next up is the fourth race in the six-race Countdown, the Virginia NHRA Nationals, Oct. 9–11. For more information on the NHRA, visit http://www.nhra.com.