Johnson Records Quarterfinals Finish at Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Team Mopar NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson knocked off Justin Humphreys in the opening round before falling to Jason Line in the quarterfinals at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., on Sunday, June 6.
Johnson and his J&J Racing squad continued their streak of strong qualifying runs, posting the Mopar Dodge Avenger Pro Stock car No. 3. Johnson dismissed Humphreys with a pass of 6.627/208.52 to Humphreys’ 6.656/206.73. In the quarterfinals, Johnson’s 6.637/208.68 pass wasn’t enough to best Line’s 6.616/208.68 mark.
V. Gaines also advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Jeg Coughlin before losing to Shane Gray. Johnson remains second in the Pro Stock standings, with Gaines clocking in at No. 14. Next up is the 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J., June 10–13. For more information on the NHRA, visit http://www.nhra.com.
"We’ve got a team that has a lot of hours of experience at the track in the bank," said Johnson of his J&J Racing team. "We came back out for the re-run and got the job done. In the second round, we were the first pair out, and we didn’t adjust well to the track conditions. We’ll put it in our data banks and hopefully learn from it before the Countdown. We’re still in great shape, second in points."
V. Gaines qualified 16th in his Dodge Avenger and came out on the losing end of a first-round race with current points leader Mike Edwards. Next up for Johnson and Gaines is the 30th annual NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., May 14–16.