Johnson makes a move in Thunder Valley's heat
Craig Wack, Senior Editor
Saturday, 19 June 2010
The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals is turning into a perfect one for Pro Stock driver and East Tennessee native Allen Johnson.
Despite less than ideal conditions on Saturday morning, Johnson ran a 6.722 second pass at 205.10 mph in the Mopar Dodge Avenger to edge defending class champ Mike Edwards by .003 seconds for the No. 1 qualifying spot.
"My mom said it best," Johnson said. "She walked in after, hugged me, started crying and said, 'What a dream.'"
The other two No. 1s from Friday night, Ashley Force Hood in Funny Car and Antron Brown in Top Fuel each held their ground on a steamy Bristol Saturday.
All of Johnson's family have gathered in Thunder Valley, and he was determined to give them a show they wouldn't soon forget. Also, Johnson's father, Roy is racing for the first time in nearly three decades.
"To have me w get the No. 1 and dad go some rounds was just perfect," Johnson said. "It's emotional. It's been a while since we've had our whole family here. Dad's the whole reason I'm out here and racing is keeping him young."
Johnson faces Warren Johnson (no relation) in the first round of Sunday's eliminations.
Brown and the Matco Tools dragster team are fresh off a final round appearance in Englishtown last week and are starting to show the same kind of from it did when Brown swept the Western Swing last summer. His best run was a 3.856 second pass at 314.24 mph, but Brown was also happy with the way the car ran in the heat.
"We made it down this hot track four times and were the quickest car in two of the four sessions. Things are really clicking with our team at the right time. There are only six more races before The Countdown and this is the time that we need to do well.
"We've got a really tough first round match-up with (Doug) Kalitta. That's not like racing the No. 16 qualifier. This will be more like final round battle in the first round, so we have our work cut out for us."
Force Hood's Friday night run of 4.151 at 296.70 mph in the Castrol Ford Mustang held up easily and she faces Jeff Diehl in the first round Sunday.
"Today definitely is setting everyone up for tomorrow just because the conditions will be similar, so we’ll take what we learned from our two runs," Force Hood said. "It was kind of both ends of the spectrum. One run we didn’t get down, and the other we basically got down almost the whole way until it started to spin. That will help us for tomorrow, kind of give us boundaries for how much the track will take without pushing it too much.
"We didn’t run that spectacular and yet we ended up No. 1, so it just shows that it is challenging out there."
Eliminations for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals begin at noon EDT Sunday from Bristol Dragway.
SUNDAY'S PAIRINGS
Top Fuel -- 1. Antron Brown, 3.856 seconds, 314.24 mph vs. 16. Doug Kalitta, 4.379, 277.15; 2. Cory McClenathan, 3.879, 313.51 vs. 15. Scott Palmer, 4.139, 288.39; 3. Larry Dixon, 3.882, 311.77 vs. 14. Morgan Lucas, 4.090, 286.07; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 3.901, 308.64 vs. 13. Pat Dakin, 4.086, 289.51; 5. Bob Vandergriff, 3.912, 310.91 vs. 12. Troy Buff, 4.071, 290.13; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.939, 311.77 vs. 11. Doug Herbert, 3.994, 291.95; 7. David Grubnic, 3.941, 306.19 vs. 10. Steve Torrence, 3.974, 301.47; 8. Terry McMillen, 3.964, 299.13 vs. 9. Shawn Langdon, 3.964, 298.34. Did Not Qualify: 17. Terry Haddock, 5.247, 284.09.
Funny Car -- 1. Ashley Force Hood, Ford Mustang, 4.151, 296.70 vs. 16. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.788, 151.65; 2. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.159, 291.38 vs. 15. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.442, 243.90; 3. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.185, 292.58 vs. 14. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.376, 275.79; 4. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.186, 300.80 vs. 13. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.326, 252.33; 5. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.199, 297.35 vs. 12. Jim Head, Solara, 4.322, 252.24; 6. John Force, Mustang, 4.216, 297.55 vs. 11. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.321, 275.34; 7. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.228, 289.07 vs. 10. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.244, 284.45; 8. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.238, 283.67 vs. 9. Melanie Troxel, Charger, 4.239, 289.26.
Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.722, 205.10 vs. 16. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.799, 204.63; 2. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.725, 205.54 vs. 15. Bob Yonke, GXP, 6.786, 203.31; 3. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.735, 204.39 vs. 14. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.776, 203.86; 4. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.736, 204.32 vs. 13. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.772, 203.09; 5. Rickie Jones, GXP, 6.754, 204.11 vs. 12. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.766, 203.92; 6. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.757, 204.20 vs. 11. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.764, 204.35; 7. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.757, 203.95 vs. 10. Jason Line, GXP, 6.761, 203.74; 8. Vinnie Deceglie, Avenger, 6.760, 204.39 vs. 9. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.761, 204.11. Did Not Qualify: 17. V. Gaines, 6.818, 203.40; 18. Justin Humphreys, 6.820, 202.15; 19. John Nobile, 6.827, 202.36; 20. Robert Patrick, 6.899, 200.74; 21. John Gaydosh Jr, 7.025, 196.16.
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