Team Mopar®’s Allen Johnson seeks finals appearance at Virginia NHRA Nationals to maintain hopes in Countdown to 1 playoffs

• Johnson stats
• Virginia NHRA Nationals

Center Line, Mich. —Mopar®/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson wants to score a finals berth and his first event win of the season at the upcoming Virginia NHRA Nationals. The race is scheduled for Oct. 10 – 12 at Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond.

 

The Mopar HEMI®-powered Johnson has advanced to at least the semifinals in five of his last nine events, including two runner-up outings, and has claimed three No. 1 Qualifier Awards on the year. The Greeneville, Tenn. native is still hunting for his first victory of ’08 despite his run of solid outings. Johnson will look to change his luck this weekend and regain his prior Richmond magic. The venue was the site of his first career Pro Stock win during the 1999 campaign.

 

“We’ve done pretty good at Richmond. Richmond is the first place I ever won a Pro Stock race,” recalled Johnson. “It’s usually cool and fast there, and we perform well on a cool and fast track. Our goal is to make ground up and come out of there maybe sixty points behind the top guy and have a really good chance going to Vegas.”

 

Johnson is currently seventh in the NHRA Countdown to 1 Pro Stock playoffs. With only three races remaining in the Countdown (Richmond, Las Vegas, Pomona), a spot in the finals this weekend is a near imperative for Johnson and his J&J Racing team [led by crew chief Mark Ingersoll and engine builder Roy Johnson, Allen’s father].

 

“We have to go to the final round,” summed up [Allen] Johnson. “We almost met that goal last week at Memphis. We’re making lots of horsepower with our Mopar HEMI engine and the car is running great. By the top guys getting knocked out early last week, it worked out pretty good. We’re about five rounds out of first, so we must go to the final round at Richmond.”

 

Johnson stats

• Took home his first career NHRA Pro Stock win at Richmond in 1999
• Powered to his third No. 1 Qualifier Award of 2008 (sixth of his career) and advanced to the semifinals at the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
• Captured the No. 1 qualifier award at the 2008 U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend
• Has advanced to at least the semifinals in five of his last nine races
• Has a total of seven 2008 semifinals appearances
• One of ten drivers to qualify for the 2008 NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs
• Posted two straight runner-up finishes at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals and Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals in July
• Moved to seventh in the NHRA Pro Stock standings following the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
• Has a 24-21 round win record through 21 events
• Banked $50,000 with the K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus event win [June 2008 NHRA stop in Norwalk, Ohio] – recorded a perfect .000 reaction time to beat Greg Anderson
• Currently, Johnson’s J&J Racing team is third in the points standings of the NHRA Pro Stock Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship
• Qualified in the top half of the field in 19 of 21 2008 NHRA POWERade events to date
• Advanced to at least the quarterfinals in 15 of 21 2008 NHRA POWERade events to date
• Has appeared in 14 career final rounds
• Claimed his fourth career No. 1 qualifier award at the 2008 Phoenix event
• Finished fourth in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock points standings
• One of only four Pro Stock drivers to qualify for the inaugural NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff
• Captured his 5^th-career win at the 28^th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals in July 2007
• Posted two runner-up finishes in 2007

 

Virginia NHRA Nationals

The Virginia NHRA Nationals is scheduled for Oct. 10 – 12 at Virginia Motorsports Park. One hour of qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, Oct. 11 beginning at 11:30 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Oct. 12 starting at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more info on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.

 

70 Years of Mopar

When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

 

Originally used in the 1920s, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It was also widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “Special Parts” for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

 

Today, Chrysler LLC’s Global Service & Parts division is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of nearly 250,000 authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep_® and Dodge vehicles sold around the world. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler Engineering standards.