Team Mopar NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson advanced to his first final round appearance of the season at the NHRA Houston event last weekend. The Team Mopar veteran has two new goals for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, scheduled for April 16–18 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: claim his first victory of the year and along the way capture his 200th career round win.
Johnson began the season with four straight semifinals appearances in his brand-new NHRA Pro Stock Mopar Dodge Avenger and then broke through to advance to the final round at Houston, in the process moving from third to second in the standings. The Greeneville, TN, native has worked hard to dial in his new car.
“We’ve really made a lot of progress with the new Mopar Dodge Avenger,” said Johnson. “At our test session last week in Dallas, we got the car to where it would run on a really good track and get the tires spinning a little bit, even with the new weight rule. Then at Houston on Sunday the track got really grimy and slick, and we got a lot of bite and were able to run on a slick track. It looks like we’ve got a setup for both kinds of tracks now, a big window, so, yeah, we’re happy with the Mopar Dodge.
“With the challenges we’ve had with the new car and with the new weight rule by NHRA, it’s amazing how the guys, crew chief Mark Ingersoll and Dad [Allen’s father Roy Johnson, the team’s engine builder] have adapted and made the car as good as it is. Starting from Houston on I think we’re going to have a really great car for our competitors to contend with.”
Allen Johnson is celebrating his 15th year on the NHRA Pro Stock circuit in 2010 and currently owns 198 career round wins. He will reach the 200 mark in round victories if he can advance to the semifinals. Johnson hopes to end his Vegas visit with 202 round wins — which would mean a Wally trophy for the Team Mopar veteran.
“It’s amazing I’ve had 200 career races, let alone to be nearing 200 round wins,” remarked Allen Johnson, who has captured seven career Pro Stock national event wins. “We keep piling up stats. We need to keep piling up the win stats a bunch more. I want to get that number in the double digits big time this year. I feel like the J&J Racing team is on track and we’re doing what we’ve got to do, building momentum. Hopefully we can start to work on that win total at Vegas.”
Johnson to participate in free NHRA autograph session at Town Square Mall prior to SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals
Allen Johnson will join fellow NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series stars such as Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Brandon Bernstein and Greg Anderson in a free NHRA driver autograph session on Thursday, April 15, from 7 to 8 p.m. PDT at the Town Square Mall in Las Vegas, Nev. The venue is located at 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. South.
The event will also feature live music, race car displays and activities for fans of all ages. Fans can also purchase tickets for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at the autograph session.
“It’s always exciting to go out to Vegas,” said Johnson. “The turnout at these fan events in Vegas is always awesome. I’m looking forward to meeting some die-hard drag racing fans on Thursday.”
Johnson’s Statistics of Note
At The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Qualified No. 4 and advanced to the semifinals at the 2007 spring Vegas event
2010 Season
• Notched his first final round appearance of the season and 18th of his career last weekend at Houston
• Advanced to four straight semifinals to start the season in his new Mopar Dodge Avenger
• Currently ranked second in the NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock point standings
• Has a 10-5 round win record through four events
2009 Season
• Clinched a spot in the 2009 NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs
• Captured two wins, at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver and O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka
• Finished seventh in NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock point standings
• Made three finals appearances, scoring a runner-up finish at NHRA Gatornationals
• Captured seventh career No. 1 Qualifier Award at NHRA event in Seattle, reaching semis
• Made eight semifinals appearances
• Posted a 30-20 round win record for the season
2008 Season
• Finished seventh in NHRA Pro Stock standings
• One of only 10 drivers to qualify for NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs
• Won K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus event at Norwalk, recording perfect .000 reaction time to defeat Greg Anderson for victory
• Powered to three No. 1 Qualifier Awards
• Made eight semifinal appearances
• Posted two straight runner-up finishes at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals and Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals
• Racked up 28-24 round win record
2007 Season
• Finished career-best fourth in NHRA Pro Stock point standings
• One of only four Pro Stock drivers to qualify for inaugural NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff
• Claimed win at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver
2006 Season
• Finished sixth in NHRA Pro Stock standings, scoring win at Seattle
Career
• Qualified for Countdown to 1 in each of first three years since NHRA adopted playoff format in 2007
• Claimed seven career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock wins
• Claimed 198 career round wins
• Recorded 18 career final round appearances
• Competed in 300th race at 2009 NHRA St. Louis event
• Scored second career win at Atlanta in 2002 and finished eighth in point standings
• Seized first career win in 1999 at Richmond and went on to claim first top 10 finish in standings
• Made NHRA Pro Stock debut in 1996, driving a Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger
SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals
The SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals is scheduled to take place April 16–18 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, April 17, beginning at 6 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, April 18, beginning at 7 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.
Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand.
Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles — a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide.
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts maker, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle-car era. The former 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, in order to enhance speed and handling for vehicles both on the road or at the track.
