Team Mopar® Driver Allen Johnson ‘In the Hunt’ Heading into Dallas
Auburn Hills, Mich. , Sep 23, 2010 -
Allen Johnson’s championship hopes took a hit at the NHRA stop last weekend at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., with Johnson falling from second to fifth in the Countdown to the Championship Pro Stock playoffs. The Mopar® Dodge Avenger pilot is focused on making up the ground he lost in his title quest at the O’Reilly Auto Parts
Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals, scheduled to take place Sept. 23–26 near Dallas, Texas.
“I’m fired up to go into Dallas and begin to climb back into the title hunt,” said Johnson, a native of Greeneville, Tenn. “There are still four races left in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, and that’s more than enough time to close the gap between us and Mike (Edwards, the current Pro Stock points leader).”
Johnson cites two reasons he feels optimistic about his chances in the Pro Stock championship fight: the skill of his J&J Racing team and the power of the Mopar HEMI® engine under the hood of his Mopar Dodge.
“The way the J&J Racing team has been preparing the Mopar Dodge Avenger all year, we’ve qualified at or near the top of the field in almost every event,” said Johnson, who has captured a career-high four No. 1 Qualifier Awards already this season. “Dad (Roy Johnson, Allen’s father and engine builder) continues to make tons of horsepower with our Mopar HEMI engines. You can’t count us out.
“I’m only about 30 more points out than what I was heading into last weekend. The way the whole deal worked, with Mike getting knocked out early, I’m still in the hunt. All I need is one good race, and I can be right back in it.”
Johnson’s Statistics of Note
2010 Season
• Currently ranked fifth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship Pro Stock playoff standings
• Scored his first win of the season at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, his second straight win at his primary sponsor’s race
• Advanced to four final rounds and has earned four No. 1 Qualifier Awards, both single-season career highs
• Captured two consecutive No. 1 Qualifier Awards (Sonoma, Denver), giving him 11 for his career
• Has a 33-17 round win record through 19 events
• Has advanced to at least the semifinals in 11 of 19 events this season
• Advanced to the final round at the NHRA event in Norwalk, Ohio
• Banked his ninth career No. 1 Qualifier Award at the NHRA Bristol race
• Scored his second final-round appearance of the season at the NHRA event in Topeka
• Earned his eighth career No. 1 Qualifier Award at the NHRA Atlanta event
• Claimed his 200th career round win at the NHRA St. Louis race
• Advanced to four straight semifinals to start the season in his new Mopar Dodge Avenger
• Banked his first final-round appearance of the year at the NHRA Houston event
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 semifinals 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 Championship in all four years since NHRA adopted playoff format in 2007
• Claimed eight career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock wins
• Claimed more than 200 career round wins
• Has a career best elapsed time of 6.545-seconds and a career best speed of 211.73 mph
• Recorded 21 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
O’Reilly Auto Parts Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Super Start Batteries NHRA Nationals is scheduled to take place Sept. 23–26 at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. One hour of qualifying coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 26 beginning at 1 a.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 26, beginning at 7 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to
NHRA.com.
Mopar-First Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:
• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• FLO TV™: first to offer live, mobile television
• WiFi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network
About the 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, Dodge, Jeep® and Ram Truck 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. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at
Mopar - Authentic Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Accessories, Service & Parts.
More than 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.
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 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.
Roy Johnson steered his Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to the No. 1 Qualifier spot in Stock Eliminator at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals last weekend.
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