NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series driver Allen Johnson

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Team Mopar® Driver Allen Johnson in ‘Aggressive’ Mode for Vegas Visit

Johnson dares Pro Stockers to join him in ‘Troxel Challenge’ Stratosphere SkyJump

Auburn Hills, Mich. , Oct 27, 2010 -

All in. Go for broke. Don’t hold nothin’ back. All the clichés really do apply for NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series driver Allen Johnson. The Mopar® Dodge Avenger Pro Stock pilot is aware of the importance of a victory this weekend at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway if he is to have any chance of claiming the 2010 Pro Stock championship.

The Team Mopar veteran is currently fifth in the standings, 168 markers behind points leader Greg Anderson. Even if Johnson wins the final two races of the season, he’ll need a lot of help from the drivers ahead of him in the standings for a realistic shot at the title. Despite the long odds, the Greeneville, Tenn. native says there is a lot of fight left in his Mopar/J&J Racing team.

“We’re going to be more aggressive than we’ve probably ever been,” said Johnson, who enters the Vegas race after earning consecutive No. 1 Qualifier Awards at the NHRA Dallas and NHRA Reading events. “The Mopar Dodge Avenger team is going to battle all the way to the end and hope that we do something great and the guys in front of us make some boo-boos. That’s all that we can do.

“If we could go to Vegas and get the maximum points, get bonus points in qualifying, and have the drivers ahead of us exit in round one, we have a chance. It’s a real long shot, but we can at least control how we perform, and that’s what we’re focused on. We can’t control what others do, but we can control what we do.”

Johnson and his J&J Racing crew have captured a single-season career high six No. 1 spots during the 2010 season, with one victory at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in July. Johnson hopes to carry their qualifying success over to Sunday at Vegas.

“The J&J Racing team has been awesome during qualifying,” said Johnson. “We also have to be awesome and go 4-for-4 in having good runs in eliminations on Sunday. That’s what we intend to go out there and do.”

Johnson dares Pro Stockers to join him in ‘Troxel Challenge’ Stratosphere SkyJump
Allen Johnson will not only join Dodge Charger R/T NHRA Funny Car driver Melanie Troxel in her 108-story free fall from the top of the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas to raise money for Speedway Children’s Charities, but the Team Mopar driver is also daring his fellow Pro Stock competitors to take part in the “Troxel Challenge.” Johnson will donate $100 for every driver from the Pro Stock ranks taking part in the jump.

Troxel made the initial challenge, putting up $100 for every driver in the nitro categories who makes the jump, scheduled to take place on Oct. 28 at 9 p.m. PDT at SkyJump Las Vegas at the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower. Ever the daredevil, Johnson also decided to participate and, in the spirit of the good-natured rivalry between the Pro Stock and nitro ranks, challenge his Pro Stock colleagues to show up the other classes.

“We don’t want to let the nitro drivers beat us out at anything, so the Pro Stock folks need to turn out in record numbers,” said Johnson. “We need to put out the challenge for them to come out and support this deal.

“I’m scared to death right now. I’ll probably be even more scared when I get up there. I bungee jumped once from 200 feet, but nothing like this. I hope I don’t have a heart attack—I’m old, you know! But it’s for a good cause, and we try to support Speedway Children’s Charities at all of Bruton Smith’s tracks, including Bristol and Charlotte.”

Allen Johnson will also take part in the NHRA Fan Fest event at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, where he will sign autographs and meet with fans from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 28, just prior to the “Troxel Challenge.”

“The folks at Vegas do an awesome job in promoting the race and the Fan Fest,” said Johnson. “Participating in the Vegas Fan Fest is a big deal, and in my opinion it’s the biggest and best NHRA fan event of them all.”

Johnson’s Statistics of Note

2010 Season
• Currently ranked fifth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship Pro Stock playoff standings
• Has claimed two consecutive No. 1 Qualifier Awards, at the NHRA Dallas and Reading events
• 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 six No. 1 Qualifier Awards, both single-season career highs
• Has a 34-19 round win record through 21 events
• Has advanced to at least the semifinals in 11 of 21 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 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
• Captured 13 career No. 1 Qualifier Awards
• 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

Las Vegas NHRA Nationals
The Las Vegas NHRA Nationals is scheduled to take place Oct. 28–31 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. One-and-a-half hours of qualifying coverage will air on Sunday, Oct. 31 beginning at 1 a.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Two-and-a-half hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Oct. 31, beginning at 9 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
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car
• Wi-Fi: 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.

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Johnson Takes Top Spot in Friday Vegas Qualifying, Looks for Third Straight No. 1

Las Vegas, Nev. , Oct 29, 2010 -

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson kicked off qualifying for the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals in his typical stellar style, claiming the provisional No. 1 spot after two sessions today at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Team Mopar® veteran and his J&J Racing squad will attempt to capture their third consecutive No. 1 Qualifier award and seventh of the season tomorrow.

Johnson produced a 6.671-second pass at 207.08 mph in the opening qualifying stanza despite veering dead right off the starting line before straightening out his Mopar Dodge Avenger. No. 3 after the first round, Johnson unleashed a 6.660/207.46 pass to rocket his Mopar HEMI®-powered machine to No. 1 during the second session.

“The first run we didn’t make a very good run, so we knew we had a little left in the car,” said Johnson, who is shooting for his 14th career pole tomorrow. “The left lane is the lane of preference here for Pro Stock, so we had it in the (second) session. The sun went down about halfway through the qualifying session, so that helped us out a lot and we made a very good run. The guys have got the HEMI power just puttin’ it down. I’m telling you, it’s a strong engine.

“We are aggressive, and we are going to be aggressive every run. We’re trying to go for all the bonus points we can and just hope for a miracle.”

Johnson was also on top at last night’s “Troxel Challenge,” where he joined a number of other NHRA drivers in freefalling off the top of the Stratosphere Tower to raise money for Speedway Children’s Charities. Dodge Charger R/T driver Melanie Troxel donated $100 for every driver from the nitro categories to take part in the jump. Johnson offered $100 for every Pro Stock car participant, but was unable to find any takers to join him in the 108-story plunge.

“Jumping off the Stratosphere, my famous line is, ‘That first step’s a doozy,’” said Johnson. “Peer pressure still is there when you’re 50. All of us were (putting) peer pressure on each other. We got up there, and if one of us had backed out we would have had chicken wings on our car, I guess. I’m an adventurer at heart about anything—racing, jumping off buildings, jumping out of airplanes, scuba diving, just a little bit of all of it.”

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Team Mopar®’s Allen Johnson Out in Quarterfinals at Vegas

Las Vegas, Nev. , Nov 1, 2010 -

Mopar® Dodge Avenger NHRA Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson fell short in his efforts to parlay his third consecutive No. 1 spot into a victory in the elimination rounds on Sunday, Oct. 31 at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, falling to Greg Stanfield in the quarterfinals.

Johnson had the dominant car during qualifying in driving to the pole at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and that trend continued in his matchup with former teammate Johnny Gray in the first round. The Team Mopar driver dispatched Gray with a solid 6.678-second elapsed time (ET) at 207.40 mph.

Johnson had lane choice in his second-round fight with Greg Stanfield. The Greeneville, Tenn. native posted top speed of the event with a 6.664/208.04 run to Stanfield’s 6.667/206.01. However, Johnson’s Halloween day would end unhappily with a .048 reaction time to his opponent’s .016 mark off the lights, enough margin to give Stanfield the victory.

“This race car is a little finicky,” said Johnson. “Our Mopar HEMI® engines are making great power; the tune-up changes the J&J Racing team made worked well. It’s just when the track gets really good like it did today, we fight this race car.

“It’s a testament to the horsepower dad (Roy Johnson, Allen’s father and J&J Racing engine builder) is making that we’ve scored seven poles this year. If we can get the car more consistent to match the motors, this Mopar Dodge Avenger will be even more of a force to reckon with next year.”

Allen Johnson also had a chance to visit with Mopar executives in town for the 2010 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, scheduled for Nov. 2–5 in Las Vegas. Johnson will take part in a one-hour autograph session along with fellow NHRA drivers Matt Hagan, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, V. Gaines and Vinnie Deceglie in Mopar’s SEMA exhibit starting at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

“We had a chance to meet Mopar’s new Director of Marketing, Tricia Hecker, and welcome here to the Mopar racing family,” said Johnson. “I was hoping that having Tricia, Jim Sassorossi and all the Mopar folks here would be my good look luck charm, like it was when they were out in Denver for my win this year, but it didn’t work out today.

“The Mopar/J&J Racing team will keep digging. We’ll go to Pomona and try to qualify No. 1 and win the race, but we’ve just got to do better on Sunday. If we can do that and end the season with a win, maybe it can set a positive tone for our 2011 campaign.”

The hard luck bug bit No. 2 qualifier and Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger driver V. Gaines in his opening round battle with Bob Yonke. Gaines reeled off a scorching 6.640/207.15 pass, low ET for the weekend, but his efforts were negated when the Denver, Colo. native left early off the starting line and red-lighted.

Johnson is currently fifth in the point standings. Next up is the final event of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 11–14.