Team Mopar Pomona II Thursday report

Team Mopar Driver Johnson No. 16 in Opening Day Qualifying at NHRA Finals

Allen Johnson

Photo by: Motorsport.com / ASP Inc.

Pomona, Calif. — Mopar® Dodge Avenger NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson was No. 16 today in the first of four scheduled qualifying sessions at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Johnson posted an elapsed time of 6.620-seconds at 197.77 mph in his initial qualifying effort. A regular in the top half of the Pro Stock qualifying ladder this year, the Team Mopar veteran will look to move up in the single qualifying round tomorrow and two final stanzas on Saturday. Johnson is seeking to make the show on Sunday and advance to his third straight final round and claim his second win of the season.

“We made a really good run for the right lane, which is always finicky here,” said Johnson. “We were good down low (a .982 at the 60-ft. mark) and got some good data, which always helps. We had an engine problem right at the end of the run, so the J&J Racing crew is putting in some overtime to swap in a new Mopar HEMI.

“Vincent (Nobile) had a good pass, a 6.561, so we’ll take that, what he got and what I got, and tune ‘em up a little better tomorrow. We’ll stick another bullet in there; we’ve got a lot of HEMIs on the bench. I’ve had a couple of runner-ups here at Pomona. I’d love to get that first win, and also close out the season on a really high note.”

Fellow Mopar-powered Pro Stock competitor Nobile was No. 6 today, with V. Gaines ranked No. 18. In Funny Car, Ron Capps led the four-deep field of Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T drivers, taking the preliminary No. 3 spot today with a 4.124 run. Matt Hagan (4.137) was listed fifth, with Jack Beckman (6.613) No. 16 and Johnny Gray (8.957) No. 22.