They used to call him Mojo because it sounded like a name fitting for a Pro Stock driver.

After nearly a two decades off from competition, while he served in roles as a consultant and crew chief for championship teams, Morris Johnson Jr. has returned to competition.

He’s not racing a 500-inch, NHRA legal Pro Stocker.

The driver who has won national event titles in three countries (United States, Canada and Finland) sought out a new challenge.

He wants to win with a mountain motor engine while racing on the eighth-mile within the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock division.

They used to call him Mojo because it sounded like a name fitting for a Pro Stock driver.

After nearly a two decades off from competition, while he served in roles as a consultant and crew chief for championship teams, Morris Johnson Jr. has returned to competition.

He’s not racing a 500-inch, NHRA legal Pro Stocker.

The driver who has won national event titles in three countries (United States, Canada and Finland) sought out a new challenge.

He wants to win with a mountain motor engine while racing on the eighth-mile within the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock division.

“I’ve been trying to get back into racing better than ever,” Johnson explained. “I bought a lot of equipment and I’ve worked hard at trying to put together a program.”

Johnson told CompetitionPlus.com that he was close to procuring a major sponsor but at the last moment that deal fell through.

“I was in so deep at that point, I had to move forward anyway,” Johnson added. “I don’t have any intentions of running NHRA, so the ADRL fit in perfect with the budget we had to race with.”

The combination he runs within the Extreme Pro Stock division also provides a vehicle for the Big Dog races staged in the Carolinas. The Big Dog events are limited Quick Eight events with a series of rules designed to create an affordable means of racing fast doorslammers.

“I can race some of the local events,” Johnson said.

Johnson told CompetitionPlus.com that he’d prefer to run the entire ADRL schedule and as many outlaw events as he could accommodate with his schedule.

There is a bit of partiality to the ADRL for Johnson.

“The fact that I am a disabled Vietnam veteran and the National Guard’s involvement with the series really gets my attention,” Johnson said. “I wish I could represent the National Guard in some kind of way.”

Many know Johnson as a decorated NHRA Pro Stock veteran from back in the day. Those close to him know Johnson as a decorated war veteran with two purple hearts and a bronze star.

“Maybe I could be a good fit for one of the military sponsorships,” Johnson suggested. “I still have the desire to race, just need the money to make it happen.”

Johnson credits his son George and his brother Mike for helping him to return to competition. The two, along with a full crew, are acclimating themselves to racing Pro Stock.

“We have a really new crew and we are still learning,” Johnson said of his crew. “There’s a lot more to it than just unloading the car. I think Warren Johnson said it the best when he explained, ‘The days get shorter the older you get.”

“By the time you get through with breakfast, you have morning break and then you get through with that and then it’s lunch time,” Johnson continued. “Then you have to go down to the diner at 2 o’clock to see what the guys are doing. Before you know it, it is 4 o’clock, and then you have to drink a beer with the guys.”

Johnson laughs and mentions his comments are in jest. In actuality, he says, his crew is chock full of a youth.

“These young guys want to work,” Johnson said.   

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