One thing Allen Johnson had working for him headed into the final round of the O’Reilly NHRA Summernationals is that he knew his opponent. The Mopar-sponsored driver has raced against Mike Edwards for enough years to know what to expect when the sixteen-car field whittled down to the two of them.

“Mike always makes a good run against us,” Johnson said, as he spoke to the assembled media following his seventh career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock victory.

“In the finals he did. The right lane came around for us with the cloud cover but we didn’t take Mike lightly. We knew he had it.”

Johnson admitted that he felt a measure of pressure and for the seasoned factory-backed racer, one could assume the news of Chrysler’s bankruptcy along with a dry spell between national event victories has been overwhelming.

One thing Allen Johnson had working for him headed into the final round of the O’Reilly NHRA Summernationals is that he knew his opponent. The Mopar-sponsored driver has raced against Mike Edwards for enough years to know what to expect when the sixteen-car field whittled down to the two of them.

“Mike always makes a good run against us,” Johnson said, as he spoke to the assembled media following his seventh career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock victory.

“In the finals he did. The right lane came around for us with the cloud cover but we didn’t take Mike lightly. We knew he had it.”

Johnson admitted that he felt a measure of pressure and for the seasoned factory-backed racer, one could assume the news of Chrysler’s bankruptcy along with a dry spell between national event victories has been overwhelming.

The second-generation drag racer makes no excuses for his failure to win a national event since winning the 2007 Mopar NHRA Mile High Nationals in Denver, Co.

“We should have won ten races in between,” Johnson admitted. “We’ve had the car to beat … I just haven’t done my job.”

On the first truly “hot” day of the 2009 season, Johnson smiled and proclaimed, “I believe I’ve got my mojo back.”

What a better way for one to get their mojo back than to beat the driver who has proven to be the hottest property in the Pro Stock ranks, this year. Edwards and Johnson entered Sunday’s final eliminations as the top two qualifiers.

“That’s the way it should be,” Edwards said. “We both drove well all day and our cars performed well too. We had a heck of a race in the final round and that’s what Pro Stock is all about.”

Johnson, who admittedly wears blinders on his helmet to prevent looking into the other line, said he peeked over at 1,000 feet into their quarter-mile drag race.

“I was about a fender ahead at 1,000 feet,” Johnson said with a smile.

He then continued, “I looked over at the finish line and I couldn’t tell who had won. He’s got a lot of power. He was coming on strong.”

Johnson, based on his past experience, expected Edwards to be coming like a runaway freight train. Thankfully, the finish line came first. 

Advertisement