With two races remaining to the Countdown to 1, Allen Johnson has already doubled his previous year's win total. He has two. Now it's time to get number three.

A third win, preferable at this weekend’s NHRA Toyo Tires, wouldn’t be a bad addition to a really good season.

“We’re really strong right now,” said Johnson, who lost on a hole shot in the Brainerd semis to eventual winner Greg Anderson. “I had a little hiccup this past weekend. I didn’t really have a hiccup; he [Anderson] had a psychic light. I’ve got to get down to the .20s and .30s on my lights, and I’m not there yet. I’m still practicing and trying to get there before the Countdown starts.”

With two races remaining to the Countdown to 1, Allen Johnson has already doubled his previous year's win total. He has two. Now it's time to get number three.

A third win, preferable at this weekend’s NHRA Toyo Tires, wouldn’t be a bad addition to a really good season.

“We’re really strong right now,” said Johnson, who lost on a hole shot in the Brainerd semis to eventual winner Greg Anderson. “I had a little hiccup this past weekend. I didn’t really have a hiccup; he [Anderson] had a psychic light. I’ve got to get down to the .20s and .30s on my lights, and I’m not there yet. I’m still practicing and trying to get there before the Countdown starts.”

Johnson has advanced to three finals and seven semifinals in 16 events this season and racked up a 25-15 round win record. The Mopar-sponsored driver has already clinched his berth in the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs, set to begin in September at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals. The Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T pilot is coming off an appearance at the NHRA Brainerd event last weekend in which he qualified No. 2 and advanced to the semifinals.

Johnson has never won at Maple Grove Raceway, but has had strong outings at the facility in the past. He qualified No. 4 at Reading in the 2008 event advancing to the semifinals.

“I’ve always loved Reading, the weather, the mountains, everything about it,” remarked Johnson. “We’ve had a lot of good things happen to us there in the past. That place has always been good to us.”

Johnson said he still holds out hope to move up one spot in the standings and solidify his spot in the Countdown. He is currently in fifth, 99 points behind fourth-place Anderson. The points will reset when the Countdown begins, with the points leader assuming a 30-point lead over the second-place driver, a 40-point lead over the third-place driver, and so on in 10-point increments for each of the remaining drivers in the top 10.

“Well, it would probably be pretty hard, but we’re still going to be trying for it,” said Johnson. “We go to Reading, he [Anderson] gets beat first round and we go to the final, and we’ve caught him. It might be a long shot, but you can’t rule it out. You’ve got to keep fighting.”


 

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