When Kurt Johnson races this weekend in his native Land of 1000 Lakes, he won't be driving a Chevy to the levy.

 

In an effort to raise his game, Johnson has a new car at the Lucas Oil Nationals; at least it is new to him. It’s still in the General Motors family, but it’s a Jerry Haas-built Pontiac GXP, the flashier outfitted cousin to his trusty Chevy Cobalt, formerly driven by his father, Warren Johnson.

 

When Kurt Johnson races this weekend in his native Land of 1000 Lakes, he won't be driving a Chevy to the levy.

 

In an effort to raise his game, Johnson has a new car at the Lucas Oil Nationals; at least it is new to him. It’s still in the General Motors family, but it’s a Jerry Haas-built Pontiac GXP, the flashier outfitted cousin to his trusty Chevy Cobalt, formerly driven by his father, Warren Johnson.

 

“That Cobalt, that aero package, was designed back in 2005, and the GXP was new in 2008. So you know, it’s time to step up a little bit,” Johnson said Friday as he took aim at the 10th Pro Stock spot in the standings in his final weekend to become part of the Countdown.

 

“Dodge has been awfully fast out here, so we need to catch it.” he said, referring mainly to sizzling-hot Alllen Johnson‘s recent performances. “It’s just time for a change.”

 

Although the change isn’t radical on the surface - he’s not switching to a Ford, for instance - Johnson said he does detect some noticeable differences in this new ride.

 

“I took that whole slingshot package off my Cobalt - springs, shocks, everything - and bolted it into this car, and it was an entirely different-feeling race car,” he said. “So there’s obviously something different about it. I heard it’s just the body, that the chassis is the same. But it’s definitely a little bit different.”

 

He shrugged it off, though, saying, “It’s the way these cars are put together. The tubing’s made at different times. They’ve all got different characteristics.” he said Haas “does the best he can to make ’em the same, but until you put ’em on the racetrack, you never know.”

 

Johnson, who hasn’t won since this event in 2008, is desperate this weekend to crack the top 10; having never finished outside the top 10 in his career. But last season he blanked in the victories column for the first time since his sophomore season, 1994. He’s eager to shed his label as the NHRA’s most successful driver (with 39 victories) not to have won a championship.

 

So, all of those issues are uppermost in his mind this weekend. He said he hasn’t given a lot of thought to whether he’ll flip-flop between the GXP and the Cobalt at the remaining racetracks, based on data already accumulated.

 

“I don’t think we’re really worried about racetracks right now,” Johnson said. “We’re just worried about winning rounds and trying to get a trophy. It’s been awhile now. I think we’re overdue, so maybe this will be our weekend.”

 

Johnson trails 10th-place Rodger Brogdon by 80 points, and leads Bob Yonke, who is 12th, by just four points. With a maxium of 150 points on the table for any driver, Johnson and Yonke will need to win or get very close to winning and hope that No. 9 Johnny Gray and Brogdon stumble.