WJ GETS HIS FIRST ROUND WIN THIS SEASON

When a driving resume reads 97 national event victories in 151 final rounds, with six NHRA series championships, chances are winning first round becomes second nature. Back in the day, this was the case for veteran driver Warren Johnson.

In his last couple of years as an independent racer those opening round wins have been more of a challenge for the resourceful Johnson.

Headed into this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Johnson’s last first round win came in October 2010 in Reading, Pa. - nearly two years ago.

Johnson got the monkey off of his back in Seattle by beating Shane Gray. He ran a 6.658 elapsed time at 208.46 when Gray fell off of the pace.

“This is more rewarding for my guys than anything else,” Johnson told ESPN2’s Gary Gerould after his win. “They put in so many hours. This is not a one-man show like it was twenty or thirty years ago. It’s a team effort and I guess you could say we are directionally correct right now.”

Johnson’s day ended against point leader Allen Johnson in the quarter-finals.

All articles and photography published in CompetitionPlus.com are protected by United States of America and International copyright laws unless mentioned otherwise. The content on this website is intended for the private use of the reader and may not be published or reposted in any form without the prior written consent of CompetitionPlus.com.

< Prev		Next >