Allen Johnson said Friday evening after marching to the top of the Pro Stock order for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., that he's preparing for the six-race playoff that starts after the Labor Day classic U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.

“We’re in Countdown mode right now, and we’re trying to get every single point we can. That’s what’s going to count when you get to the Countdown,” he said.

Allen Johnson said Friday evening after marching to the top of the Pro Stock order for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., that he's preparing for the six-race playoff that starts after the Labor Day classic U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.

“We’re in Countdown mode right now, and we’re trying to get every single point we can. That’s what’s going to count when you get to the Countdown,” he said.

Johnson, No. 2 in the standings with his reliable Magneti Marelli/Mopar Dodge Dart, is about as stocked up on extra points as he can be at this point.

He earned seven qualifying bonus points en route to securing the No. 1 starting position Saturday with his 6.614-second elapsed time from Friday. Moreover, he is set to add an easy 20 points for breezing through the first round of Sunday's eliminations, because the class attracted just 15 racers this weekend.

"This new Dodge Dart really likes the surface at Brainerd. That last run was pretty nice. It's our best start here at Brainerd," Johnson said after earning his fifth No. 1 qualifying position this season and second in a row. It's his first at Brainerd International Raceway and 36th of his career.

"I think we got a good game plan for tomorrow," he said.

What wasn't in the game plan was his first crack at the BIR quarter-mile Saturday. He and his car were pushed off the track in the third overall qualifying session because of a defiant sparkplug.  

"We were very unfortunate there. We had a sparkplug that decided it wanted to crack and quit working during the burnout," Johnson said. "I knew something was wrong, but I thought I’d try to clean it out. It never would clean out, so instead of wasting parts, we decided to sit that one out."

It hardly seemed like a hiccup in the grand scheme of things, for Johnson said his new ride, which debuted at Gainesville this March, was "a great car all weekend."

Johnson indicated that all he has to do Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals is keep the car in his lane in the opening round.

He said he's pleased at "having a good shot at the track without any way to lose, except cross the center line, I guess. It'll pay dividends. Well be able to get after it more than we normally could if there was a car in the other lane. That'll tell us how far we can push it."  

What he means is he'll see how far he can push points leader Erica Enders-Stevens, whose absence at the Sonoma and Seattle events allowed Johnson to enter this event just 32 points off the pace.

In Saturday's first session, Jason Line leapfrogged Enders-Stevens and his teammate Greg Anderson to take the No. 2 starting spot. Enders-Stevens qualified No. 3 and Anderson No. 4.Four-time Brainerd winner Jeg Coughlin is fifth in the line-up. Dave Connolly, Shane Gray, and Vincent Nobile round out the top half of the eliminations ladder.

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