TJ & KLOEBER: A NECESSARY REUNION
Their story is one of mutual need.A driver needed a crew chief with a sense of positive direction.
A crew chief needed a driver that spoke his language.
NHRA Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. and Mike Kloeber are making the most of their limited time together with the objective of making a good impression. Thirteen years ago they worked together on the Johnson family dragster and the loss of sponsorship was the only reason they took separate paths.
They’re reunited and it never felt so good.
How the past improved the present for two talented individuals …
Their story is one of mutual need.
A driver needed a crew chief with a sense of positive direction.
A crew chief needed a driver that spoke his language.
NHRA Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. and Mike Kloeber are making the most of their limited time together with the objective of making a good impression. Thirteen years ago they worked together on the Johnson family dragster and the loss of sponsorship was the only reason they took separate paths.
They’re reunited and it never felt so good.
“Even though it had been thirteen years, it felt like we had been together the whole time,” Johnson said. “You have to learn the crew chief’s language and the driver’s and how they explain things. It usually takes a while for that kind of thing to mesh. I already know Mike’s language and how he liked things. We just fell right back into place.”
The things they took for granted such as winning a round and qualifying, or just having gainful employment, had special meaning.
Johnson’s driving career was mired so deep in a funk before Kloeber arrived that it could’ve forced a locomotive to take a dirt road.
This hasn’t been a matter of him showing up and the car just start running well. It was a night and day difference. I’m extremely pleased for both of us. - Tommy Johnson Jr. on Mike Kloeber's impact
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He hadn’t won a round of competition since March and had failed to qualify in eight races. He was supposed to be in the midst of an incredible opportunity; taking over a contending driving position made available when Kenny Bernstein retired.
Kloeber had a lot to be excited for when he entered the 2008 season. He was given the arduous task of assembling a team for Bob Tasca with limited time to pull off the feat. This was his shot at redemption after being unceremoniously dumped by Evan Knoll as Clay Millican’s tuner.
After four races, Kloeber was relieved of his duties with the Tasca organization citing “team chemistry” issues.
There’s nothing like an eager reunion and a clearly defined objective to improve one’s bedside manner. On the very first run together a throttle hung open and parachutes failed yet calamity had never been eagerly welcomed.
Johnson smiled and said, “Even this Monster Energy drink car is excited about Kloeber being here that it doesn’t want to stop.”
The Monster pits got a beastly dose of positive energy.
“It was great because we kind of hit it right off on the very first run,” Kloeber said. “It was kind of a shame that the throttle hung and he didn’t get to enjoy it at the other end. He’s comfortable, it’s like I never stopped working for him. Hearing him on the radio and coming back and getting the report on what I have to do to fix it. It gives you a lot of confidence as a crew chief when you can talk about what it takes to fix it. The driver has valuable input on how to fix the car and what you can do to fix it. He can also tell you where the car is strong so you can help from smoking the tires.”
This level of comfort became apparent on Kloeber’s first day in the shop as Johnson recalled. Johnson confirmed Kloeber walked into a mechanical mess.
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“When he got there, if you’re going to be successful, you have to know what you’re working with,” Johnson said. “The car was stripped to the frame and if something went back on it was because it worked properly and to his liking. I’m glad he did that because I think more times than not there’s a situation where you think a part is fine without checking and it really isn’t. He wasn’t about to assume anything.”
Even the hung throttle got swift attention and despite those early snafus, a feeling of determination permeated the pits like never before. The team started the revered Friday night qualifying session further back in life than any time in 2008.
Johnson had a hunch this would be the end result. His only regret is not pushing the issue with Bernstein when Kloeber’s name came up in conversation.
“I had mentioned the idea to Kenny and because there had been some history in the past, I gave him my vote of confidence [for Kloeber],” Johnson admitted. “As a driver, you don’t get to pick and choose who you get as a crew chief.”
Kloeber smiles at mention of the compliments, but he’s very outspoken mentioning that Johnson brings a great deal of talent to the table in his own-right having tuned his own team when hiring a crew chief wasn’t financially feasible.
“That’s one of the little known facts,” Kloeber beams. “TJ can build the motors, drive the truck, and can even tune his motors. He could easily tune his own Top Fuel car. It was pretty fun [when we worked together] because Tommy Sr. owned it and he let me tune it and never told me what to do and Jr. never told me how to tune it. He just told me what felt good and what worked good.
“At first you used to have to fight Jr. because he’d take the data out of the car and put it on the computer and you’d have to say Tommy I know how to do that, I can load the runs myself. That was a real good running team, I kind of came in there at the middle part of the season and we won a lot of rounds and made it to a final in Brainerd.”
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Nothing makes a tuner’s day like a driver who can proficiently converse in “tunerspeak”.
“I certainly want to help all I can. This is my 19th year driving a fuel car and I’ve been around it long enough to know the sounds and the feel. I’ve got a good grip on the mechanics. I just don’t know the math of it. You input makes you more excited and better. The computer can only tell you so much. If I can give one little tidbit that makes us run better, it’s real gratifying.”
Johnson admits he wasn’t able to gel as easy with other tuners. No offense to the others, but the pressure to perform got the best of the admitted perfectionist from time to time.
Clearly this union stopped both Johnson and Kloeber’s free falling drag racing stock.
In this instance, Johnson is happier for Kloeber than himself.
“I’m happier for Mike,” Johnson admitted. “People knew in the pits that it really wasn’t the driver holding the car back. As a driver, you really can’t make the car run any quicker than what they give you. The fan perspective might have been that there was a problem with the driver. That wears on you some. I am happy for Mike because he came out looking like the guy who couldn’t make the car run when it was just the opposite. He’s plenty smart and capable. I’m excited for him and it’s pretty convincing that he turned it around.
“This hasn’t been a matter of him showing up and the car just start running well. It was a night and day difference. I’m extremely pleased for both of us.”
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