While many drag racing fans were getting all giddy over the NHRA's unpublicized revelation of its new Factory Experimental exhibition category, past NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson found himself a bit hot under the collar. 

Johnson found himself in a bit of anger deja vu.

"That's really what we wanted to try to do back in '15, or when we had the meeting out in Denver, with Mopar, NHRA, and myself, we brought that up that we needed to put these type engines in a Pro Stock car and bring the class cost down," Johnson explained. "It didn't really get anywhere. [NHRA VP of Operations] Graham [Light] decided he wanted EFI."

While Johnson appeared to get his venting out of the way, his direction changed to one who wanted to see the project work. 

"I think the package will be interesting," Johnson continued. "These cars, with that engine and take 1000 pounds out of them, I think my Challenger that I run Factory Stock Showdown with, I'm pretty sure it weighed 3650, if I'm not mistaken and 1000 pounds with that horsepower, they're going to get down the sixes. I don't know how far, but I'd say they'll be some high sixes at probably close to 190."

While Johnson categorizes himself more of a fan than a racer these days, he said he'd be intrigued by a Factory Stock Showdown-style transformation of the class where he won 27 national events as a professional drag racer. 

"I like the idea of a factory stock-looking car racing Pro Stock," Johnson said. "I'm not sure this engine is the correct one for it, but I don't know. I probably like that our plan as well as what Pro Stock utilizes with EFI, but I think a mid-six-second car approaching 200 miles an hour that looks like a street car; yeah, I think it'll really get the class going. Especially if the cost of doing it is a lot less than what current cars are now running, but Pro Stock's just changed a lot since the EFI days and sort of glad I retired."

Being a dyed-in-the-wool Mopar fan, Johnson understands there will be some significant wrangling to get the Challengers on a level aerodynamic playing field with the Camaros in the stock configuration.

"They've tried to do to that FSS class; they just keep factoring it around to where everybody are equal now," Johnson said. "Saying that, I don't necessarily like that, but I don't know how else you would do that. Today's Pro Stockers, man, they're 15 cars usually within a couple of hundredths. So the racing in Pro Stock right now is really, really good. I think that's what they set out to do with the EFI change. So I guess they accomplished what they set out to do."

So does Johnson see himself giving the Factory Experimental project a try?

While he declines to say never, he's found a comfort zone away from the track. 

"I'm pretty much done," Johnson admitted. If me and dad were a little younger, we might. I have been asked by a couple of teams to come and drive a car, and I'm not ruling that out at some point, just going and showing up with my helmet and racing a little bit. I do miss it, miss all my friends up there and stuff, but for us to start another gig and do it ourselves, probably not."