Wed, May 27, 09:35 AM Kurt Johnson Confident as Winston NHRA Tour Heads to Chicago

Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Sports Marketing Enterprises

JOLIET, Ill. - Kurt Johnson hasn't won a race yet this year, but he still has that air of confidence. When he walks through the Pro Stock pits at a drag race, he has the confident look of someone who knows he's headed in the right direction.

NHRA Winston Drag Racing visits the Chicago area May 29-31 for the inaugural Fram Route 66 Nationals. It's the 10th event on the $30 million, 23-race NHRA Winston Drag Racing tour.

Johnson changed manufacturers at the beginning of the season switching from Pontiac to Chevrolet. The Camaro body has been somewhat difficult to handle. While performance has been relatively solid, the AC Delco Chevy has been a bit off.

"We started out slow with the Camaro," Johnson said. "We figured we would be fine right off the bat when we switched from the Firebird to the Camaro, but it's taken us a while to figure it out. We've had to experiment to find out what the car likes and doesn't like."

After the first nine races of the season including the Winston Invitational, NHRA's all-star race, Johnson is fifth in the NHRA Winston Pro Stock standings and has advanced to at least the semifinals three times. He won the Pro Stock Challenge, NHRA's special Pro Stock event, at Englishtown and advanced to the final round of eliminations at both Rockingham and Dallas.

"If you look at our season so far, we could have won three races already," Johnson said. "I thought we could have won the Winston Invitational, Atlanta and Dallas, but things didn't work out. I think things are starting to gel now. We're figuring out how to win, and I think we're finally reaching the stage where it's all coming together."

"The new car has real stable downforce, especially downtrack. We actually expected to have won a points race by now, but it's just so tight out here. If you sneeze, you lose the round, but I still feel sure we'll get to victory lane a few times this season . . . I hope."

Johnson, the 1993 Winston Rookie of the year, has 10 national event wins in his Pro Stock career. He is the son of three-time NHRA Winston Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson, and since his career began, the younger Johnson has finished in the top-5 of the Winston Pro Stock standings each year. In 1993 he finished a career-best second.

As NHRA Winston Drag Racing prepares for the inaugural Fram Route 66 Nationals, Johnson has his sights set on winning the inaugural event and his first race of the season, but he is not obsessed with it.

"It's always exciting to go to a new place because there's different places to eat," Johnson said. "Seriously, though, when it comes down to it on Sunday, a win is a win, but winning in front of all those new fans in Chicago at a new racetrack would be great. I hope the Chicago fans will be enthused about it."

That air of confidence should be very helpful, especially at a brand new racetrack.

Professional qualifying is set for 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 29, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, May 20 with eliminations set for 11 a.m. Sunday, May 30.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at (815) 722-5500 or at the Route 66 Raceway ticket office during race weekend.



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