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CONCORD, N.C. -- Allen Johnson advanced to the semifinals at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals on Sunday, Sept. 20. Johnson is fifth in the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs; he is now 70 markers behind points leader Mike Edwards.
Team Mopar(R)'s Johnson Off to Strong Start in Countdown with Semis Run at Concord Mopar(R)/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson began the six-race NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs in strong fashion on Sunday, Sept. 20, at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, N.C. Johnson advanced to the semifinals in the first event of the six-race playoffs and is now 70 markers behind new points leader Mike Edwards. Johnson qualified No. 4 at zMax Dragway and drew another Mopar HEMI(R)-powered Pro Stock pilot, Larry Morgan, in the opening round of eliminations. Johnson posted a pass of 6.635/208.33, his best run of the weekend, in his defeat of Morgan, who left too early off the starting line, earning a red light foul. Johnson then took down Countdown competitor Jason Line in the quarterfinals, pairing a scorching .012 reaction time off the starting line (.000 is perfect) with a pass of 6.644/207.85. Johnson's luck ended in the semis, where he suffered a red light loss of his own in a losing bid against eventual event winner Edwards. Johnny Gray, Johnson's Mopar-powered J&J Racing teammate, advanced to the quarterfinals at Concord. Gray defeated HEMI-powered compatriot Vinnie Deceglie in the first round before he was bounced by Steve Speiss. Gray moved up two spots to eighth in the NHRA Countdown to 1 standings. Mopar-powered drivers Johnson and Gray will continue their Countdown to 1 fight next weekend in Dallas with the second race in the six-race playoffs, the O'Reilly SuperStart Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept. 24-27 at the Texas Motorplex. For more information on the NHRA, visit http://www.nhra.com.
Mopar HEMI(R)-Powered Hagan Drives to Funny Car Runner-up at Concord Matt Hagan drove his Mopar-powered Valvoline Engine Guarantee/Shelor.com Dodge into his second final round of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Sunday, Sept. 20. Hagan lost in the final at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., to John Force Racing's Robert Hight. The NHRA rookie-of-the-year frontrunner disposed of both Pedregon brothers in the lead up to his finals appearance: points leader Tony in the opening round with a 4.141-second pass at 305.91 mph, then Cruz in the semifinal with a stout 4.102/307.72, each quicker than his No. 13 qualifying pass of 4.145/292.14. In between the Pedregon dismissals, he ousted Jeff Arend with a 4.143/304.67 in the quarterfinals. "Just a great day of racing," said 26-year-old Hagan, who is awaiting the birth of his second child and first daughter Penny Louise at any moment. "I think we all did our jobs out there this weekend. Hight just had a little better car and got me a little bit on the light (reaction time)." Ron Capps, Hagan's Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate, exited in the first round on Sunday and is now fourth in the Countdown standings. DSR pilot Jack Beckman advanced to the quarterfinals and is now sixth in the Countdown. The DSR trio will head next to the second race in the six-race playoffs, the O'Reilly SuperStart Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept. 24-27 at the Texas Motorplex. For more information on the NHRA, visit http://www.nhra.com.
NHRA rookie-of-the-year frontrunner Matt Hagan steered his Mopar-powered Valvoline Engine
Guarantee/Shelor.com Dodge into his second final round of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series at the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Sunday, Sept. 20.
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