Wed, 30 Sep 2009, 11:32 PM Fruitful Memphis Outing Crucial for Team Mopar Driver Johnson's Countdown Hopes

Courtesy of Darren Jacobs

MILLINGTON, Tenn. -- Fruitful Memphis Outing Crucial for Team Mopar Driver Johnson's Countdown Hopes Greeneville, Tenn., native says finals appearance at Memphis is 'real important'

Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson has moved from fifth to fourth in the NHRA Countdown to 1 standings after two races in the six-race playoffs. Despite his recent improvement in the standings, the Mopar HEMI-powered NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock driver grasps the fact that he's entering a pivotal race this weekend at the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals. The Greeneville, Tenn., native will look for a win in his home state at the event, scheduled for Oct. 2-4 at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park.

"It's real important to do well at Memphis," said Johnson, who advanced to the semifinals in the first Countdown event at Charlotte and to the quarterfinals in Dallas last weekend, losing to Greg Anderson by a mere one inch. "I need to go to the finals, and it would also help if someone could take out Mike [Edwards, the current leader in the standings] in the first or second round."

Johnson's Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T team, captained by co-crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Jeff Perley and J&J engine builder Roy Johnson, Allen's father, has been among the elite in qualifying throughout the year-which made the team's uncharacteristic No. 13 start last week at Dallas rather surprising. Considering the NHRA's recent decision to begin awarding points to the low elapsed time of each qualifying round, the J&J team is working hard to get back in top qualifying form at Memphis.

"It's crucial to do better in qualifying," said Allen Johnson. "We stubbed our toe a little bit at Dallas due to some mechanical issues. We had some really bad luck. It's very important to do better, because we could gain at least 10 points if we knocked Mike [Edwards] out of the top qualifying position for a few runs."

Johnson expects some help in the Countdown from his teammate Johnny Gray, who advanced to the final round at Dallas.

"We've had the same setup in his car for about six races now and it's finally settled down to where it's making consistent runs," said Johnson of Gray's Mopar-fueled Dodge. "It says a lot to see him come together and maybe he can be in a position to take some of the top 10 players out of the Countdown, for himself and for us."

Johnson enjoyed a strong run in front of his home state fans last year at Memphis, capturing the No. 1 Qualifier Award and advancing to the semifinals. The Team Mopar veteran says he's confident he can duplicate that effort this weekend.

"We've had a good setup at Memphis," Johnson remarked. "We hope it will hold true this year. We're redoing one race motor I hope to have in my car. Plus we have a lot of Tennessee fans there. It's quite a ways away from Greeneville [about six hours] but it still feels like home. Normally, it's hot and the track gets grimy there. The weather isn't going to be real hot this weekend, but we feel real good heading into Memphis."

Johnson's Statistics of Note At Memphis Motorsports Park
* Captured the No. 1 Qualifier Award in 2008 and advanced to the semifinals
* Qualified No. 6 in 2007, losing to Larry Morgan in the first round

2009 Season
* Clinched a spot in the 2009 NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs
* Captured two wins, at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver and O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka
* Currently fourth in NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock point standings
* Has three finals appearances, scoring a runner-up finish at NHRA Gatornationals
* Captured seventh career No. 1 Qualifier Award at NHRA event in Seattle, reaching semis
* Made eight semifinals appearances through 19 events
* Qualified in top half of field in 17 of 20 NHRA events
* Has 28-17 round win record
* Qualified No. 3 at each of first three events

2008 Season
* Finished seventh in NHRA Pro Stock standings
* One of only 10 drivers to qualify for NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs
* Won K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus event at Norwalk, recording perfect .000 reaction time to defeat Greg Anderson for victory
* Powered to three No. 1 Qualifier Awards
* Made eight semifinal appearances
* Posted two straight runner-up finishes at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals and Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals
* Racked up 28-24 round win record

2007 Season
* Finished career-best fourth in NHRA Pro Stock point standings
* One of only four Pro Stock drivers to qualify for inaugural NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff
* Claimed win at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver

2006 Season
* Finished sixth in NHRA Pro Stock standings, scoring win at Seattle

Career
* Qualified for Countdown to 1 in each of first three years since NHRA adopted playoff format in 2007
* Claimed seven career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock wins
* Claimed 186 career round wins
* Recorded 17 career final round appearances
* Competed in 300th race at 2009 NHRA St. Louis event
* Scored second career win at Atlanta in 2002 and finished eighth in point standings
* Seized first career win in 1999 at Richmond and went on to claim first top 10 finish in standings
* Made NHRA Pro Stock debut in 1996

O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
The O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals is scheduled to take place Oct. 2-4 at Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, Tenn. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, Oct. 3, beginning at 10:30 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Oct. 4, beginning at 7 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.

The Mopar Brand: Authentic Motor Parts and Accessories for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Mopar-a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts-was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC.

The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s-the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth "package cars" equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of "special parts" for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

In addition to its proud muscle-car heritage, Mopar established a solid reputation as a one-stop shop for proven, quality-tested, reliable and original parts. Just this year, in 2009, Mopar has introduced more than 200 new parts and accessories.

"Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same team that creates all of our factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles," said Pietro Gorlier, President & CEO, Mopar Service, Parts & Customer Care, Chrysler Group LLC. "At Mopar, we offer more than 280,000 parts and accessories for customers who want to customize and refresh their rides."

Today, Mopar is responsible for the distribution of authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles sold in more than 90 countries. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering standards.

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