Sun, 29 Dec 2002, 09:53 AM

Alan Johnson Has Sold…..
|
|
By Bob Frey
Photo copyright 2002 NHRA
|

Alan Johnson
|
….nothing!! OK, so maybe nothing isn’t exactly right, but in response to all of the rumors
going around that he has sold his racing operation and is getting out of the car owner
business I can tell you that that is simply not true. "We did sell one of our old
dragsters to
Ron Smith, " he told me, "and maybe that’s how all the
rumors started. Other than that I can tell you that we’re moving full speed ahead for
2003." Now having said that, I can tell you that Alan always has one goal in mind
when he goes to the track and that is to win the race, and after winning the race his goal
is to win the championship. "You need ‘X’ to be able to run for the championship and
right now we’re trying to get to ‘X,’" is how he put it. The way I look at it that
probably means that he doesn’t quite have all the funding that he needs but is headed in
that direction. Alan did say that the
Toyota folks are excited about drag racing
and that they could play a big part in the future of his team and, as of this time he
plans to be in Phoenix for the first test session of the new year. As for the other rumor
that he and
Jerry Toliver are talking about fielding another team all Alan would
say to that is that the two of them "have talked."….Another team that has been
the focus of a lot of talk lately is
Darrell Gwynn, and Darrell told me that he’s
pretty much in the same situation as Alan, that is, "we have a lot of really good
associate sponsors already on board but we’re looking for that one major company to put us
over the top." I will tell you this, the sport of NHRA Powerade drag racing is a much
better place when Darrell Gwynn and the Johnson family are involved with it, so let’s hope
they both get all the help they need. After what those families have done for the sport,
and after what they’ve given to it, we need them both to be out there competing on the
highest level.

Greg Anderson
|
There has been some news in the Pro Stock world, too, over the past couple of days. The
two teams that I heard about this week are
Ken Koretsky and
Greg Anderson.
While nothing is guaranteed, I heard that the Koretsky tractor and trailer was headed for
Texas this past week and that he’ll be working with
David Nickens next year. That
means that you can look for "Captain Chaos" to be in Pomona with a Dodge Neon
and look for him to be joined by
Bo Nickens who will also race a Dodge this year.
As part of his arrangement with Nickens, Koretsky will be involved in engine development
and research with the Texas engine builder. Koretsky, who has been racing since the mid
1980’s, always seems to come up with the funding to run his cars and he’s as serious as
anyone about fielding a competitive car. The Nickens-Koretsky partnership, if you can call
it that, should work out well for both teams. By the way, I also understand that David
Nickens will be inducted into the
Division 4 Hall of Fame this year, so
congratulations to David, one of the truly gifted engine builders and drivers in the
sport.

Kenny Koretsky
|
As far as Greg Anderson is concerned, I mentioned a few weeks ago that I believe he will
be switching to a Pontiac in 2003, now word comes that he may also be adding a second team
car and driver to his operation. From what I hear a certain sportsman driver from the
Minnesota area may be in "line" to step up to Pro Stock next year. While all of
this is still tentative, I do get most of it from some pretty good sources, and I guess
time will tell exactly how good those sources really are. For now, though, let’s just say
that Greg Anderson is preparing to be even more competitive in ’03 than he was last year,
and that’s saying a lot….The Pro Stock bike class will have a new engine-builder to choose
from next year.
Mark Peiser, crew chief for
Antron Brown, will be making
engines for Antron and several other riders beginning in 2003. At this time Mark is
currently building engines for both
Steve Johnson and
Lloyd Straus and you
can expect more names to be added to that list in the very near future. With his track
record, Mark should be able to get all the business he can handle. The team, which still
has associate sponsorship money from MAC Tools, is looking to complete their financial
arrangements in time to make a serious run for the championship next season. And, while he
’ll be making his own engines, look for Mark to still get his heads and some other parts
from the Vance and Hines folks. "Byron couldn’t have been more supportive when I told
him what our plans were," Mark said. That, in itself, speaks volumes about the
character of the people at V & H. Their theory is and always has been that whatever is
good for the class in general, is good for everyone, even if that means having another
engine builder to contend with….January 3
rd is the day that
Angelle
Savoie will be honored at the
Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. If you’re in
the area, or if you’re looking to spend a few days in the lap of luxury, why not plan to
be at the Mohegan Sun next Friday.
Tony Schumacher should be on his way to Afghanistan right about now. I wish him all
the best as he carries the best wishes of everyone in the racing community to our troops
overseas. There are very few of us that have an opportunity like that and I applaud Tony
for taking time out of his holiday schedule to go overseas. Everything and everyone in the
Schumacher Racing organization is first class and they should all be proud of Tony,
especially in this endeavor. By the way, did you know that Tony Schumacher’s
birthday was December 25th? So was Rickie Smith’s and so was Steve Cohen’s, for
that matter…. I got several e-mails and phone calls last week after asking the question
about who gets what spot in the Budweiser Shootout at Pomona if Cory
McClenathan isn’t racing (which I think he will be). David Baca would probably
have a tough sell to the NHRA folks in an effort to get Cory’s spot, if indeed Mr. Mac isn
’t racing. All I know is that if I were either Rhonda Hartman-Smith or David
Grubnic (the #9 & 10 drivers in the Shootout points), I wouldn’t plan too much
activity for Saturday at the Winternationals because they just might be racing for 100
grand. We’ll see…Look for former Funny Car tuner and driver Tom Anderson to return
to the track this year as part of the TA/FC operation of Jim Sickles. Together with
Todd Veney (in Jay Blake’s car), things should be very competitive in the
Division 1 alky funny car ranks next season. Think about it, every car that Tom Anderson
has ever been involved with has been top notch and extremely competitive. This one will
be, too.
NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]
Jan 15
- 2021 NHRA Schedule Change Announced
Jan 14
- Brian Preszler Wins First World Championship
Jan 14
- Tickets on Sale for Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Jan 14
- Tickets on Sale for NHRA Southern Nationals
Jan 12
- Christopher Dodd Wins First World Championship
Jan 10
- Jody Lang Wins First World Championship
Jan 08
- Bryan Worner Wins Super Stock World Title
Jan 07
- Craig Bourgeois Wins his Second World Championship
Jan 05
- Aaron Stanfield Wins Factory Stock Showdown Championship
Jan 04
- Randal Andras Wins Top Fuel Harley Title