The first day of qualifying for the 21st annual NHRA Summer Nationals was completed today at
Heartland Park Topeka, and ACDelco's Kurt Johnson will head into the final day of time trials
looking to improve on his No. 7 starting position in the Pro Stock category.
In round one of qualifying today Johnson struggled to get his car down the left lane of the hot,
slippery racing surface, and his ACDelco Cobalt darted toward the centerline almost immediately
after launching. He recovered and rolled to a 6.854 second pass.
"It's a bummer because you go and test and you think you have a combination that's going to go
fast," Johnson said. "You come here and the track is so much different (from what it was last week
at Atlanta Dragway). It's been throwing a lot of people curves and it really bit us on that first
run. We knew it would be hot; we addressed it and that left lane was just terrible, but it's the
same for everybody so we have to attack it and get with the program."
During the second session, though, the 46-year-old Northeast Georgian resident rebounded with a
solid 6.724 e.t. at 205.69 mph which was good for the No. 7 position - a spot that Johnson feels
confident he can improve upon on Saturday.
"We were actually a little conservative on that run tonight," Johnson said. "We'll have a couple of
more opportunities on Saturday and we're going to have to use them to our best advantage. We're
happy to be in the top half, and tomorrow could change a little bit but we're going to have to get
after it.
"This is kind of fun. I ran a combination tonight on the ACDelco Chevrolet that was probably
extremely odd, but it shows potential so we're going to try something new again tomorrow. You get
in this window where you get to the edge and you never seem to get out. You have to keep pushing it
to find out where your limits are and that's where we're going tomorrow."
Mike Edwards is the No. 1 qualifier in a Pontiac with a 6.674 e.t. at 207.08 mph.
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday May
30. NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 31 also on
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours of eliminations coverage at 4 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, May 31.
