Qualifying for the 30th annual Mile-High Nationals was completed today at Bandimere Speedway and
ACDelco's Kurt Johnson will start tomorrow's eliminator in the No. 12 spot after driving his Chevy
Cobalt to a 7.028-second e.t. at 195.05 mph.
"We're not happy with our performance," Johnson said. "All the cars that went fast had the luxury
of testing here. We had four runs to test during qualifying, ran some (7)02s and some (7)03s, but
we know it's going to take 6.90s to win this race. We feel that as bad as the runs that we're
making going 02s and 03s, that we can run 6.90s. It's a matter of changing some parts we've been
messing with since Gainesville (Fla.)."
Johnson has two victories at Bandimere Speedway. His most recent win at the Mile-High Nationals was
in 2000 when he defeated Darrell Alderman in the championship round, and in 1995 he narrowly
defeated Jim Yates in the finals. Johnson also has two runners-up at Denver; in 1997 to Jim Yates
and in 2001 to Warren Johnson. Johnson will race Jason Line in round one of eliminations on Sunday.
"We made smooth runs here on Sunday last year so that's what we're going to shoot for."
Mike Edwards was the No. 1 qualifier in Pontiac. Edwards posted a 6.957 e.t. at 197.71 mph
The 30th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals on July 10 - 12 at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Col., is
the 13th race on the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Series tour. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two
hours of qualifying highlights beginning at 10 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, July 11. NHRA Race Day, a
30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, July 12, on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. ESPN2
and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday,
July 12.
