Johnson has racked up a remarkable 28-8 round win record on the Western Swing dating back to 2006, with six finals appearances, including victories at Seattle (2006) and Denver (2007, 2009). He has also captured two No. 1 Qualifier Awards, last weekend at Seattle, where he made a semifinals appearance, and at Denver in 2007.

Though Johnson's recent Western Swing hot streak hasn't featured a finals berth or a win at Sonoma, the Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T driver has experienced success at the venue in the past. He scored a runner-up finish at Infineon Raceway in 2000 and has advanced to the semis at Sonoma a number of times. Johnson also enters the event with a 14-4 round win record dating back to his May victory in the NHRA Topeka event.

"We've got a great car right now, and a great crew," remarked Johnson. "And the Western Swing just gives everybody a boost to their confidence level. Everyone on the team is feeling better now than we ever felt before."

Johnson cited loss of lane choice as the biggest factor in his falling short of his fourth straight finals appearance at Seattle last weekend. According to A.J., it's an error he doesn't intend to repeat at Sonoma.

"The little boo-boo we had in the semis at Seattle, the lanes were changing so much between rounds, and in the second round we didn't make a great run and lost lane choice," Johnson explained. "If we had lane choice in the semis, I think I could have been in the finals again. Every track we go to is like that. The lane conditions are constantly evolving, which just goes to show why it's so important to maintain lane choice. That's our goal going to Sonoma, to qualify in the top half of the field and hold lane choice and win the race.

"We're making great power with our Mopar HEMIR engines and I'm driving well. We're really looking forward to Sonoma. It's going to be hot and grimy there and should play right into our set up."

Johnson statistics
* Advanced to the finals at Sonoma in 2000
* Captured his seventh career No. 1 Qualifier Award at the previous event in Seattle, reaching the semis
* Captured two wins thus far in 2009, at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver and the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka
* Dating back to 2006, has amassed a 28-8 round win record on the NHRA's Western Swing (Denver, Seattle, Sonoma), with three wins
* Made six semifinals appearances in 2009 through 14 events
* Has qualified in the top half of the field in 13 of 14 NHRA events thus far
* Claimed seven career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock wins
* Recorded 17 career final round appearances
* Has claimed 180 career round wins
* Currently fifth in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock point standings
* Has a 22-12 round win record thus far in 2009
* Has three finals appearances in 2009, scoring a runner-up finish at the NHRA Gatornationals earlier this year
* Competed in his 300th race at the 2009 NHRA St. Louis event
* Qualified No. 3 at each of the first three events of 2009
* Finished seventh in the 2008 NHRA Pro Stock standings
* One of only ten drivers to qualify for the 2008 NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs
* Has qualified for the Countdown to 1 in each of the first two years since the NHRA adopted the playoff format
* Won the K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus event in 2008 at Norwalk, recording a perfect .000 reaction time to defeat Greg Anderson for the victory
* Powered to three No. 1 Qualifier Awards in 2008
* Made eight 2008 semifinal appearances
* Posted two straight runner-up finishes at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals and Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals in July 2008
* Racked up a 28-24 round win record in 2008
* Finished a career-best fourth in the 2007 NHRA Pro Stock points standings
* One of only four Pro Stock drivers to qualify for the inaugural 2007 NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff

Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals
The Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals is scheduled to take place July 24-26 at Infineon Raceway. Qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, July 25 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, July 26 beginning at 9 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.

More than 70 Years of Mopar
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 1960's - 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.

Today, Chrysler Group LLC's Parts division is responsible for the distribution of nearly 350,000 authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, JeepR and Dodge vehicles sold around the world. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering standards.

Courtesy of Darren Jacobs