ACDelco's Kurt Johnson finished the first day of Pro Stock qualifying at the 22nd annual
Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in the No. 8 position after posting a 6.599 e.t.
at 209.07 mph, and confident that there's still room to improve on Saturday.
"It was a pretty decent run considering it wasn't straight - the ACDelco Cobalt went a little
left," Johnson said. "We went out there this morning and were a little conservative because we
wanted to see what the track would give us, and then tonight, the conditions just got better and
better. When the air and the track are that good it's really a matter of getting the car to hook
up, and our 60-foot time indicates that we're close.
"I'm confident that we can improve tomorrow but we'll need to get after it in the morning,"
Johnson was the winner of the 2000 Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals, has twice been runner-up at this
race (1999, 2005), and the No. 1 qualifier four times (1995-96, 1999, 2005).
Ron Krisher was the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock with a 6.573 second run at 208.84 mph.
The final two rounds of qualifying are on Saturday with the first session scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
(PT).
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise 90 minutes of qualifying highlights beginning at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on
Saturday, July 25. NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday,
July 26, on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours of eliminations
coverage beginning at 9 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, July 26.
