"We've had 18 races to figure out how to make this ACDelco Chevrolet a winner," Johnson said. "Other than starting a new year at Pomona (Calif.), the Countdown to 1 is about as close to wiping the slate clean as you could ask for. This really is our second season, a golden opportunity for us to score some points and make some headway in the standings. If we can get on a roll, win some races and go to some finals, then anything's possible. That's why this is an exciting time of year for the fans, the sponsors and the teams that compete.

"The second season is going to benefit us this year where last season it kind of hurt us. Coming out of Indy we went into last year's Countdown in second place and ended up third. We had a bunch of bad luck, but this year we have a whole new approach to it and we're really going to attack it."

At the recently contested Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the veteran Pro Stock competitor saw a qualifying streak of 61 consecutive races come to an end. At the same time, Johnson's initial run during Friday time trials at Indy locked in the ACDelco driver to the Countdown to 1 and a subsequent 17th consecutive top-10 finish for the Buford, Ga., resident. That is the longest current top-10 streak among active Pro Stock drivers and second only to John Force's 25 straight seasons with a top-10 finish among all Professional competitors.

"When you have your back against the wall, like we did coming out of Indy, we're ready to dig our heels in and start pushing, that's all there is to it," Johnson said. "That was quite a wake-up call there at the U.S. Nationals. We should have run a lot better than what we did. We know it's not a power issue. It's an application issue. I still feel good about the car because we have the right components to be competitive. We were too conservative, especially in that final session, and we won't make that mistake again."

When Johnson comes to this year's race at zMax Dragway, he'll have some loose ends from the 2008 contest left to take care of. Johnson fell just one round short of a complete sweep of the inaugural Carolinas Nationals, qualifying No. 1 for eliminations, setting low elapsed time of the meet with a track-record 6.680 second run, and advancing to the final round where he was runner-up to Justin Humphreys.

To prepare for this year's race, Johnson made six test runs at zMax Dragway on Sept. 9, and then four more runs on Sept. 10 at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga. With a focus on making improved runs to 60-foot, Johnson was pleased with the test results.

"Allen Johnson was there (at zMax), Greg (Anderson) was there, Jason (Line) was there, Dad (Warren Johnson) was there, so we had some other cars to compare to," Johnson said. "It seems that Allen has been at the top of the page at 60-foot pretty much all season, and he was .992 (of a second) and .998 to 60-foot. Greg was 1.01, Dad was 1.01, and we went .995 right out of the box, and then came back with a bunch of one-flats. We started in the right lane, made three runs there, and then ended up going over to the extreme right lane. It was better down track but it wasn't as good on the starting line.

"The track can be tricky. It's flat on the starting line and then goes downhill about 13 feet from the staging beam to the finish line. So you're on a flat pad when you let the clutch out, but by the time you move 105 inches the track falls off from underneath you."

On their return from Charlotte, wrenches, parts and pieces were flying at the team's shop in Sugar Hill in order to make the one-day test-and-tune session at Atlanta Dragway.

"They had a Lucas Oil points race going on out at Commerce," Johnson said. "We got back from the Charlotte test and had the hammer down at the shop to get out there by 3 p.m. on Thursday. Everyone was busting their tails and we were making things happen. We have one shot at this and we're going to let it all hang out. We're swinging for the fence right now.

"It's a whole balancing issue, and hopefully we learned something to knock down those 60-foot times. We've been fast there at Englishtown, Joliet, .970s a couple of times, but we need to do it consistently like all the fast cars are doing. That's our goal right now."

And like all the competitors and fans who will be coming to zMax Dragway for the NHRA Carolinas Nationals, the veteran driver is in awe of a facility he considers to be the future of the sport.

"I walked in that place when we tested on Wednesday and just stood on the starting line looking around," Johnson said. "It's an amazing facility. We parked on the right side of the track and walked under the bleachers to watch Greg run, and we turned to look around and Allen Johnson mentioned there were 15,000 seats on the right side and 25,000 on the left - 40,000 seats. Plus with the standing-room-only tickets the place is packed. It will take your breath away.

"You always like going to a Bruton Smith-owned facility because you know it's going to be first class, and this year's race at zMax will be no exception. The crowd we had last year was unbelievable. We had a packed house and hundreds of fans that stayed long after qualifying was over, walking the pits, talking to the teams and the drivers - they didn't want to leave - and that's what you like to see. If you were there last year to see the enthusiasm of these drag racing fans in Charlotte then you will understand why we're going to zMax twice next season. People think of Charlotte as being a hotbed for NASCAR, but they love their NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing as well."

The 2nd annual NHRA Carolinas Nationals on Sept. 17 - 20 at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., is the first of six races in the NHRA Countdown to 1 for the 2009 Full Throttle Series championship.

"Our job is to win races and to win a championship," Johnson said. "We only have one shot at it so we're going to have to make it count."

Qualifying coverage of the NHRA Carolinas Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday, Sept. 19, beginning at 11:30 p.m. Eastern. Final eliminations coverage gets underway on Sunday, Sept. 20 with NHRA Race Day starting at 11 a.m., and then a three-hour telecast of final eliminations kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Kurt Johnson/ACDelco Racing
Stats & Facts
NHRA Carolinas Nationals

* The 500 Club - Kurt Johnson's 517 career round wins (.626) ranks fourth among active full-time professional drivers behind John Force (1,034), Warren Johnson (861) and Larry Dixon (526), and it ranks Kurt seventh all-time among NHRA professional drivers.

* This will be Kurt Johnson second appearance at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals and his 369th race as a Pro Stock competitor.

* Kurt was runner-up last year at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals to Justin Humphreys. Johnson was also No. 1 qualifier and holds the Pro Stock elapsed-time record at 6.680 seconds.

* KJ clinched his 17th consecutive top-10 finish as a Pro Stock driver. That is the longest consecutive top-10 streak among active Pro Stock drivers, and second only to John Force's 25 straight seasons with a top-10 finish among all Professional drivers. It will also guaranteed a spot in the Countdown to 1 for the ACDelco Chevrolet driver.

* Johnson was runner-up to Jeg Coughlin earlier this year in February at Phoenix.

* Johnson's best qualifying effort so far in 2009 is No. 2 in March at Houston.

* KJ's best season was in 2003 when he captured 49 round wins and did not lose a single first-round matchup. Among Pro Stock drivers, Johnson's 49 round wins in '03 is the seventh-best single-season total since 2000.

* Johnson is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the NHRA. The native-born Minnesotan and current resident of Buford, Ga., has 39 career victories, has competed in 74 final rounds, and has finished second in the Pro Stock standings four times (1993, 2000, '03 and '05) and third five times (1995, '97-99, 2008). He has also been a three-time national elapsed-time record holder and a two-time holder of the national-speed record for NHRA Pro Stock. Johnson was the 1993 NHRA Rookie of the Year.

Courtesy of Jeff Romack