Team Mopar NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Driver Allen Johnson jumped out to a strong start in the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs, advancing to the semifinals at the NHRA event last weekend in Concord, N.C. Johnson closed to within one round of second place and will seek to move up the Countdown standings with a victory this weekend at the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals. The event is scheduled for Sept. 24-27 at Texas Motorplex near Dallas.

The Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T driver defeated Jason Line to advance to the semis at Concord on the strength of a .012 reaction time off the starting line (.000 is perfect). Johnson credits his improved performance off the line to hours spent practicing on a simulator recently built by his J&J Racing team and says he expects his hard work to also pay dividends this weekend at Dallas.

"We built a simulator and I've been working my butt off on it the last three weeks," said Johnson, currently fifth in the Countdown standings. "I've been doing about 200 lights a day, practicing my reaction times. I put my helmet on and it's just like being in the car. It seems like it's helped me immensely with my focus and my rhythm, as well as my confidence."

Johnson's surging confidence is much needed as the heat is on the Pro Stock field heading into the second event in the six-race Countdown to 1 playoffs. The Greeneville, Tenn., native's goal is to at least reach the semifinals at Dallas, and from there have a shot at his first career final appearance and victory at the Texas Motorplex venue.

"Right now, you've got to be perfect," Johnson remarked. "I feel like we have to go to the semis at each race, and we did it at the first one [Concord] and it puts us in a position to go to Dallas and do the same thing. It would be really awesome for the top four or five drivers in the points to be within one round of each other heading into the last few races. It would be a lot of pressure, but a whole lot of fun.

"We had a pretty tough package to beat in our Mopar HEMIR-powered Dodge last weekend. Hopefully we can take it to Dallas and close ground on [point leader] Mike [Edwards] a little bit, and put ourselves in better position in the Countdown standings."

O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals The O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals is scheduled to take place Sept. 24-27 at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Qualifying for pro classes will begin on Friday, Sept. 25. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 27, beginning at 12:15 a.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Sept. 27, beginning at 7 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.

The Mopar Brand: Authentic Motor Parts and Accessories for Chrysler, JeepR and Dodge 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 1960s-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.

In addition to its proud muscle-car heritage, Mopar established a solid reputation as a one-stop shop for proven, quality-tested, reliable and original parts. Just this year, in 2009, Mopar has introduced more than 200 new parts and accessories.

"Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered by the same team that creates all of our factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, JeepR and Dodge vehicles," said Pietro Gorlier, President & CEO, Mopar Service, Parts & Customer Care, Chrysler Group LLC. "At Mopar, we offer more than 280,000 parts and accessories for customers who want to customize and refresh their rides."

Today, Mopar is responsible for the distribution of authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles sold in more than 90 countries. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering standards.

Courtesy of Darren Jacobs