"That kind of performance builds confidence and puts you right back in the game," Johnson said of his career-best run at Richmond. "But we need to run like that in every session, and unfortunately, that kind of consistency has been missing this year. At Richmond, we gradually improved during every qualifying round, took what the race track and the weather were willing to give us, and capitalized on the situation. Our 60-foot times were solid and we pushed to within a hundredth (of a second) of the top spot. We're still lacking a little bit of the consistency that you need on race day - tire shake has been an issue at the last two races - but we'll have four qualifying rounds in Las Vegas to dial it in."

Johnson has entered 18 national events at The Strip since the NHRA returned to the Nevada desert in 2000, and the Bruton Smith-owned facility is a venue where the veteran driver has experienced his share of success over the years. During a four-season stretch between 2003 and '06, Johnson's ACDelco Chevrolet advanced to the final round at least once each year, winning back to back at the fall contest in 2005, where he defeated Greg Anderson in the finals, and the spring race in 2006 in which Dave Connolly was his title-round opponent. Johnson was runner-up at both contests in 2003, and in the spring of '04, and he was No. 1 qualifier at the October 2002 race.

"It doesn't matter if it's April or October, this is one of those special places where everyone likes to come to," Johnson said. "Las Vegas is a terrific city to bring clients and customers, and The Strip has been one of those race tracks where we've had good luck and hit the jackpot a couple of times. This is a great place to race, and it's too bad we only come here twice a year "

Only two races remain on the 2009 docket and Johnson is looking to close out the year on a high note with a final surge that would solidify a strong finish in the Full Throttle Pro Stock standings.

"With our place in the championship picture already determined, we're going to Las Vegas and Pomona with the attitude that we have nothing to lose," Johnson said. "First and foremost we want to win. We want to run competitively at the top of the qualifying page on Friday and Saturday, and then turn that into a win on Sunday. Obviously we're going to be racing in entirely different conditions from what we had in Virginia. The elevation, for one thing, will be considerably higher, but we have a good book on The Strip, and we'll be prepared. Don't bet against us."

The 9th annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals on Oct. 29 - Nov. 1 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is the 23rd race on the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Series tour. Qualifying coverage can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday, Oct. 31, beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern. Final eliminations coverage gets underway on Sunday, Nov. 1, with NHRA Race Day starting at 11 a.m., and a three-hour telecast of final eliminations kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Kurt Johnson/ACDelco Racing
Stats & Facts
NHRA Las Vegas Nationals

* Career-best numbers - Kurt ran his career-best elapsed time (6.546 seconds) and speed (210.64 mph), and qualified No. 2 at the series' last race in Richmond, Va.

* Johnson's ACDelco Chevy Cobalt is powered by a 500-cubic-inch, naturally-aspirated GM DRCE3 (Drag Racing Competition Engine) that produces in excess of 1400 horsepower.

* The 500 Club - Kurt Johnson's 518 career round-wins (.625) ranks fourth among active full-time professional drivers behind John Force (1,036), Warren Johnson (861) and Larry Dixon (532), and it ranks Kurt seventh all-time among NHRA professional drivers.

* This will be Kurt Johnson's 372nd national event. He won back-to-back contests at The Strip in Oct. 2005 and April 2006. KJ was also runner-up at both races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2003, and in April 2004.

* 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.

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

* Johnson's best qualifying efforts so far in 2009 is No. 2 at both Houston and Richmond. He also qualified No. 3 at Charlotte and St. Louis, and has been in the top-half of the field 13 times so far in '09.

* KJ's best season was in 2003 when he captured 49 round-wins and did not lose a single first-round matchup.

* 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