Sun, 25 May 2003, 03:37 PM Alan Johnson to Take Over Crew Chief Duties for United States Army Top Fuel Dragster

Courtesy of Chris Dirato

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Alan Johnson will take over the crew chief responsibilities for the United States Army Top Fuel dragster, it was announced here today by team owner Don Schumacher.

Johnson, who has been regarded as one of the most innovative and successful crew chiefs in the Top Fuel class, will replace Wes Cerny, following the O’ Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park.

“We’ve been struggling, so we needed to make a change right now,” said Schumacher. “At the moment, we’re barely in the Top 10 in points. We have an obligation to the U.S. Army to challenge for a championship. We’re looking for Alan to quickly turn this program around. As for Wes, we wish him nothing but the best. He’s clearly a man of intelligence and integrity.”

Johnson comes to Schumacher Racing with three NHRA Top Fuel world titles, 29 career victories and 49 career number one qualifying efforts on his resume. As team owner and crew chief, he guided Gary Scelzi, former Top Fuel driver for Team Winston and now a Funny Car driver in the Schumacher Racing stable, to three NHRA crowns in 1997, 1998 and 2000.

“How ironic that the guy who battled us tooth and nail for a few years is now working for Schumacher Racing,” added Schumacher. “While the team has been working extremely hard all season long, we’re hoping that Alan will provide the spark needed to get the Army team back into contention. Alan knows he’s getting the best team available to work with. To that end, he’s keeping the entire crew intact.”

Johnson, who owns and operates a company in Santa Maria, Calif. that specializes in building cylinder heads for car, motorcycle and boat racing teams, once dominated Top Alcohol Dragster competition with his late brother, Blaine, in the early 1990’s. They managed to secure four straight championships and five consecutive NHRA divisional titles.

Additionally, the 2000 Car Craft Magazine Crew Chief of the Year, developed a Funny Car program for the 2001/2002 seasons. During that time, he posted a victory, six final round appearances and five number one qualifying spots.