Sun, May 31, 07:16 AM W.J. Qualifies Number One, K.J. Runs Top Speed

Courtesy of Rick Voegelin Fram Route 66 Nationals

JOLIET, Ill. -

WARREN JOHNSON became the first Pro Stock driver to claim the No. 1 qualifying position at the new Route 66 Raceway. Johnson put his GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac in the top spot on Friday evening with a track-record 6.978-second elapsed time. Hot and humid conditions prevailed on Saturday, and W.J.'s time was not bettered. Johnson qualified No. 1 for the fourth time this season and the 92nd time in his career.

"Qualifying No. 1 gives us lane choice, a couple more points, and $3,000 -- that all helps," said Johnson. "The lanes are pretty even to the 1/8th mile, although the right lane appears to have a few minor bumps in it -- or perhaps it's just been oiled down enough to change its traction.

"The weather was about what we expected to see, with a corrected altitude around 3800 feet. These are the most uncomfortable conditions we've encountered to date with this car. It would be a lot worse if the race track was marginal. We've been testing in Atlanta with the air temperature in the mid-90s and a track temperature around 130 degrees, so that's almost identical to the conditions we had here on the last qualifying run.

"We're giving up some speed here. We can see a change in the 'g' meter on the last 150 feet which indicates that the car is turning the tires pretty hard on the top end."

KURT JOHNSON qualified his ACDelco Camaro in the No. 8 spot at 7.012. He posted the fastest Pro Stock speed in four qualifying sessions at 197.13 mph.

"We're still playing with the new clutch parts and pieces," said Kurt. "My second run today was quick. The car ran 7.04 in the heat of the day, which corrected to 6.75 at 204.04 -- that's the quickest run we've ever made. On a hot race track, that's not too bad. We needed to make a better run on Friday night to move up on the ladder, but we're doing better than some people out here.

"Now we're going to have to make a decision whether to race with our new setup or go back to the old parts for race day. It's hard to take them out after we ran so quick with them. My reaction times are about where they were with the old clutch, and we can still work with the air gap to improve the reaction times. The track's holding up well, although there do seem to be some loose spots on the top end where it's spiking the driveshaft. My plan of attack is to stay in the left lane tomorrow as long as I can."