Commerce: Kurt Johnson Saturday summary

Kurt Johnson Qualifies 13th in Atlanta

Kurt Johnson entered the final qualifying session at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, knowing he would need to step up his performance in order to guarantee his participation in Sunday's final eliminations. Sitting in the precarious sixteenth and final qualifying position, the second-generation driver overcame the heat and humidity to post the second quickest pass in the right hand lane at 6.832 seconds with a top speed of 202.18 mph to claim the 13th starting slot.

"We came here with a totally new combination and thought we were in good shape, but we just didn't run the way we expected. Going into the last session on the bump, we knew we had to improve to stay qualified, so we changed the suspension around, and even though the ACDelco Cavalier made a nice, smooth run, it still isn't right. The engine isn't firing, and I can hear that it has a problem when I put it in high gear. There's a gremlin in it somewhere that we need to get out before the first round tomorrow.

"We have our work cut out for us tomorrow, but I'm pleased we were able to make a decent run this afternoon. If we can get the motor happy and hitting on all eight cylinders, we're going to be fast tomorrow."

-j2r-