Gainesville: Kurt Johnson Saturday summary

Kurt Johnson Qualifies Fifth for the Gatornationals

After posting a career-best 6.671-second elapsed time during the first day of qualifying for the 36th annual Mac Tools Gatornationals, Kurt Johnson knew his position in Sunday's starting field was assured when Saturday dawned with clear blue skies and warmer temperatures. Therefore, he used his final two attempts to work on his ACDelco Cavalier and develop a combination that would deliver consistent performance on race day.

Therefore, even though his 6.717 and 6.720-second passes did not better his performance from Friday, Johnson felt the information gathered could prove useful as he starts from the fifth position in Sunday's final eliminations at Gainesville Raceway.

"We were confident that our '.67 from Friday would keep us in the show, so we tried a new clutch combination this morning that might not have been too bad if we had made a straight run. Unfortunately, it was all over the race track and tried to eat the guard rail.

"Even so, we learned something so we left it alone for the last session, but it burned itself up again, so we're battling some inconsistencies with this particular set-up, so we'll switch back to a more reliable combination that we know will get us down the race track.

"We would like to have stepped up, but we did gain some valuable information that will help us produce the consistency we need to win races. It is supposed to warm up tomorrow, which could play in our favor. This ACDelco Cavalier has always liked the hot race tracks, so we're not worried about our chances for tomorrow."