Gainesville: Tommy Johnson Jr final summary

Johnson Jr. Reaches Quarterfinals At Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 21, 2004) -- Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Skoal RacingSM Funny Car of Don "the Snake" Prudhomme continued moving forward towards returning to the NHRA winner's circle after making a second consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals Sunday at Gainesville Raceway.

Johnson powered his Mike Green-tuned Chevy Monte Carlo to the No. 7 qualifying position -- marking the second consecutive event that Johnson has qualified in the top half of the Funny Car order -- and advanced to the second round of Funny Car eliminations for the second straight race.

The Iowa native defeated 2003 NHRA Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon in the first round after Johnson powered his Skoal Racing Chevy to a performance of 5.013 seconds at 298.70 mph to hold off Pedregon's run of 5.020 at 290.60 in one of the closest races of the day.

In round two, Johnson got the jump on opponent Cory Lee, but Johnson's Monte Carlo lost traction as he slowed to a run of 5.769 at 199.46, while Lee ran 5.216 at 277.34 for the win.

"It's a little frustrating when you give one away like that," Johnson said. "We should have been able to beat a 5.21. We're looking pretty good for the rest of the season, it's just frustrating. We're a little bit off on the consistency and that's the key on race day. Sunday is all about being consistent. Making one or two good runs on a Sunday will never win a drag race."

The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event is the fifth annual Summitracing.com NHRA Nationals, April 1-4, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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