Indianapolis: Tommy Johnson Jr Friday summary

CLERMONT, Ind. (Sept. 3, 2004) - Tommy Johnson Jr. powered his blue Skoal RacingSM Chevy Monte Carlo to the No. 9 qualifying spot Friday at Indianapolis Raceway Park after clocking an opening performance of 4.879 seconds at 316.60 mph.

The five-time NHRA winner used a tune-up from crew chief Mike Green to record the 4.879, 316.60 effort on the first of five scheduled qualifying attempts at drag racing's 'Super Bowl' event, the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

"I'm extremely pleased with the run" Johnson said. "We'd like to be No. 1, but I'm really happy with that pass. That guarantees that we're in the show. It's so important to make a good pass on your first qualifying run. Now, we can stand on it on Saturday night."

Johnson aims to move into the top half of the Funny Car order when qualifying continues at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. (CT) on Saturday. Johnson qualified No. 1 at the U.S. Nationals in 1999 and 2000.

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