Joliet: Kurt Johnson Friday summary

Kurt Johnson Opens Joliet Qualifying in Eighth

ACDelco Cavalier pilot Kurt Johnson made two representative runs on Friday to open his qualifying effort at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in fine fashion. His quickest pass came in the evening session, when he covered the quarter-mile in 6.866 seconds with a top speed of 200.89 mph. This placed Johnson in the provisional eighth qualifying position as the POWERade Drag Racing Series headed into Saturday, where the Pro Stock time trials will also include the King Demon Crown. This annual all-star event pits the top eight qualifying "factory hot rods" from the past year in a three-round shootout with the winner pocketing $50,000. K.J. won this event for the third time in 2003, and is looking to successfully defend his title this weekend.

"We're doing a great job getting off the starting line, but we have to pick up the pace in the back half. We're going to take a few components out before tomorrow, getting back to basics. It's lightning fast in the first 330 feet, so we'll work on the power end and get back on track. I'm really pleased with how smooth this ACDelco Cavalier is right now, and it's set on the safe side. We'll go over our notes, tune it up, and have it primed to defend our title in the King Demon Crown tomorrow."

-j2r-