Joliet: Kurt Johnson Friday summary

KJ Sits Sixth Midway through Joliet Qualifying

The first day of qualifying for the Carquest Auto Parts Nationals was greeted by unusually cool temperatures, producing nearly ideal conditions for the naturally-aspirated Pro Stock contingent. As a result, midway through qualifying, the "factory hot rods" had already established the quickest field in the category's history.

Kurt Johnson and the ACDelco Cobalt Racing team were up to the challenge, posting one of the quickest elapsed times in each of the two sessions. After opening with a solid 6.694-second effort, Johnson picked up the pace in the evening time trial, with his 6.664-second, 207.43 mph pass slotting him in the sixth position.

Despite the strong showing, the second-generation racer was already looking for ways to improve during one of his remaining two attempts on Saturday.

"We've got some work to do. In both runs, we were off two hundredths to the 330-foot mark. If we can pick that up, we'll be looking pretty good. We just have to figure out how to get there. There's one hundredth in the first 60 feet, and another in the 60 to 330 foot mark, so it's all in the first part of the racecourse, so I think I know what to do.

"Qualifying in these mineshaft conditions puts a lot of pressure on the entire team, because you know you have to do well. In some ways you have to roll the dice and hope it sticks, and that it doesn't shake the tires or burn the clutch up. We made a couple changes to our ACDelco Cobalt for tonight's run, and it definitely helped the back half performance. Now we just have to work on getting better in the front part of the run, which is what we'll work on tomorrow."

-j2r