Joliet: Team Mopar Friday notes

TEAM MOPAR® DRIVER ALLEN JOHNSON IS NO. 14 AFTER FRIDAY QUALIFYING IN JOLIET

Joliet, Ill. (June 6, 2008) -- Team Mopar® factory-backed driver Allen Johnson was slotted in the No. 14 spot after two rounds of qualifying during windy weather today at the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill.

Johnson posted a pass of 6.754/204.17 behind the wheel of his Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T in the first qualifying session. He bettered that mark with a run of 6.748/204.45 in the evening qualifying session but was unable to advance up the always-tight Pro Stock qualifying ladder. The Greeneville, Tenn. native will have two more chances at advancing his starting position during qualifying tomorrow.

"We just have to keep pounding away," said Johnson, who has qualified in the top half of the field in each of the first nine NHRA POWERade Pro Stock events. "We have two runs tomorrow to move up and get lane choice. We have the Mopar HEMI® engine and the horsepower to get it done, and hopefully the weather will hold out."

Team Mopar newcomer Justin Humphreys was the top qualifier of the 11 HEMI-powered cars in the 26-car Pro Stock field on Friday. Humphreys took the No. 10 spot with a pass of 6.737/204.01 in his RaceRedi Dodge Stratus R/T equipped with a HEMI engine supplied by J&J Racing.

"This is a new ball game for us," said Humphreys, who made his Team Mopar debut at the previous event in Topeka. "We only have seven runs in this Mopar-powered Dodge. It's a different world and we have to run everything a lot different. We're slowly creeping up on it. The seven runs we've had have all been pretty good. We're excited. We know there's plenty of power left. Hopefully, we can go out there, make two more good runs tomorrow, and try to make it into the winner's circle on Sunday."

Mopar-powered John Nobile was No. 11 after Friday qualifying and Larry Morgan, driver of the Lucas Oil Dodge Stratus R/T and runner-up at the Topeka race, was No. 13. Rounding out the Team Mopar Pro Stock contingent's Friday qualifying efforts were Johnny Gray, Vinnie Deceglie, Rickie Jones, V. Gaines and Todd Hoerner in the 17th through 21st spots, respectively, Max Naylor at No. 23 and Bob Yonke at No. 25.

-credit: mopar