Memphis: Tommy Johnson Jr final summary

JOHNSON JR. SUFFERS RARE RED-LIGHT DEFEAT AT MEMPHIS

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (Aug. 20, 2006) Tommy Johnson, Jr. drove his Skoal RacingSM Chevy Funny Car to a first-round finish Sunday at Memphis Motorsports Park during the 19th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals after uncharacteristically fouling at the start in the opening round of eliminations.

After qualifying in the No. 6 position with a 4.907-second elapsed time, Johnson was matched-up against veteran flopper pilot Whit Bazemore. For just the fourth time in his professional driving career, Johnson left before the green light and fouled at the start causing an automatic disqualification for the Skoal Racing car. Johnson posted a -.051 of-a-second reaction time. It was his first red light defeat since the Houston race in 2003, a span of 64 races. Johnson remains sixth in the NHRA Funny Car standings.

"I don't know what happened," Johnson said. "I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. For some reason, my foot moved before I wanted it to. I don't know what else to say. I just want to put this behind me and move on to Indy."

The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event is the 52nd annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Aug. 30-Sept. 4, at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

-credit: www.snakeracing.com