Phoenix: Tommy Johnson Jr Friday summary

Johnson Jr. and Skoal Racing Blue Crew Clock Season-Best Elapsed Time En Route To No. 4 Qualifying Spot at Phoenix

CHANDLER, Ariz. (March 5, 2004) -- Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Skoal Racing blue crew continued to progress with their new engine and clutch combination Friday at Firebird International Raceway after Johnson powered his Skoal-backed Chevy Monte Carlo to a run of 4.823 seconds at 283.19 mph, fourth best in the Funny Car field.

Johnson raced to a solid run of 4.912 at 311.99 on the first effort of the day. On Friday's second attempt, Johnson appeared to be on a pass good enough to claim the top qualifying position before his car veered left, forcing the five-time NHRA event winner to shut off early.

"It was pulling me to the left really bad," Johnson said. "If it hadn't been pulling me to the left so bad and I didn't have to shut it off early, we'd probably be No. 1 right now. I'm glad to see the improvement with the car. It's coming around real nice.

"This track is really good right now. So, running with the rest of the field is really encouraging. To know that you're only two-hundredths of-a-second off the No. 1 spot and you shut off 300 feet early, that's big."

Johnson looks to pick up his first No. 1 qualifying award in more than three seasons when qualifying resumes at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. (MT) on Saturday, March 6.

ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights from the CSK Nationals beginning at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, March 6 and show three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 7.

-www.snakeracing.com