Phoenix: Warren Johnson Friday summary

WJ Pleased But Not Satisfied with Friday's Firebird Runs

Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts GTO Racing team opened their qualifying effort for the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals in fine fashion on Friday, posting solid efforts in each of their two attempts. After opening with a 6.704-second, 206.35 mph pass in the first session, Johnson picked up the pace in his afternoon run, improving to a 6.695-second elapsed time with a top speed of 207.21 mph. This slotted the six-time champion in the 11th position heading into Saturday's final twin qualifying sessions, where WJ will look to continue his forward progress.

"We're not where we want to be yet, but we're certainly headed in the right direction. Our GM Performance Parts GTO made two pretty good runs today, and, more importantly, we have a good idea of what we need to do to make it even better. Even though the forecast is calling for it to be a little warmer tomorrow, we're hoping to keep climbing up the speed charts."

-credit: j2r