NHRA
Pomona II: Kurt Johnson final report
A short Day in Pomona Cannot Diminish a Valiant Effort by KJ & the ACDelco Crew A review of Sunday's final results from the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, CA will show that Kurt Johnson's day ended in the first round, with his 6.739-second, ...
Published: Nov 6, 2007, 2:56 PM
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A short Day in Pomona Cannot Diminish a Valiant Effort by KJ & the ACDelco Crew
A review of Sunday's final results from the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, CA will show that Kurt Johnson's day ended in the first round, with his 6.739-second, 206.70 mph pass putting a premature end to the second-generation racer's weekend. However, the true story lies in the effort put forth by Johnson's ACDelco Cobalt crew, albeit with plenty of assistance, simply to make it to the starting line and make a competitive pass.
Having suffered extensive damage after barreling into the sand trap at the end of the track following their third qualifying attempt, the red, white and blue crew leapt into action immediately upon returning to their pit area, assessing what they would need to complete the repair. Aided in their efforts by teammate (and Kurt's father) Warren Johnson's GM Performance Parts GTO team, they replaced the engine, brake lines, radiator, struts, and numerous other parts.
However, their biggest challenge came in replacing their shattered carbon-fiber nose. Ironically, they found a suitable replacement in the ACDelco display on the manufacturer's midway in the form of the visually identical ACDelco Cobalt show car, complete with the stunning Hulkamania graphics the team first used in Las Vegas one week ago.
Although the replica vehicle was the product of another manufacturer, some hard work by the combined Johnson teams and chassis builder Jerry Haas and his crew allowed them to fit the replacement piece on the race car by late on Saturday evening. Following some last-minute detail work on Sunday morning, the team rolled to the line with time to spare. Unfortunately, a Cinderella finish was not in the cards, but Johnson still wanted to acknowledge the tremendous effort put forth on his behalf.
"The fact that we even made it to the starting line is a tribute to all the people who thrashed and bashed on this ACDelco Cobalt over the last 24 hours. They never wavered, looking at what we had to work with, assessing the damage and figuring out what we needed, putting together a plan and getting it done.
"We worked on it until the last thirty minutes, putting on decals just to represent the team, our sponsors ACDelco, Chevrolet and everyone else who supports us. Looking back, it's hard to believe we even made it down the racetrack, and I wish we had made a better run, but what we accomplished was amazing in itself.
"I want to thank Jerry and John from Jerry Haas Race Cars, Justin and Nate from my ACDelco crew, Mike, Bobby and Adam from the GM Performance Parts team, as well as everyone else who pitched in to help get the Hulkster back on the track. We may not have made it to the winner's circle, but it was certainly a championship effort by some tremendous people, and thank them all."
-credit: j2r
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