Topeka: Tommy Johnson Jr final summary

Johnson Jr. Suffers Narrow Defeat in Round Two at Topeka TOPEKA, Kan. (May 30, 2004) -- Tommy Johnson Jr. drove the blue Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to the second round of Funny Car eliminations Sunday at Heartland Park. Johnson, who ...

Johnson Jr. Suffers Narrow Defeat in Round Two at Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 30, 2004) -- Tommy Johnson Jr. drove the blue Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to the second round of Funny Car eliminations Sunday at Heartland Park.

Johnson, who qualified in the No. 10 position, advanced to the second round of eliminations after first round opponent Cruz Pedregon fouled at the start, handing the win to the Skoal Racing driver.

Johnson then powered his Mike Green-tuned Chevy flopper to its quickest and fastest pass of the weekend, racing to a performance of 4.826 seconds at 322.42 mph. However, opponent Tony Pedregon was slightly quicker out of the gate and used a run of 4.834 at 279.86 to score the narrow victory over the Iowa native.

"We're making progress," Johnson said. "It's just frustrating because we got clipped by just a little bit. We can't seem to get everything lined up at one time, but it's coming together."

The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event is the 40th annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals, June 10-13, at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.