Johnson captures No. 4 spot at Gatornationals

Posted on March 13th, 2010 • by Bill Cawthon

Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson had a good day, qualifying No. 4 in his HEMI-powered Pro Stock Mopar Dodge Avenger at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. He also advanced to the semifinals of the postponed NHRA Arizona Nationals.

Because of rain delays Thursday and Friday, the first qualifying session today doubled as the quarterfinals of the NHRA Arizona Nationals. Johnson faced Jason Line in a rematch of the 2009 Gatornationals final, but this time the J&J Racing driver from Greeneville, Tennessee, was the winner, recording a 6.559/211.16 pass to Line’s 9.900/92.48 run. The mark also lifted Johnson up to No. 4 in Gatornationals qualifying.

Johnson then drew defending NHRA Pro Stock champ Mike Edwards in the semifinals, but the problem that plagued him yesterday struck again: the Mopar Dodge shook the tires soon after takeoff and Edwards took the win. Despite the loss, Johnson was upbeat about starting the season with two consecutive semifinals appearances. He’s looking for his first career NHRA Gatornationals win tomorrow. Johnson will race against Shane Gray in the first round of eliminations.

“It’s a great start, two straight semifinals in this brand new Mopar Dodge,” said Johnson. “But we’ve got to get up and down the track to be competitive. We’ll take it and build on it tomorrow, hopefully learn from it and go one more round.

“I always feel good at Gainesville. We finished runner-up here last year and it’s always an upbeat atmosphere. I feel confident, so we’ll see if we can get in that final again.”

Mopar-powered Dodge Stratus and No. 8 qualifier Vinnie Deceglie will face Ronnie Humphrey in the opener, while V. Gaines, who posted his Dodge Avenger at No. 12, will take on Rodger Brogdon.