Johnson remains second in points standings after semifinal finish

Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson made it to the semifinals Sunday at the 41st Annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals before losing to Mike Edwards in the final round. The outing at Gainesville Raceway marked the J&J Racing driver and team owner’s third straight semifinals appearance since the debut of his new HEMI-powered Pro Stock Mopar Dodge Avenger.

The Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver bested Shane Gray in the first round with a pass of 6.587 seconds at 210.64 mph compared to Gray’s 6.616/209.69 run. The quarterfinals pitted Johnson against V. Gaines in a battle of Avengers, with Johnson posting a winning time of 6.600 seconds at 210.05 miles per hour.

In the semifinals, Johnson faced Edwards for the third straight event and the second time in two days. Just as in their Saturday showdown, Johnson came up short as his 6.596/210.54 run wasn’t enough to beat the defending Pro Stock champion’s 6.564/211.23 pass.

“It’s a case of, ‘We’re happy, but then we’re not happy,’” said Johnson. “We’ve been to three straight semis, we’re second in points leaving here, and we’ve got to be happy with that. But we have to figure out a way to outrun Mike. We’ll test in Charlotte next week with the Mopar Dodge Avenger and work on a few things. We’ll see if we can’t catch him at the next race in Charlotte.”

Next up for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the Inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, March 25–28 in Charlotte, N.C.

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