Archive for the 'Racing' Category
March 15th, 2010 by Bill Cawthon
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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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.
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March 12th, 2010 by Bill Cawthon
A bad run left NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series driver Allen Johnson in the No. 12 spot after the first day of qualifying at the 41st Annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Johnson recorded a pass of 6.670/207.62 in in his Pro Stock Mopar Dodge Avenger during the only qualifying session held today due to rainy weather. The Team Mopar driver from Greeneville, Tennessee hopes to improve his slot in the final two qualifying sessions tomorrow.
“We didn’t make a very good run at all. We’re still trying to find out why,” said Johnson. “The car was just way off in the 60-foot mark. Hopefully, that’s all it is, and we can fix it and jump right back up there.”
Tomorrow’s qualifying sessions will also mark the rain-delayed elimination rounds of the NHRA Arizona Nationals. Johnson faces Jason Line in the quarterfinals as he attempts to win the Arizona event and claim the Gatornationals No. 1 Qualifier spot.
“We’ve got to correct what happened today, or we won’t be doing that,” said Johnson, who earned a runner-up finish in the 2009 Gatornationals. “I’ve got faith in everybody on my J&J Racing team. We’ll fix it. We’ll go out there tomorrow and run a 6.62, or close to it, in the Mopar Dodge Avenger, move up towards the top and win some rounds.”
Vinnie Deceglie and his Mopar-powered Stratus did better, taking the No. 4 position with a pass of 6.631/207.53. V. Gaines came in at No. 21 and hopes to make Top 16 tomorrow in his Dodge Avenger.
Wet weather also postponed the highly anticipated debut of 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch in NHRA Super Gas competition. Busch will have to wait until at least Sunday to debut his Mopar HEMI-powered 1970 Dodge Challenger.
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March 10th, 2010 by Bill Cawthon
Fresh off his Sprint Cup Series win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch will swap his NASCAR Dodge Charger for a Mopar-powered 1970 Dodge Challenger Super Gas car. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champ is set to do battle on the drag strip in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at the 41st Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals March 11–14 at the Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida.
Busch is taking a rare break in the hectic NASCAR schedule to race his rebuilt Dodge Challenger, powered by a stroked, 1,167-horsepower Mopar 6.1-liter HEMI, in NHRA competition. Qualifying is set for Thursday, March 11, with eliminations beginning on Friday, March 12.
“Gainesville is one of the marquee events on the NHRA calendar, and it’s a privilege to compete against the best Sportsman racers out there,” said Busch. “I spent over 30 hours at Roy Hill’s drag racing school, and have had two tests in my own Dodge Challenger, but that’s nothing compared to the seat time many of these guys have in their own cars. We are going to go out there and do our best competing against these talented Sportsman racers.”
On Saturday, March 13, Busch will take part in a Team Mopar autograph session at the Mopar Image Center located in the manufacturer’s midway. The time of his appearance will be announced at the track. Mopar HEMI-powered Pro Stock drivers Allen Johnson, V. Gaines and Vinnie Deceglie will appear from 10:30–11:30 a.m. on Saturday and NHRA Funny Car racers Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan and Melanie Troxel will visit for a signing session following the first round of qualifying on Saturday.
On Friday, Mopar racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits will make his own appearance at the Mopar Image Center at 3 p.m.
Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Sunday, March 14, beginning at 12 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information, log on to the NHRA website.
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March 10th, 2010 by Bill Cawthon
Carl Edwards was placed on probation for the next three NASCAR Sprint Cup races after an incident at the Kobalt 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR officials declined to suspend Edwards and he will not be fined or lose points for intentionally colliding with the Penske Racing Dodge driven by Brad Keselowski.
The light punishment came as a surprise to many that had expected at least a hefty fine and loss of points after Edwards admitted responsibility for the collision that destroyed the No. 12 Mopar/FLO TV Charger on lap 324 of the race. Keseklowski, who had been running well and had a shot at a top-five finish, was not injured but was dazed after his car caught air and lifted, then rolled over and slammed roof-first into the outside wall before coming back down on its wheels.
Edwards said the collision was payback for an earlier incident that had sent the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford into the pits for repairs early in the race.
“We made it clear to Carl that this wasn’t acceptable, that it went beyond what we said in January about letting drivers police themselves,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton. “We’ve talked with Roger Penske and Jack Roush, and we’ll meet with the drivers to clean the slate before they race again. Yes, there’s a line, and we’ll step in when it’s crossed. We want to let them race hard and we want to maintain law and order. We parked Carl and gave him the three-race probation for what he did.”
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March 8th, 2010 by Bill Cawthon
Last Saturday. Joey Saldana scored his first World of Outlaws A-Feature win for the 2010 season. The Kasey Kahne Racing driver of the Mopar-driven Budweiser Maxim earned $10,000 with his victory in the 35-lap race at Groppetti Automotive Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.
Saldana took over the top spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings but cautioned against optimism.
“When I’m leading in October, then I’d be happy,” said Saldana. “This is so early in the year that points don’t matter yet. We just want to win races and keep our sponsors happy. As long as we are doing good and keeping everyone happy, I can continue to race and that’s my goal.”
The World of Outlaws returns to action on Friday, March 12 at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas and on Saturday, March 13 at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown as part of the Second Annual Texas Two-Step Weekend. For more information, visit the World of Outlaws website.
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