Foul Start Eliminates Steve Johnson In The Second Round In Dallas
ENNIS, TX 9/21/08 Steve Johnson’s dramatic charge into contention for the 2008 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle championship ran into a stumbling block at the O’Reilly Fall Nationals when the Irondale, Ala. rider redlighted in the second round of eliminations. The loss marked the first time Johnson’s Snap-on Tools/WyoTech Technical Schools Suzuki was denied a victory in his last three outings.
“I’m disappointed in myself,” Johnson admitted after the race. “Eddie Krawiec had a big elapsed time advantage over us, but if I’d’ve gotten a green light start, who knows what might have happened.
“There’s no question about this being a bad break for us, but the championship chase is far from over, and we’re going to keep on digging, keep on trying. We’ll have another opportunity to make a big move in Memphis this coming weekend, and that’s our intention.”
Johnson struggled in the first qualifying session, but then got things headed in the right direction with a pair of 7.044 second efforts that netted his team the Number 9 starting position. “Credit Mark Peiser and the team for our turnaround in qualifying,” Johnson said. “They got our Snap-on Tools/WyoTech Suzuki running the way it should, and they deserve all the praise for that.
“Despite what happened here today, I’m incredibly encouraged by the fact that at every race our pit area is jammed with Snap-on Tools franchisees and their customers, and during the week I receive dozens of ‘go-get-‘em’ e-mails from franchisees from all over the country. We’ve been with Snap-on for 17 years, and their support is just off the charts. We spent most of Saturday evening hanging out with the Snap-on people over in the campground, and it’s that kind of encouragement and support that keeps us going.”
Johnson has had an intriguing season in 2008, with the month of September clearly being his best of the year, with back-to-back victories at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals and the Carolinas Nationals at the stunning new facility in Charlotte. But, the year is far from over, with three races remaining to determine this year’s Pro Stock Motorcycle champion. This coming week Johnson will compete in Memphis, Tenn. at the Mid-South Nationals and will then have almost a month during which extensive engine dyno and track testing will take place. Then Johnson’s Snap-on Tools/WyoTech team will compete in the ACDelco Nationals in Las Vegas (Oct. 31 – Nov. 2) and then the Automobile Club of Southern California Finals in Pomona, Calif. in mid-November.
“There’s still three races – 12 rounds of racing – to go,” Johnson said. “We intend to be right there until it’s over.”
Results:
Qualifying:
Session #1: 25.992/170.90 #18
Session #2: 7.135/183.17 #15
Session #3: 7.044/188.67 #9
Session #4: 7.044/189.79 (7.111 Bump)
Eliminations:
Round #1: 0.017 R.T. 7.126/183.49 defeated Karen Stoffer -0.002 R.T. 7.099/186.74
Round #2: -0.047 R.T. 7.464/145.05 lost to Eddie Krawiec 0.012 R.T. 10.110/81.47
Next: NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals, Memphis, TN September 26-28
