ALLEN JOHNSON
MARATHON PETROLEUM/J&J RACING DODGE DART
EVENT PREVIEW: 62ND ANNUAL CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS
LUCAS OIL RACEWAY AT INDIANAPOLIS
SEPT. 2-5

Allen Johnson Eyeing Top Spot at U.S. Nationals

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (August 29, 2016) – The 62nd annual U.S. Nationals is the most prestigious race on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour, and Marathon Petroleum Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson is looking to ink his name in the history books with a win this weekend.

The Adam Hornberger-lead team has undeniably stepped up their game in their engine program when Johnson qualified No. 3 at the last event in Brainerd, Minnesota – the highest qualifying position of their 2016 season. The upswing in performance has come at the right time as they head into the last event of the regular season.

“Having a fast car in Brainerd really helped build confidence going into Indy,” Johnson said. “We’re going to test this week in St. Louis and we’re going in a good direction with the motor so I think we’ll be even a little bit better in Indy.”

Leading up to this race, Johnson has powered to the No. 1 spot a total of 37 times in his career. He believes he can make the right tune-up calls to make it 38 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis this weekend.

“We gotta stay on the edge this weekend at Indy,” he added. “We need to be very consistent and get faster each run and if we can do that, I think we can qualify at the top. We’ve got the capability of doing it and that’ll be our main focus during qualifying.”

Qualifying at the 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals begins on Friday, September 2nd with one qualifying run at 7:15 p.m. Two qualifying sessions will follow on Saturday, September 3rd at 2:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday, September 4th will see the final two qualifying runs at 11:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, September 5th starting with Top Fuel.