Allen Johnson Looking to Phoenix for Rebound Performance

POMONA, Calif. (February 12, 2017) – Marathon Petroleum’s Allen Johnson will be putting the 57th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals in the rear-view mirror after a first round loss in eliminations. Although the early exit comes as a frustration, Johnson admits that there are things to be learned from this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Johnson began eliminations from the No. 13 seed and had a first round matchup against Shane Gray. Johnson staged his Marathon Petroleum/J&J racing Dodge Dart and matted the throttle. At the launch, Johnson’s red, white, and blue Pro Stocker made a hard left turn towards the centerline. Johnson dipped into his two decades worth of experience to try to recover and defeat Gray but when he car got out of shape a second time, Johnson knew it was time to push in the clutch. Johnson clocked in with an 8.845-second pass at 101.72 mph.

“It can only go up from here,” Johnson smirked. “We just went up there today really aggressive with our tune-up hoping something might happen and it just took a hard left. We’ve learned a lot this weekend on what doesn’t work and we’re looking to rebound in Phoenix.”