Marathon Petroleum’s Allen Johnson Looking to Knock Houston Off His List

Marathon Petroleum’s Allen Johnson Looking to Knock Houston Off His List

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (April 18, 2017) – Royal Purple Raceway is one of the tracks on Marathon Petroleum Corporation/J&J Racing driver Allen Johnson’s short list of tracks he has yet to win at. The 2012 Pro Stock World Champion has been in the final round a total of three times in his career at Houston and he’s ready to capture his first win this weekend at the 30th annual NHRA SpringNationals.

“Houston is one of the tracks I haven’t won at yet and this Marathon Petroleum team is ready to take that one off the list this weekend,” Johnson said.

As the red, white, and blue Marathon Petroleum Dodge Dart enters the property, it will mark Johnson’s 485th race in Pro Stock and a perfectly opportune time to bring home his first win of 2017. Houston is only one of eight racetracks on the current NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour that Johnson hasn’t parked himself in the winner circle at and after a test session last week at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina, they may be coming up on a tune-up to make that victory a reality.

“We tested a few new motor combinations and manifolds in Charlotte last week and we’re trying to find something that’s better than what we have right now,” he added. “We’re digging to find the power. We’re not giving up and we’ll keep trying new things in our Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart.”

Aside from competing this weekend, Johnson plans on visiting a Marathon Petroleum refinery on Thursday before the event.

“I enjoy visiting the refinery when we come to the Houston race,” he said. “We do an appearance there with the truck and then a lot of the Marathon people join us out at the track during the weekend; it’s a special race for our team.”

Qualifying at the 30th annual NHRA SpringNationals begins on Friday, April 21, with two sessions at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. Two more qualifying sessions will be on Saturday, April 22, at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. Eliminations begin on Sunday, April 23, at 11:00 a.m. starting with Top Fuel.