Team Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Recap: Brainerd NHRA Nationals

Team Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Recap: Brainerd NHRA Nationals

BRAINERD, Minn. (August 20, 2017) – Allen Johnson took his Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart to the quarterfinals at the 36th annual NHRA Nationals this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway after earning a season-high No. 3 qualifying position.

In the first round, Johnson staged up against Mark Hogan. Johnson was awarded a bye-run and clocked in with a 6.641-second pass at 207.11 mph when Hogan suffered mechanical issues at the starting line and was unable to stage.

“I didn’t realize anything was wrong with Mark [Hogan],” Johnson admitted. “I just thought he was taking his time to stage until Mike Gittings [NHRA Chief Starter] told me I had a single.”

Second round, the Greeneville, Tenn.-based racer staged up against Greg Anderson. The duo battled it out two weeks prior in Seattle, Washington and Johnson came out victorious. Today, Johnson improved his first round elapsed time when he ran a 6.628, 207.21 but was barely edged out by Greg Anderson’s 6.594, 208.30.

“It feels good to grab some round win points going into Indy,” Johnson said. “There’s a few racers behind me in the points that are lurking and I can guarantee they’ll have good power in Indy. We just gotta keep doing what we’re doing. We’re decent right now; we’re not in the top two cars but I think we’re a top five car for sure. I’m leaving Brainerd feeling really good about our Marathon Petroluem/J&J Racing team.”