Marathon Petroleum Team Turns Corner in Countdown, Heads to Las Vegas

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (October 24, 2016) – Coming off an announcement last week that Marathon Petroleum is renewing their sponsorship with J&J Racing in 2017, Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson heads to Las Vegas with the “bad luck monkey” off their back to compete at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We’re tickled to death that they [Marathon Petroleum] thought enough of our program to renew it,” Johnson said. “I’m a partner with them in business so this whole deal holds a lot of value.”

The Strip has been a very rewarding racetrack for established racer Johnson and he’s hoping Sin City will be the place he can turn his luck around and run the table. Johnson has won the fall event in Las Vegas once and when you combine the spring and fall events at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he’s won three times.

“My favorite memory at Vegas was when we won it three times in a row,” he reminisced. “We doubled-up the first time the K&N Horsepower Challenge was in Las Vegas in 2012 and we followed it up with a win in the fall and another one the following spring.”

Heading into this weekend, Johnson is No. 8 in the Pro Stock standings. Although a championship is unlikely this year, he knows there are two opportunities to shine bright before the season comes to a close.

“I think we got the bad luck out of the way but we still need to go to Las Vegas and so something special.”