Marathon Petroleum’s Allen Johnson Knows Cooler Raceday Will Be Crew Chief’s Game, Confident in Chances at Victory at Texas Motorplex
ENNIS, Tex. (October 14, 2017) – In high track temperatures during qualifying, Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson qualified No. 11 and is looking forward to the cooler track temperatures on raceday as he takes on the competition at the 32nd annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals.
On Friday, Johnson’s Marathon Petroleum Dodge Dart sounded troubled when he went up on the two-step as he staged and when the car bogged off the line, Johnson decided to coast to the finish line with a 21.095-seconds pass at 50.59 mph. Seeking improvement in the next session, the Adam Hornberger-led team came back and made a massive improvement when he clocked in with a 6.658, 207.24.
Saturday, Johnson ran a consistent 6.662, 207.43 in his red, white and blue Dodge Dart at Texas Motorplex. He closed out qualifying with a 6.674, 206.35 on a blistering 117-degree racetrack.
Johnson locked in the No. 11 spot for raceday and will take on Brian Self in the first round; the pair has not competed against each other on raceday before.
“The weather is going to play a big part in tomorrow,” Johnson said about the 20-degree cooler weather forecasted for tomorrow. “Upsets will probably happen. It’s definitely going to be a crew chief day tomorrow; whoever hits it the closest will win it. I feel good about our chances tomorrow in our Marathon Petroleum Dodge Dart.”