POMONA, CA – Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart driver Allen Johnson took the stage for driver introductions for the last time in his full-time professional Pro Stock career this morning at the 53rd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals but not before he was surrounded by his fellow competitors on stage sporting ‘AJ’s Final Stage’ shirts.

“It meant a lot to me that my fellow Pro Stock competitors would do that for me today,” Johnson smiled with a tear in his eye. “That was really cool for me and I can’t thank the racers, fans, and sponsors for the support they’ve given me since we began this 22 years ago.”

For raceday, Johnson came into eliminations in the No. 10 spot and had a first round matchup against his long-time friend Erica Enders. Johnson and Enders left together at the starting line but the Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dart started to drift towards the centerline after half-track. To avoid crossing the centerline or a more serious situation, Johnson pushed back in the clutch and coasted to the finish line with a 6.979-second pass at 153.25 mph; Enders’ 6.554, 209.82 advanced to the second round.

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POMONA, CA – In his 504th race in Pro Stock, Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart driver Allen Johnson is competing in his 399th raceday this weekend at the 53rd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals.

On Friday, Johnson built a foundation for his race weekend with a solid 6.595-seconds pass at 209.95 mph. The Adam Hornberger and Roy Johnson-led team came back in the second session and produced an extremely consistent 6.596, 209.56.

Saturday, Johnson picked up over a thousandth of a second in his Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dart when he crossed the finish line at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona with a stout 6.583, 209.46 in the opening session. Wanting to test some things in the final qualifying round before raceday, Johnson slowed to a 6.618, 208.14 but it provided the team with the direction for what will work best for Sunday’s eliminations.

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GREENEVILLE, TN – 2012 Pro Stock world champion Allen Johnson is entering in his last official race in Pro Stock after an extraordinary 22-year career in the NHRA but admits that he has a “never say never” attitude about returning if the opportunity presented itself.

“I don’t have any plans of racing in Pro Stock in the future but I never say never,” Johnson said. “We’re probably gonna do some sportsman racing in the future here and there but you know, if someone called me and told me the field was short and they had an extra car for me to drive, I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it.”

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LAS VEGAS – Allen Johnson powered the Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart to the quarterfinal round at the 17th annual NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

Johnson came into raceday in the No. 11 spot and had a first round matchup against Erica Enders. Johnson went straight down the boulevard at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a victorious 6.716-second pass at 202.82 mph over Enders’ troubled 7.026, 163.49.

“She broke a motor I think,” Johnson said at the top end about competitor Erica Enders. “We’ve still got something wrong with the car and if we can figure it out before second round, we can run right with them.”

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LAS VEGAS, NV – Qualifying at the 17th annual NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is in the books and Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson finished in the No. 11 spot and will take on Erica Enders in the first round of eliminations on Sunday morning.

“We’re making some good runs in our Marathon Petroleum Dodge Dart but it just doesn’t seem to be as fast as we’d like it to be in the back-half,” Johnson said. “It’s not running the speed we’d like to see out of it and we’re still trying to figure out the problem before first round. If we can find the issue, we can definitely run with the top five cars. We are running with them right now to the eighth mile so I know the potential is there. It’s just time to go out there first round and make a good lap; that’s all we gotta do.”

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GREENEVILLE, TN – Two more to go. Two races left in what many would consider to be an impressive career in any professional sport. Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson has set specific goals heading into the 17th annual NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the last two races of the season.

“We’re gung-ho these last two events and want to move up in the top five in points before this season is done,” Johnson said. “Of course, I’d love to win a race before the end of the year but my plan is to go rounds, jump into the top five, and go out on a good note.”

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ENNIS, TX – 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.

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GREENEVILLE, TN – As the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series heads into the second half of the Countdown to the Championship, Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing’s Allen Johnson is hungry to knock out one more victory in his Dodge Dart before his retirement at the conclusion of this season.

“We have nicknamed the last part of this season ‘AJ’s Final Stage’ and we’re going to have fun with it and hopefully be competitive,” Johnson said. “Going to Texas Motorplex is always fun and one of my favorite memories down there is the year I won the championship and I got on the hood on my Mopar with that cowboy hat on. We always love racing at the Motorplex.”

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ST. LOUIS, MO – Allen Johnson drove the Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart to the No. 10 seed at the Sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.

On Friday, Johnson found a solid baseline when he powered his red, white, and blue Dodge Dart to a 6.575-seconds pass at 209.39 mph. In the evening session, Johnson drifted towards the centerline and hit a timing block at the finish line and his 6.578, 207.82 was disallowed.

“I think it was just dark at the end of the track and I drove it over to the right,” Johnson explained regarding his disqualified run. “I couldn’t see where I was going and got in the marbles and ended up getting real loose out there.”

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GREENEVILLE, TN – Coming off a semifinal appearance at last weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nationals, Johnson heads to the Sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals No. 7 in the Pro Stock points and is hoping to continue his upward swing in performance at Gateway Motorsports Park this weekend.

Quotable:
“I remember racing Jim Yates in the finals in 1999 and I got real close to the center line and got loose and I remember thinking I should’ve won that one,” Johnson reminisced. “I’ve been to the finals three times at Gateway Motorsports Park without winning and I think it’s about time we changed that.”

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