Ahten’s Short Winternationals a Matter of Numbers

Courtesy of Athen Family Racing

Pomona, CA  – Johnny Ahten doesn’t need a slide ruler or protractor to know how to tune his Nitromethane Injected Top Alcohol Dragster. He does rely on the people that support him and the Ahten Racing Team. This past weekend, at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, Ahten did get closer to the tune up he is looking for.

“We are inching away at the tune-up,” said Ahten. “We just didn’t compensate enough on Saturday to make past that round.”

Ahten and his Island Renovations/801 Racing dragster qualified in the number seven slot after running a 5.472/261.37 in Friday’s second session. That led to a round one match up with Larry Miersch. Johnny ended up losing that round, and it was more like feet than inches.

“The track was good,” said Ahten. “We just had it set a little too lean. And it may be a motorsports cliché, but we know what it did wrong, and we know how to fix it,” added Ahten.

Associate sponsor Island Renovations knows all about fixing things. The Hawaiian home improvement company owned by crew member Howard Katano specializes in baths, kitchens, and door/window replacement. Something that does not need fixing is Fireman’s Brew. The promotional partner garnered a huge amount of attention in the Ahten pits and quenched a few thirsty race fans after the race. Many of the folks involved with Fireman’s Brew stopped by to visit with Johnny, answer questions from fans and other racers, and handed out some information about the California based beer.

“The entire Fireman’s Brew team was super excited to be partnered up with the Johnny Ahten Racing team,” said Chris Allender of Fireman’s Brew. “The guys that made it out to the races from Fireman’s Brew, including myself, had such an awesome experience! The Ahten Crew wearing our Fireman’s Brew Ball caps out to the race track was really cool to see,” added Allender.

They were not the only ones out at the track to see Johnny and the team. There was a big turnout of off-duty Firefighters, looking at Johnny’s dragster and wanting to know where they could buy some Fireman’s Brew. Also in attendance were 801 Racing’s Tommy Parish and John Hill. They shot some video and got to know the whole Ahten Racing family. 

“I am so happy to be associated with 801 Racing,” said Ahten. “Their Revvolution 70W Oil with CleanBoost Technology gives us the confidence to get after it when we need to. I also want to thank Hedman Hedders and NGK spark plugs for their continued support,’ added Ahten.

The opening race of the 2012 NHRA season demonstrated that Johnny Ahten and his team have a viable support system in place. With the measure of support to lean on, the team can now richen up the tune-up, calculate their strategy, and get on with the racing season’s numbers game.