Ahten Family
Ahten Looking Forward To Pomona After Vegas Outing
Courtesy of Ahten Family Racing
Pomona, CA – Strong performance at the Vegas Regional has Johnny Ahten looking forward to the World Finals in Pomona. Ahten 
went to the Las Vegas race with questions, and left with answers. The pain of a first round loss might disparage some, but the Ahten Racing Team is upbeat. Getting a grip on the tune-up has been frustrating, but now they have something to work with in Pomona. The previous weekend’s Big O Tire Nationals provided the team with a solid base to tune from. During Regional action they refined that data and it resulted in a number five qualifying position.
“The Team is a bit upset about going out first round, but we are very excited about what we learned,” said Ahten. “In the first round of qualifying we put up a 5.536/248.43. We made some adjustments and Saturday’s session really wowed us. Our 5.402/252.24 is what we have been working for. It was truly an accomplishment to qualify fifth with such a stout field. “
Back to Work for Ahten Racing at Vegas Regional
Courtesy of Ahten Racing
Las Vegas, NV – The Ahten Racing Team is back in Vegas this weekend to compete in Regional action and prepare for Pomona. After 
last week’s National event, Johnny Ahten jetted back to the massive shop to personally hand carve a set of pistons out of aluminum ore with his bare hands. Actually, he drove the truck home after long race weekend, put some shifts in at his day job, and set up a few racks of pistons in the humble team garage. Johnny Ahten’s reality is grime-under-the-fingernails, stains on his shirts, and a desire for another shot at the dragstrip.
“All we can do it keep working to get better,” said Ahten. “The car wants to run. We just have to put all the pieces together. The Regional race will allow us to make some adjustments. The more trips down the track, the better. The excitement of the National event here is still fresh in our minds. So is the frustration of knowing we can run better. Putting this car in the show was a good thing, but we want more. Racers are greedy that way.”
Ahten Continues His Quest after First Round Vegas Exit
Courtesy of Athen Family
Las Vegas, NV – Making it to the first round at the Big O Tire Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is just part of Johnny 
Ahten’s quest. It’s more like a vision quest, which usually means looking for spiritual guidance and purpose. Ahten’s purpose is to go quick and fast on the racetrack, and that is truly a spiritual thing. Ahten was seeking deep understanding of this purpose in Vegas. Taming the beast that is the Nitromethane injected Top Alcohol Ahten Racing Dragster is not an easy thing.
Johnny Ahten got an eyeful of the Las Vegas sky on his first qualifying run. The Island Renovations/ 801 Racing/ Fireman’s Brew Dragster yanked up the front end and did its best impression a ten year-old on his bicycle popping wheelies. The car pulled 3.3 g’s until the finality of the wheelie bar put an end to that reach for the stars. That unloaded the tires and the resulting 15.688/31.67 time slip might be astonishing for a Schwinn, for a Top Alcohol Dragster it only meant the quest continued.
Ahten Heading to Las Vegas on a Quest
Courtesy of Ahten Racing
Las Vegas, NV
– Johnny Ahten is headed to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in search of a new handle. Not a CB handle or nickname like “Johnny Rotten” or “The Fireman,” but a handle on the tune- up for his Ahten Racing Top Alcohol Dragster. Since his last race in Sonoma, Ahten and his Crew Chief father Al Ahten have been thinking about this race. They have reviewed computer data, massaged the parts, and discussed it at length. They are confident they have worked up a plan to deal with a newly designed set of cylinder heads and other changes to the combination.
“I am so ready to trade my thinking cap in for a racing helmet,” said driver Ahten. “The car has responded on every pass at Sonoma and I think we are creeping up on it. This is the first in three weekends in a row of racing and we want to start strong. We need to get more information on how these new parts work together. Vegas is an amazing track and all we are going to worry about is our car and going from A to B. We want to be ready for the Regional race, Pomona, and 2013.”
Sonoma Regional gives Ahten Racing a new perspective
Courtesy of Athen Family Racing
Sonoma, CA – The Ahten Racing Team picked up something special from last weekend’s Regional race. It was not a trophy, but it is 
still valuable. They now have their confidence back. The new engine combination has been figured out, and they are now looking forward to their next race.
“Sonoma was like a re-birth of our race team,” said driver Johnny Ahten. “Trying to get a handle on a whole new set-up is sometimes a tricky thing to do, but now we know what we have. I feel confident with the car. If we had a few more runs to fine tune the top end, I think we could have done very well.”
Qualifying started out with the Island Renovations / 801 Racing / Fireman’s Brew Team running a planned early shut-off 5.595/245.45 run. This was a big step forward because the last outing resulted in multiple tire-melting launches. Getting the car to launch and hook to the track gave them a set of data to work with.
Ahten looking for a thrill ride in Sonoma
Courtesy of Athen Family Racing
Photo by Chuck Costabile
Sonoma, CA – Johnny Ahten and his Ahten Racing Team are happy to be descending. Not in their racing program, but they are eager to be racing closer to sea level. Their last three races have been at high elevation tracks. Racing at Sonoma Raceway in this weekend’s
Regional race changes all that.
“With good weather we could be racing at 1800ft, whereas we have been used to racing at over 3000ft,” said Ahten. “We like Sonoma, since we seem to run well there. We have run in the 20’s, and even runnered-up.”
Some changes will have to be made to the Island Renovations / 801 Racing / Fireman’s Brew Dragster. The Ahten Racing team lead by crew chief Al Ahten, will use elements from their Tucson IHRA win, with changes for altitude. Assisting the elder Ahten will be Howard Katano, Bob Ahten, Kevin Colvell, and Chuck Costable.
Ahten Racing’s Stump Puller has too much for Salt Lake Nitro Jam
Courtesy of Athen Family Racing
Salt Lake City, UT – Sometimes too much of a good thing is not the best thing for the situation. At the Salt Lake Nitro Jam, Johnny Ahten found out he had just a bit more horsepower than he or the track could handle. Taming the wild
Nitromethane injected beast that is the Stump Puller proved to be futile.
“We made gobs of power and just couldn’t get it to hook up or go down the tricky race track,” said Ahten. “We were debuting a brand new engine combination and we had high hopes of resetting our own track record. We worked really hard on trying to calm it down, but in the end it just wanted to roar.”
The weekend’s Nitro Jam festivities began with Ahten doing a live broadcast from the track for local NBC television station KSL 5. Johnny talked up the event and gave some background information for the viewers. The rest of the day was spent meeting fans and preparing for the nighttime quarter mile battle.
Ahten and the Stump Puller ready to Defend at Salt Lake Nitro Jam
Courtesy of Athen Racing
Salt Lake City, UT – Johnny Ahten is heading to the Salt Lake Nitro Jam with the mindset of a defending champion. You see, back in 2010, Ahten and his Pro Fuel Dragster not only won the event, he reset the track record at Rocky 
Mountain Raceways with a blistering elapsed time of 5.56 seconds. Ahten did not compete in the event in 2011, so to Ahten, it’s a title defense.
“The way the Nitro Jam events are set up, it’s unload the car, and swing for the fence,” said Ahten. “We know what it takes to go fast in Salt Lake, and the crew and the Stump Puller are ready to crank out the long ball.”
Tuning a Nitromethane powered dragster is a tricky thing. It’s a good thing that Crew Chief and Johnny’s Dad, Al Ahten has all the numbers from 2010 when they set the track on fire. The Ahten Racing crew of Howard Katano, Bob Ahten, Chuck Costabile, and Todd “Rocky” Rockwell will be proving the needed muscle and technical advice.
Second round Vegas Exit doesn’t slow down Ahten
Courtesy of Ahten Family Racing
Las Vegas, NV – Johnny Ahten came to the SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the confidence of a winner, having just won a race. He left the track still feeling like a winner, even thought the Island Renovations/801 Racing Dragster didn’t hoist the trophy. After a loss, Drag Racers begin thinking about the next trip down the track. After Ahten was done racing for the day, planning for the next outing was in motion.
Ahten started eliminations from the number ten position. Not exactly where they wanted to be, but they were in the show and ready to run. Up first was Mike Austin. The round was over at the start, when Austin broke. Ahten lifted early to a 5.940/225.52.
The second round saw the Ahten Racing Team preparing for a match up with fellow 801 Racing teammate Cody Perkins. Johnny Ahten’s crew prepared the car, and towed to the staging lanes. During the ride, they had full expectations of returning to the pits and doing it all over again. There’s that Drag Racer optimism again. When the light came down, Ahten got the slight advantage. At the sixty foot mark, Ahten’s .936 pace had him in the lead. Then the cup went from being half full to just about empty. Ahten had to pedal the car, and Perkins went ahead for the victory with a 5.503/232.55 to a 5.700/236.80.
Ahten looking to Continue Winning Ways in Vegas
Courtesy of Athen Family Racing
Las Vegas, NV – Anytime you win it builds confidence. Having just won a race in Tucson, AZ last weekend, Johnny Ahten and the Stump Puller is heading to the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals with swagger. The Island Renovations/801 
Racing team is feeling good and ready to enjoy some Drag Racing this weekend.
“We are ready to have some fun,” said Ahten. “Winning is so reinvigorating. This is why we do this. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
The last time Ahten raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway things didn’t really work out so well. On his last qualifying pass, Ahten streaked down the quarter mile with a time quick enough to get him in the show. The problem was the Nitro Funny Cars had preceded Ahten down the track, and the timers had been left at the one-thousand foot setting. Since the Top Alcohol Dragster classes run a quarter mile, the run did not count. The onboard computer data said it was quick enough, but it didn’t matter. The decision was made, and Ahten was packing up the car on Sunday instead of racing.
