Mopar Driver Johnson to Start No. 4, Earns No. 1 Spot in Countdown Playoffs

Courtesy of Mopar

Clermont, IN – Two final qualifying sessions reshuffled the ladders for eliminations as the re-scheduled  58th Annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis got back underway under cooler and faster conditions than the previous rain shortened weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway.

The 16 car field is now set with Mopar Dodge Avenger driver Allen Johnson starting fourth in Pro Stock eliminations on Sunday, and thus locking up the No. 1 spot in the Pro Stock Countdown to the Championship, the six-race playoff that will begin at the next NHRA event in Charlotte.

The Team Mopar veteran was one of four Mopar-powered Dodge drivers to make the prestigious U.S. Nationals field in Pro Stock, along with four Mopar Dodge Chargers in the Funny Car class.

Johnson will start No. 4 on the strength of his 6.564-seconds at 210.50 mph during fourth round qualifying, and will meet up with Greg Stanfield in the first round of eliminations. Johnson is working towards notching a fifth win this season, 14th of his career and hoping for that elusive first at Indy.

“The conditions out there were a lot different (from qualifying in warmer weather last week) but we made decent runs like we have the last few weeks to show that the Mopar Dodge Avenger is a real contender out front,” said Johnson. “We’ll be going into eliminations with guns blazing and just really excited to be fighting for a title win at this prestigious Indy event.

“Clinching that number one spot for the Countdown to the Championship is huge for us,” added Johnson. “Those 20 bonus points are especially important since this is going to be a really big ‘knock-them-down and drag-them-out’ fight to the finish, and any little advance will help. There’s a real sense of pride for the team too to show that all our hard work this season and the performance of the Mopar HEMI is paying off.”

Vincent Nobile qualified sixth (6.571/210.44)in his Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger, to face Mark Martino in first round eliminations while Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Avenger driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. (6.594/209.43), battling for a spot in the Pro Stock Countdown, qualified eighth to start his race day against Rodger Brogdon. Longtime Mopar Dodge driver and No. 12 qualifier V. Gaines (6.606/209.30) will do battle against Jason Line.

In NHRA Funny Car, No. 2 qualifier and Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T driver Jack Beckman (4.051/310.70) will meet Todd Lesenko in the first round of eliminations. With special Mopar 75th Anniversary graphics on his Mopar Dodge Charger R/T, DSR driver Matt Hagan (4.119/307.65) qualified 14th as he is still working to secure a berth in the Funny Car playoffs. Hagan’s task will be made a bit more difficult by facing off against the current Funny Car points leader, No. 3 qualifier and his DSR teammate, Ron Capps (4.053/313.80) in the first round. In the ninth spot is Mopar-powered DSR driver Johnny Gray (4.079/310.98) has a scheduled showdown against John Force.

Final day of activities at Lucas Oil Raceway will begin at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday morning with Sportsman racing, and the first round of elimination for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET. Mopar fans can catch all the action on Sunday, Sept. 9, on ESPN2HD with five hours of coverage starting at 3 p.m. (ET).