It was only a matter of time before Tommy Johnson Jr. was able to climb out of his season-long slump. Now that the monkey is off his back, he’ll look for a second consecutive win this weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk June 28 – July 1.
Johnson, who entered last weekend’s ProCare Rx NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ 12th in the points standings, moved up four positions to eighth after wins over Gary Densham, Jack Beckman, Jeff Arend and Tony Pedregon in the finals. His win was his seventh in Funny Car and ninth overall in the NHRA.
Johnson and the SKOAL Racing Chevrolet had a scary incident in their first run showdown against Densham on Sunday, as the Impala caught fire towards the end of the run. Johnson escaped with no injuries—the same could not be said for the car’s engine and body. However, both were quickly replaced and Johnson came back strong for his win over Beckman on his way to the Funny Car title.
“I knew with all the hard work the guys where putting in that it was only a matter of time until we got our performance on track, ” said Johnson. “It was great to get them a win and I think we can carry that momentum on through the next five races. ”
Johnson’s win wasn’t the only victory for Snake Racing as Top Fuel dragster for Don Prudhomme/Snake Racing, took the victory in that division and now sits second on the Top Fuel all-time wins list. Dixon stands alone in second place in the Top Fuel standings, just 35 points behind leader Rod Fuller.
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