SKOAL Racing Team Looking To Bounce Back At Firebird Raceway
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Pomona, Calif.
Feb 22, 2007
Tommy Johnson Jr. and his SKOAL Racing Team look to defend their title as they prepare for the Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix from Feb. 23-25.
Last year, Johnson took the crown in the Funny Car division from John Force and is hoping to duplicate his performance this year.
“A repeat would be nice, †said Johnson. “Last year, we stumbled at Pomona, but we were able to win it in Phoenix. Going back, being the defending champion, I’m pretty confident. I like how our team is working, and I’m looking forward to defending my win this year. â€
The crew is looking forward to the dry desert in Phoenix to overcome their disappointingly damp performance at the 47th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals this past weekend.
Expectations were riding high after Johnson’s initial 4th place qualifying finish with a pass of 4.778 seconds at 322.34 mph. He ended up 9th heading to a first round match-up with Eric Medlen.
In the first event of the 10-month long NHRA season, Johnson’s promising start would soon turn ominous for the SKOAL Racing team as two out of three of Johnson’s qualifying runs lost traction—largely due to the shoddy weather.
In the end, Johnson’s opening race fate came to be as his car lost traction for the third time in Pomona. He lost to Medlan’s run of 4.745 seconds.
Rainy conditions delayed the start of the first round until early afternoon, and lane choice was an issue for the SKOAL Racing team. Notably, Force was also defeated in the early round.
