Tommy Johnson Jr.: “We’re going to head to Memphis and try to get this thing right”
Indianapolis, Ind.
Sep 04, 2007
Skoal
Skoal Racing’s Tommy Johnson Jr. posted a semifinal finish in the 2007 Skoal Showdown. He was one of eight drivers putting in overtime this weekend at the O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis as he competed to be the 2007 champion of the 26th annual Skoal Showdown, while also qualifying for the U. S. Nationals.
Being in his hometown, Johnson (#4 position in the Showdown) certainly wanted to leave an impression with the crowd, and there was no shortage of drama this year. His first round competition was defending Skoal Showdown champion, John Force (#5). Johnson and Force were also pitted against each other in the Showdown’s final round last year.
Johnson bested Force with the better reaction time, which was just enough to hold off Force, as both cars started mixing up the cylinders and lost momentum. He finished with a pass of 4.888 at 284 mph. He was up against Beckman in the semifinals, but the Skoal Racing Impala would not cooperate with the heated track. The car shook hard and the tires were smoked soon off the starting line. Beckman won the round with an ET of 4.973 at 314 mph.
“It felt great getting some revenge against Force from last year’s Showdown finish, but it’s still frustrating to not have performed well at the biggest race of the year, ” said Johnson. “We tried some different things with the chassis to get some consistency with the Impala, but we had trouble all weekend. We’re going to head to Memphis and try to get this thing right. ”
Beckman, in his first ever start, was the victor of the illustrious Skoal Showdown and is taking home a cool $100,000 plus the honor of winning the “Super Bowl of Drag Racing. ” It’s an enduring trek to make it to this point—drivers are determined by qualifying position over the full race season (beginning at last year’s U. S. Nationals in Indianapolis).
Johnson and Skoal Racing’s next event is in Memphis, TN September 14-16 at the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals.
