A review of Hall of Fame racer Warren Johnson’s week prior to the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway reveals a microcosm of a professional drag racer’s life. Taking full advantage of the three short days between the conclusion of last weekend’s ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals and the first day of qualifying in Pomona, The Professor first spent a full day testing his GM Performance Parts Pontiac GTO, part of his never-ending search for speed.
Having gathered information that will be used this weekend and beyond, Johnson then turned his attention to other duties, which included numerous appearances as part of this year’s SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers’ Association) show, before making the four-hour drive from Las Vegas to California.
However, any distractions will immediately disappear once WJ arrives at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. With one final opportunity to take home his 97th national event win in 2007, all research and development will take a back seat once qualifying begins on Thursday.
“Although we are certainly ready to start working on next year, we couldn’t get the machine shop in the trailer, so I could only work on things conceptually, ” quipped Johnson. “Once we get back to the shop, however, they had better have the machines lubed up, because the chips are going to fly.
“But make no mistake, winning this weekend’s race in Pomona remains our top priority. The track in Pomona offers a unique challenge, in that it goes sixteen feet downhill from one end to the other. However, as far as setting the car up, we will have to wait until we get to California to see what we actually have to deal with. Based on what we learned about our GM Performance Parts GTO during our test session this past Monday in Las Vegas, we feel pretty optimistic about our chances. We have one final opportunity for this year, and we’re determined to take full advantage of it. ”
| 
|