Pomona, here we come...

Hemi Moose · 11-04-2012, 07:05 PM

Here's a blog from Allen Johnson...and good luck in your hunt for the Championship... http://www.allenjohnson.com/blog_2012.htm

When you are battling for a championship and are the points leader, you really don’t want to see any downtime, especially when you have momentum like we have. But we had a little break after the NHRA event at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., before Las Vegas and also have a weekend off now before we head to Pomona next week. My wife Pam and I spent some time the weekend after Reading at our vacation spot in Sanibel, Fla. We had our friends Erica Enders and Richie Stevens come down and join us. We hung out at the beach and also visited Key West. It was a great time as always at Sanibel and great to spend time with Erica and Richie. They are dear friends to us.
After that, I went back home to Greeneville and took in a few of my grandsons’ football games and played a few rounds of golf. I always have to make it to a few football games of some sort during the fall. The break was nice and really helped clear my mind, but I was ready to get right back at it and continue our fight to bring home our first-ever NHRA Pro Stock championship. We took our Dodge Avenger testing for a few days in Las Vegas, about a week before the actual race, to make sure we were prepared.
Prior to the race in Las Vegas we got to have a little fun. During the NHRA Press Conference Erica Enders and I rode the Big Shot ride at the Stratosphere and that was quite a rush. When we are in Las Vegas, I always have to make it over to Lawry’s as well and have some prime rib. We got to meet a lot of fans as always in Las Vegas, and it’s such a great atmosphere out there.
Come race time, the testing the weekend before definitely paid off. Anytime you can test at a track you’re getting ready to race at, that just pays dividends for the team and the crew chief. In qualifying for Vegas we had the quickest car in three of four rounds, earning us a bunch of crucial bonus points and also the No. 2 spot on the starting grid. Every point we get now is a step toward the championship, and those 11 markers were 11 more big steps to the title. To start off Sunday eliminations at Vegas, we took the win over a fellow Mopar Dodge driver, Deric Kramer, to set up yet another Mopar vs. Mopar battle, this time with Jeg Coughlin Jr. It’s always a tough battle with Jeggie and we were able to come out on the winning end.
In the final round it was me and my teammate Vincent Nobile, in another all-Mopar match-up. Vincent did me a huge favor in the semifinals by taking out Jason Line, who is second in the points and our closest competitor. Jason lost to Vincent on a red-light foul, and I’m sure the fact that Vince is quick off the starting line helped that to happen. It was the second Vegas race this year with Vincent and me in the final, and just as we did in the spring race, our Mopar Dodge Avenger took the win.
There’s a bunch of facts and stats behind the victory: it’s our sixth win of the season, 15th of my career, and 35th final round appearance ever. But the biggest stat is the 126-point lead in the standings we will take to the season-finale in Pomona. All we really have to do is qualify, and the Mopar/J&J Racing team can celebrate our first Pro Stock championship.
After the race in Las Vegas, I stayed a few extra days and attended the SEMA show where I got to see a lot of the new and exciting products that Mopar has in the pipeline. I also was able to spend some good, quality time with the Mopar executives and many of the other people who are instrumental to the success of our race team.
We’ve preached consistency all year and we’ll continue that heading into Pomona. My crew is doing an awesome job, and to have a cushion in the points lead is great, but I want to go to the final race and close it out with a win. For my dad and me, it will be a dream come true to celebrate that championship. We’ve done it all from our little race shop in Greeneville, along with a bunch of help from Mopar. To work side-by-side with my dad for 17 years, and to be so close to accomplishing a championship with him is something special. Pomona here we come!
.................................................. .................................................. ....................

Charlie A · 11-07-2012, 07:29 PM

MOPAR....and no power adders this time.

Keith 944 · 11-07-2012, 07:38 PM

Go Allen! long overdue. he will make a great champion

Mack Reeves · 11-07-2012, 09:21 PM

I have had the pleasure of knowing Roy for many, many years... He and Allen are true racers at heart.... They will be great champions... It will be good to see the smile on Roy's face when its all done...... Give me the thumbs up one more time!!!!!! Wish I could be there to see it in person......

Floyd Staggs · 11-08-2012, 10:21 AM

Bring a deck of cards and plenty of coffee. This is Pomona and it's living up to it's history. Showers are forecasted today and tomorrow. Welcome to the Finals.

69Cobra · 11-08-2012, 10:53 AM

There isn't a more deserving team out there. Congratulation to the Roy and Allen!!!

Jim Wahl · 11-12-2012, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mack Reeves

I have had the pleasure of knowing Roy for many, many years... He and Allen are true racers at heart.... They will be great champions... It will be good to see the smile on Roy's face when its all done...... Give me the thumbs up one more time!!!!!! Wish I could be there to see it in person......

Me too! Known Roy since my days of IHRA Super Stock. We wound up pitting next to each other many times back in the day. What a great guy and a smart racer! Both Roy and Allen would give you the shirt off their backs. I look forward to seeing both of them at the PRI in a couple of weeks. Jim

.

Hemi Moose · 11-12-2012, 05:01 PM

The 2012 Pro Stock World Champion...

The National Hot Rod Association has a new Pro Stock World Champion: Dodge racer Allen Johnson. The gentle-talking Tennessee driver won the title, the first of his 17-year professional career and the first for Dodge since 1994, at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, California.

Johnson came into the season finale at the Pomona fairgrounds with six national event wins on the year and a healthy lead in the season points race. He had only to make the 16-car Pro Stock field to clinch the 2012 championship, which he did in style, qualifying second on Saturday with an elapsed time of 6.531 seconds at 212.76 mph.

In eliminations on Sunday, Johnson then proceeded to wade through the field, defeating Greg Stanfield, Ron Krisher, and Mike Edwards in successive rounds to meet fellow Dodge racer Vincent Nobile in the finals.

Johnson then outran his teammate with a 6.528-second e.t. at 212.76 mph for the event win, number 16 in his career and a triumphant finish to a dream season. Engine guru Roy Johnson, Allen’s dad, built the Dodge HEMI® engines in both of the Avengers that faced off in the final round.

“Our team is so awesome and the Mopar Dodge Avenger has just performed flawlessly,” said Johnson, who closes out the year with a dominating 2756 points to Jason Line’s 2571. “Determination and my father are what got us to this point. He wanted to do this all his life and my whole focus was winning this with him. A lot of hard work and determination went into winning this. We had a dominating performance in this countdown, won a championship and ended with a win. What more can we do? That has added just a little more emotion to it.”

11-04-2012, 07:05 PM	#1
Hemi Moose VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2,824 Likes: 0 Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Pomona, here we come... Here's a blog from Allen Johnson...and good luck in your hunt for the Championship... http://www.allenjohnson.com/blog_2012.htm When you are battling for a championship and are the points leader, you really don’t want to see any downtime, especially when you have momentum like we have. But we had a little break after the NHRA event at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., before Las Vegas and also have a weekend off now before we head to Pomona next week. My wife Pam and I spent some time the weekend after Reading at our vacation spot in Sanibel, Fla. We had our friends Erica Enders and Richie Stevens come down and join us. We hung out at the beach and also visited Key West. It was a great time as always at Sanibel and great to spend time with Erica and Richie. They are dear friends to us. After that, I went back home to Greeneville and took in a few of my grandsons’ football games and played a few rounds of golf. I always have to make it to a few football games of some sort during the fall. The break was nice and really helped clear my mind, but I was ready to get right back at it and continue our fight to bring home our first-ever NHRA Pro Stock championship. We took our Dodge Avenger testing for a few days in Las Vegas, about a week before the actual race, to make sure we were prepared. Prior to the race in Las Vegas we got to have a little fun. During the NHRA Press Conference Erica Enders and I rode the Big Shot ride at the Stratosphere and that was quite a rush. When we are in Las Vegas, I always have to make it over to Lawry’s as well and have some prime rib. We got to meet a lot of fans as always in Las Vegas, and it’s such a great atmosphere out there. Come race time, the testing the weekend before definitely paid off. Anytime you can test at a track you’re getting ready to race at, that just pays dividends for the team and the crew chief. In qualifying for Vegas we had the quickest car in three of four rounds, earning us a bunch of crucial bonus points and also the No. 2 spot on the starting grid. Every point we get now is a step toward the championship, and those 11 markers were 11 more big steps to the title. To start off Sunday eliminations at Vegas, we took the win over a fellow Mopar Dodge driver, Deric Kramer, to set up yet another Mopar vs. Mopar battle, this time with Jeg Coughlin Jr. It’s always a tough battle with Jeggie and we were able to come out on the winning end. In the final round it was me and my teammate Vincent Nobile, in another all-Mopar match-up. Vincent did me a huge favor in the semifinals by taking out Jason Line, who is second in the points and our closest competitor. Jason lost to Vincent on a red-light foul, and I’m sure the fact that Vince is quick off the starting line helped that to happen. It was the second Vegas race this year with Vincent and me in the final, and just as we did in the spring race, our Mopar Dodge Avenger took the win. There’s a bunch of facts and stats behind the victory: it’s our sixth win of the season, 15th of my career, and 35th final round appearance ever. But the biggest stat is the 126-point lead in the standings we will take to the season-finale in Pomona. All we really have to do is qualify, and the Mopar/J&J Racing team can celebrate our first Pro Stock championship. After the race in Las Vegas, I stayed a few extra days and attended the SEMA show where I got to see a lot of the new and exciting products that Mopar has in the pipeline. I also was able to spend some good, quality time with the Mopar executives and many of the other people who are instrumental to the success of our race team. We’ve preached consistency all year and we’ll continue that heading into Pomona. My crew is doing an awesome job, and to have a cushion in the points lead is great, but I want to go to the final race and close it out with a win. For my dad and me, it will be a dream come true to celebrate that championship. We’ve done it all from our little race shop in Greeneville, along with a bunch of help from Mopar. To work side-by-side with my dad for 17 years, and to be so close to accomplishing a championship with him is something special. Pomona here we come! .................................................. .................................................. ....................

11-07-2012, 07:29 PM	#2
Charlie A VIP Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast Posts: 2,483 Likes: 68 Liked 87 Times in 63 Posts	Re: Pomona, here we come... MOPAR....and no power adders this time.

11-07-2012, 07:38 PM	#3
Keith 944 VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dela-where? Posts: 2,193 Likes: 1,160 Liked 1,877 Times in 577 Posts	Re: Pomona, here we come... Go Allen! long overdue. he will make a great champion __________________ KEITH MAYERS 2-1/2 X somebody Still many X nobody

11-07-2012, 09:21 PM	#4
Mack Reeves Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Elkin, NC Posts: 671 Likes: 169 Liked 44 Times in 13 Posts	Re: Pomona, here we come... I have had the pleasure of knowing Roy for many, many years... He and Allen are true racers at heart.... They will be great champions... It will be good to see the smile on Roy's face when its all done...... Give me the thumbs up one more time!!!!!! Wish I could be there to see it in person...... __________________ Mack Reeves 2377 STOCK & SUPER STOCK

11-08-2012, 10:21 AM	#5
Floyd Staggs VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cucamonga, CA Posts: 1,522 Likes: 152 Liked 229 Times in 99 Posts	Re: Pomona, here we come... Bring a deck of cards and plenty of coffee. This is Pomona and it's living up to it's history. Showers are forecasted today and tomorrow. Welcome to the Finals. __________________ Floyd Staggs 787 SST

11-08-2012, 10:53 AM	#6
69Cobra Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: California, Ky Posts: 669 Likes: 61 Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Pomona, here we come... There isn't a more deserving team out there. Congratulation to the Roy and Allen!!! __________________ Kris Rachford 69 Cobra 428CJ 4 Speed C/S 3032

11-12-2012, 05:01 PM	#8
Hemi Moose VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2,824 Likes: 0 Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Re: Pomona, here we come... The 2012 Pro Stock World Champion... The National Hot Rod Association has a new Pro Stock World Champion: Dodge racer Allen Johnson. The gentle-talking Tennessee driver won the title, the first of his 17-year professional career and the first for Dodge since 1994, at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, California. Johnson came into the season finale at the Pomona fairgrounds with six national event wins on the year and a healthy lead in the season points race. He had only to make the 16-car Pro Stock field to clinch the 2012 championship, which he did in style, qualifying second on Saturday with an elapsed time of 6.531 seconds at 212.76 mph. In eliminations on Sunday, Johnson then proceeded to wade through the field, defeating Greg Stanfield, Ron Krisher, and Mike Edwards in successive rounds to meet fellow Dodge racer Vincent Nobile in the finals. Johnson then outran his teammate with a 6.528-second e.t. at 212.76 mph for the event win, number 16 in his career and a triumphant finish to a dream season. Engine guru Roy Johnson, Allen’s dad, built the Dodge HEMI® engines in both of the Avengers that faced off in the final round. “Our team is so awesome and the Mopar Dodge Avenger has just performed flawlessly,” said Johnson, who closes out the year with a dominating 2756 points to Jason Line’s 2571. “Determination and my father are what got us to this point. He wanted to do this all his life and my whole focus was winning this with him. A lot of hard work and determination went into winning this. We had a dominating performance in this countdown, won a championship and ended with a win. What more can we do? That has added just a little more emotion to it.” Last edited by Hemi Moose; 11-19-2012 at 08:00 PM.