“As a competitor, I’m pretty proud of my riding contributions this weekend," Johnson said. "It’s so easy to redlight, or have an okay light or even be late, but this weekend I was in the zone, where everything worked perfectly.  I don’t know how to explain it, but every time I went to the starting line my vision narrowed down and it was just me, our Suzuki and the Tree.  Everything else faded away, and that’s why we had really good Reaction Times in every round.

“As a competitor, I’m pretty proud of my riding contributions this weekend," Johnson said. "It’s so easy to redlight, or have an okay light or even be late, but this weekend I was in the zone, where everything worked perfectly.  I don’t know how to explain it, but every time I went to the starting line my vision narrowed down and it was just me, our Suzuki and the Tree.  Everything else faded away, and that’s why we had really good Reaction Times in every round.

           

“But, things didn’t go as smoothly as it might have appeared.  We ran over something on the track in the first qualifying session, which blew a big chunk out of the tire.  Believe me, you can’t even imagine what it’s like trying to control a 190 mile per hour motorcycle when something like that happens out at those speeds.  That was one helluva ride.  I’d bet my heart rate was off the charts after that one!"

 

Johnson said his many years of racing and experience in working with Mickey Thompson Tires is what led him to determine that he ran over something during qualifying at the NHRA Mid-South Nationals. 

 

“Well, I didn’t see anything, but something was definitely out there.  When we got back to the pits, and I stopped shaking, we went over every inch of that Mickey Thompson tire, and you can plainly see where we ran over something and put a big cut in it.

“We have never had a tire failure or even the slightest problem with the M/T Tires.  In fact, I wouldn’t race on anything else.  They’ve proven to be incredibly reliable and safe.  In a way this incident actually helped prove how safe the M/T Tires are, because regardless of how badly the tire appears, it never lost an ounce of air.  If it had deflated completely, well, I don’t even want to think about that.

“The M/T guys went over the tire with our team, and they agree that we hit something on the track.  You can really see where something from the outside cut into the tire.

“Ya know, I might as well admit it, I didn’t see whatever it was we hit because I usually have my eyes squeezed closed the whole time.  I don’t like admitting that, but that’s my excuse.  Maybe if I was looking I would have been able to avoid whatever it was we hit.”

Then there was the final round for Johnson. 

           

“We had a major engine failure, and switching back to my team owner hat, all I can say is Ouch, that hurt!  Yeah, it hurts to the tune of about twenty grand, but that’s the risk that every competitor out here takes every time they fire up their motorcycles.

           

“Ya know, I also had a lot of fun today, and that’s what this is all about.  I did a couple of television interviews, and even when they weren’t shooting me I pretended they were.  At least I had the guys at the finish line laughing.

           

“I also found myself seven new fans – at least until the engine blew against Andrew (Hines).  I think all seven riders in the Countdown to the Championship came over and wished me luck in the finals, and I’m just sorry I ended up disappointing them.  Heck, I was disappointed, too.”

           

After Friday’s YES (Youth and Education Services) event, WyoTech Technical Schools representative, Angela McMillen, hosted students and teachers from eight area schools in Johnson’s hospitality area, and no one went away hungry after she delivered 50 pizzas to Johnson’s pits.  On Saturday a special group of WyoTech enrolees and their parents enjoyed the WyoTech Experience as groups have done in each market in which the NHRA POWERade Series and Pro Stock Motorcycle has appeared this year.  Special guest Rick Hightower of Snap-on Tools Industrial Tools Division spoke to the group about Snap-on’s heritage in motorsports and their support of the WyoTech programs.

           

As Johnson said, “It was another busy weekend, but when we can produce results like these, it’s more than all right with me.

           

“I said last week that I was seeking inspiration from the spirit of Elvis here in Memphis, and I found it.  He was riding with me in every round, but I looked around for him before the finale and didn’t see him.  I guess he had something more important to do, darn it!

           

“Finishing in the NHRA POWERade Top 10 standings is extremely important to us, and we made a big move in the right direction today.  By making the final round we moved into 9th place, and while I know that’s the best we can hope for with our Snap-on Tools Suzuki team because of the way the points system is structured, that’s where we’re determined to finish.  We just took one more step towards that goal today.”