Alan Johnson had lofty plans for the 2015 season. The highly decorated team owner and championship tuner had expectations of designing a new car exclusively for a new combination and an even newer clutch combination. All he needed was a few test sessions in which to dial in the new program and watch more of his same magic unfold.

Then the unthinkable happened. 

Sponsor Al-Anabi Racing and the country of Qatar informed Johnson with just weeks to go before the start of the 2015 season that they planned to end prematurely their multi-year contract. 

With a win at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Ca., it appeared if the sponsorship loss hadn't affected Johnson and driver Shawn Langdon. Then the realities of a smaller budget kicked in, and slowly but surely the loss of the major backer began to show. 

"Fortunately, it all kind of fell into place at Pomona but since then because of the different tracks and the different atmospheric conditions it’s required some testing that we haven’t been able to afford to do," said Johnson. "So we basically had to test during the race, test during qualify; it’s created some challenging times for us."

The next three races are crucial for Johnson and his team, who are still blazing the trail looking for a major backer to finish out the season. Langdon currently ranks seventh in the provisional top ten, largely on the strength of last Sunday's final round appearance at Seattle. 

Langdon now trails sixth-place J.R. Todd by 24 points and leads eighth-place Spencer Massey by 17 points.  

Johnson wants a spot in the Countdown for his team, but understands his options could be limited with a playoff run. 

"We don’t have the budget to go past Indy anyway," Johnson said. "If we had a sponsor and we were fully budgeted and we didn’t make the countdown, it would be really disappointing, but right now we don’t even have the budget to make the Countdown. So our plan is to win through Indy plus the Traxxas Shootout and if we do that I think I would be a pretty good year considering everything."

And don't be surprised if the Seattle finish isn't a harbinger of things to come. 

"We’re starting to get it sorted out now, so I suspect for at least the next few races were going to be pretty strong," said Johnson. 

Johnson and Langdon together have lost in the first round to this point in the season seven times. To put the decline in perspective, Langdon had five first-round losses last season and four in his 2013 championship run. 

"I don’t know if it’s been the most difficult [season] but we’ve lost more times first round this year than in the past ever," said Johnson. "In that respect, yeah it’s been difficult, but as far as difficulties in figuring the car out it’s just a process. Being that we’re underbudgeted our opportunities to test have been basically none, so that’s made it really challenging."

There's no mincing words for Johnson as the season winds down. 

"The bottom line is our car needs to be really really good before Indy and if things keep progressing the way they have the last couple races, I think it will be really really good for Indy and if it is, we won’t have to worry about the Top 10 -- we will be in it," Johnson said. 

What happens beyond that point, Johnson says, will depend on major sponsorship.

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