Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson is always looking for ways to get his program moving forward.

Friday, prior to the Mile-High Nationals, he took an unconventional path.

“Friday, we did something that probably no one else has done,” he said. “We went to the Harley-Davidson dealership here in town – Rocky Mountain Harley Davidson – and the service department over there allowed me to put the motorcycle on their chassis dyno. It was the only Suzuki in the place. We got a chance to seat the rings, break in the pistons. It’s got some new parts in it. It gave us the opportunity to feel a bit more comfortable about going to a fight and bringing bullets that are already in the gun versus bullets that might be in your trailer. You’ve got to go down the track a few times easy with no timing and all that other stuff.”

That Friday visit calmed Johnson’s nerves.

“All we need to do now is make good decisions with it with the clutch and the tuning and hopefully it will pay off,” Johnson said.

Johnson was unable to leave the starting line on his first and only pass Friday – Pro Stock Motorcycle’s class was reduced to one qualifying session because of the rainy weather – but he did clock a 7.408-second run on Saturday to get into the field.

“If I have to quit right away and they say you can only race one more race or you can only win one more race, it would be this one,” Johhnson said. “No, I have never won here. But the place is just so special and the people are what make it special. This is a racer’s facility. They really pay a lot of attention. I clearly love this place and I love the people. We’ve got hospitality, we’ve got bit events, we’ve got big sponsors, we’ve got no sponsors. I’m lucky that the sponsors I have, Tony Tull (Tull Plumbing) and Slick 50, they make it possible. I’ve got to win this race, man! I’ve got to win this race!”

Johnson recalled how much things were different 20 years ago when he was competing at the Mile-High Nationals.

“I remember the first year we came with Pro Stock motorcycles, everybody parked across the street to get teched,” He said. “Then you got your walking papers and you could come over here. In 1997, we had a meeting and we only had 15 competitors. I said “hey guys, our store in the mall is not doing good. We need to organize a group that manages and looks at the betterment of our category. If we all need pink wheelie bars, somebody needs to negotiate it. If we all need more money, if we all need to do a better job parking, if we all need more tickets, if there’s something that we can do promotionally ahead of time before the event for the sanctioning body or for the actual track, we want to be tied into that. We’re invisible right now. That was 1997 and that’s when PRO2 started, Professional Racers Organization for 2 wheelers.”

Johnson, in only the way he can, talked about some crazy ideas for the sport.

“I like motorsports,” Johnson said. “I love that we have something totally different like this (racing in the high altitude of the Mile-High Nationals). I’d love if there was a jump half way through the track. Larry Dixon would hate that. I’d love it if one of us started at the finish and the other started at the starting line and we run back and forth.”

Johnson is a true veteran of the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks and he hasn’t lost his passion for the class.

“It’s my career path,” Johnson said. “On Wednesday (July 19), I was at a tech school in Wyoming. (July 21) I was at a tech school here in Denver. It’s a chance to show young people there’s an opportunity not only in motorsports but in the automotive industry and the motorcycle industry. So that’s what I really love. This gives me a platform to be able to talk about the advantages and the opportunities of not going to college and not having that debt and getting right into the industry, coming up with a competency-based credential and saying “you know what, I’m going to make some money”. Do it now and do it while you’re having fun.”