TOMMY JOHNSON JR. MARKS 30 YEARS IN NHRA FUEL RANKS

By Susan Wade    Fri, 2019-02-22 22:19

 

NHRA Funny Car racer Tommy Johnson Jr. wants that Mello Yello Drag Racing Series title but said, “Everybody fixates on the championships. OK, I didn’t win a championship – yet. But my entire life, I’ve done what I love to do.”

As he returns to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park this weekend for the Magic Dry NHRA Arizona Nationals, he marks his 30th anniversary behind the wheel of a nitromethane-burning hot rod. The driver of the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat (which Doug Chandler, and not the charity, sponsors entirely) made his professional debut at this event in 1989, competing in the Top Fuel class.

“I came from Iowa, grew up on an eighth-mile dragstrip, and kept saying, ‘That’s what I want to do for a living.’ And I did it. You know what the odds of that are? They’re pretty slim,” Johnson, 50, said.

Along the way, his career got a huge boost from driving for NFL Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, whose NASCAR team swept the first three finishes in last Sunday’s Daytona 500.

“To make that switch from being a family team to being a hired driver, you couldn’t have started off much better than Gibbs. That opened my eyes. It was only for a half a season, but it showed me the right way to do things. He definitely did it the right way,” Johnson said.

“Jim Brissette – I wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity if it wasn’t for him,” Johnson said. “He started that part of my career. He was my first crew chief when I started in Top Fuel. He was working for Gibbs as an assistant, and when they decided to make a change, he said, ‘Why don’t we call T.J.?’ That’s how I got the job.”

His bosses also included NHRA legends Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and “King of Speed” Kenny Bernstein, and today he’s one of seven drivers for Don Schumacher’s megateam.

Johnson is one of just 16 in NHRA history to win in Funny Car (15) and Top Fuel (2). Perhaps more impressive is his achievement of winning drag races in six countries (United States, England, Finland, Sweden, Australia, United Arab Emirates) – and competing in seven NHRA categories: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Nostalgia Funny Car, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Gas, and Super Comp. At age 15, he became the youngest person to earn an NHRA competition license. (His sister, Wendy, who lives in North Carolina and no longer races, is the youngest female in the non-Jr. Dragster era to win a national event.)

With his shock of cornsilk-blond hair, fit physique, and ready smile, Johnson hardly looks 50 years old or a wily enough veteran to have 30 years behind the wheel of these 11,000-horsepower beasts. Does he feel young? “Yeah!” Johnson said in an eyeblink. “I have a hard time picturing myself as being my age. I don’t feel my age. I certainly don’t act like it most of the time. I don’t know how to describe it, but I guess I’ve enjoyed myself so much through my 20s and 30s and 40s that I don’t ever want to lose that. I loved that time so much. I loved racing so much and loved life so much during that time period that I’m not going to let go of it. I’ve been fortunate to do this.”

In a sport that entertains in three-second increments, Johnson has longevity.

He credited “a lot of people who helped along the way. There’s a lot of right place / right time, a lot of luck, and a lot of work. There’s stuff I didn’t want to do, but I did it. A lot of things have to line up. People always ask, ‘How do I get into this?’ I tell them, ‘First off, it takes a little money. Secondly, it takes a ton of work and sacrifice and commitment. Otherwise, you’re never going to make it.”

Johnson has made it, worked his way through the ranks after starting his drag-racing career on a motorcycle.

“They didn’t have Jr. Dragsters – that’s how long ago it was! I started drag racing with mini-bikes,” he said. “It’s actually cool that the track was forward-thinking enough that when several of us kids started getting mini-bikes, they said, ‘Why don’t we set up a class and let ‘em race?’ What if they’d never done that? Then I wouldn’t have started until I was old enough to drive a car. As it was, I was starting on motorcycles and I started bracket racing at 14, in a Nova. In Iowa, you could get a driver’s license early. So the track helped. I might not have advanced as fast, but I would have had the desire, even if I had to wait that long.

“I understood the sport, what it took to win. It doesn’t matter what class you’re in. There are basics. And I already had the basics [by the time he could drive a car]. Then you learn each class and what that class takes. But the basics are same in all of them. When kids get out of [the Jr. Dragster program], I understand their mindset, what they’ve learned. They already know the sport. They already know about cutting a light. They already know about working the finish line. If you don’t, you’re not going to win anything. The ones that are winning, they’ve got it figured out,” Johnson said. “I started when I was eight years old, just like they did. Just happened to be on mini-bikes instead of a dragster. That class went away. After the group that I was in, that class lasted a little longer but not much longer.”

So Johnson has made it, capitalized on being at the right place at the right time. But he said, “I feel like I’ve always flown under the radar.” That’s all right by him, he said: “Sometimes attention isn’t always good. Sometimes attention causes unnecessary work. Sometimes it just causes you more headaches than it gains you. I don’t mind being under the radar. That’s kind of how our race team is. A lot of times, nobody is talking about us. The next thing you know, they’re saying, ‘How did he finish second or third? Where’d he come from?!’ It’s always been that way.”

Some would say he’s paired perfectly with crew chief John Collins, a fellow Ottumwa, Iowa, native Don Schumacher Racing Senior Vice-President Mike Lewis hailed as “an unsung hero.” Johnson said, "He's one those guys who can fix your iPhone or the fuel pump on the race car. It doesn't matter what it is -- if it’s the generator or if the semi quit running or it's your air conditioner or your car or the tow vehicle -- he just knows how to do everything. He's one of those guys it doesn't matter what it is, he can figure out how to make it work. If you can't figure out what you're doing or you have a question -- it doesn't matter what it is: it could be about the shop, it could be about the race car, it could be a computer question, whatever it is -- you go, 'Let me go ask John. He might know something about this.'” Individually and together they’re content not to attract attention. 

“He’s a man of few words, just wants to do his job and let the car speak for itself,” Johnson said. Because neither is boisterous nor boastful, their achievements might be overlooked sometimes.

Johnson doesn’t brag about it, but one thing that’s “brag-worthy” is his claim that “You look back at Prudhomme, Garlits, Shirley, and they did it for years and years and years. I got part of that era, but I’ve been able to keep going. I’m kind of in the most eras. I got to race against Shirley [Muldowney] and [Don] Prudhomme. There’s hardly anybody else out there now who can say that.”

At the same time, he said, “It feels weird. When they say it’s 30, I say, ‘Man, that makes me sound really old. But I’m not old. I’m just experienced.’”

Johnson likened himself to Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta, who has 45 victories and four series runner-up finishes: “Doug Kalitta and I are very similar. We’ve won races. We’ve had success. We haven’t won a championship, but we’re fully capable of it.”

As for that elusive title, Johnson said, “It’s coming.”

He said, “It is extremely hard. People don’t understand. So many things have to go right to win just one. You can do a perfect job and nope, didn’t win it. So many other things are involved. Everything has to go perfect. Everything has to go your way. You’re not going to win it by yourself, that’s for sure. This sport has so many variables and so little time. So few people repeat championships, because it’s so hard.”

This 30-year professional won here at the Chandler, Ariz., racetrack in 2006. A fitting anniversary gift to himself would be another victory. 

Qualifying is scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Eliminations are set to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 
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