Tommy Johnson Jr. has played two roles this weekend at the NHRA Carolina Nationals.

In addition to driving his Make-A-Wish Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing, Johnson has been serving as an unofficial weatherman around  zMAX Dragway.

Fans were buzzing Friday night after Johnson executed a track record pass of 3.876-seconds at 323.43 mph in his Dodge Charger to secure the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot.

Johnson then spent much of Saturday with his head in the clouds.

"When we left here (Friday) night, I was pretty confident but then this morning, heading to the track, I wasn't so confident that it was going to stick," Johnson said. "It was probably noon or later before the sun came out.”

In drag racing, overcast conditions equal speed. That’s why Johnson was hoping for sun. Lots of sun.

“I was being a little selfish hoping it would be really hot and sunny while everyone was telling me how much they loved the clouds and how much cooler it was,” Johnson said.

“When the sun came back out, then I felt okay that my time would hold. It still had some good runs and good numbers.”

Thanks to the sunny weather, Johnson recorded his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and 14th of his career. He will be paired against Bob Gilbertson Sunday in the first round of eliminations.

Ron Capps and 16-time world champion John Force rounded out the top three qualifiers while defending world champ Del Worsham took the No. 12 spot.

Johnson also earned the No. 1 qualifying spot in last year’s Carolina Nationals. He advanced to the final round before losing to Del Worsham.

According to Johnson, the back story behind his masterful qualifying run is anything but routine. Crew member Alex Barrett, who oversees the superchargers on the Make-A-Wish car, is out this weekend to be with his wife who had the couple’s first child.

The powerful DSR team brought in machine shop manager Frank Cervelli to replace Barrett.

"The one thing about DSR that's very nice is that we have so many employees who had experience working on cars so it's nice that they can sub in when things like this come up," Johnson said.

"I'm definitely proud of the guys for working together. It's hard to have everybody flow because of all the guys who work on one of these teams. When you pull one out and put one in, it can really disrupt things. They're doing a good job this weekend, for sure."