Steve Johnson got away with one Friday at zMax Dragway. His first qualifying session hinted there was an issue with his Suzuki, and in the evening run, confirmed there was a problem. 

Johnson thought he saw oil leaking from his championship-contending Suzuki in the Circle K NHRA 4Wide Nationals opening session. The next time there was no doubt. 

Johnson clicked off a stout 6.767-second pass at 198.70 miles per hour in the first qualifying session Friday afternoon and held onto the #1 spot despite not making a pass in the second session on Friday evening.

"Our engine guy [Steve Johnson] hasn't slept in a while, and I'm using that as an excuse for not tightening the bolts on the top of the engine," Johnson said. "I can't believe we made the first run. I can't believe we didn't oil the track after last year oiling it, running over the centerline. But mistakes happen out here."

Johnson knows he would have had better results with a second shot at the track. 

"If I had rode it better, it would have gone quicker, I think," Johnson admitted.

Johnson also mentioned how complicated Pro Stock Motorcycles have become to handle in recent years.

"I don't want to be like the prima donna guy or something like that," said Johnson. "But there is a lot of stuff going on in six-and-a-half seconds, shifting and moving your body and throwing your body weight forward and hopping on the second part of the seat and watching the shift light. And it comes so fast. Chopping the throttle to the finish line, moving around through the bumps. It's a lot of work to ride them perfectly."

After falling just short of winning his first series title last season, Johnson has continued his stunning performance from the previous year, capturing a monumental win at the previous race in Houston, Texas. He is on a mission to put himself back in title contention.

"You really have to play your cards close to your hand," Johnson explained. And if you do have something, you can't bust it out in the first part of the season. You got to wait until the end of the season, which nobody ever says that. But since everybody already knows it, and even though people don't say it, I'm saying it. So that's why we're going to stay and test, is to try to learn something and try to get a jump on the countdown because I feel like we'll be in the countdown, and I'd love to be able to give it our best shot."

Three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champion Angelle Sampey sits second with an identical 6.767, falling to Johnson on speed at 196.16 miles per hour. Angelle's teammate Eddie Krawiec sits third with a 6.779, and Ron Tornow rounds out the top 16, heading into the final two sessions.