The last timeTommy Johnson Jr. competed fulltime in the NHRA he was in 2020 when he was driving a Funny Car for powerhouse Don Schumacher Racing.

That COVID-19 shortened season Johnson finished second in the season points and had three wins.

Without a ride in 2021, Johnson Jr. subbed in for fellow DSR nitro Funny Car pilot Matt Hagan, who was sidelined with COVID-19, for two races and won the Reading, Pa., event last fall.

Although Johnson Jr. isn’t driving on the NHRA circuit as of now he’s kept himself plenty busy. 

“I’m just selling parts and building stuff for people, woodworking, and still kind of keeping my ears open for a ride,” Johnson Jr. told CompetitionPlus.com. I have my own parts business. I sell all the Top Fuel, Funny Car teams and lot of other classes, but it's basically... The parts and supplies, everything they run out of every week. When they run out of… they're always going through stuff through the weekend, so I sell everything from tape and zip ties to nuts, bolts, spark plugs, bearings. Pretty much anything that they require a lot of throughout the season, I sell.”

Johnson’s parts store is in Brownsburg, Ind., across the street from the Lucas Oil shop.

“My parts store keeps the bills paid,” said Johnson Jr., who has been running the parts store since 2013. 

Johnson Jr. said he has not been to an NHRA national event this season, but he does plan to attend the U.S. Nationals, which take place Aug. 31 through Sept. 5 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park.

“I'm not very good spectator,” Johnson Jr. said. “But I'll go to Indy. It's three miles from my house, so I kind of got to. I don't have any excuses with that one. I did pretty good last year when I was out there walking around. That's when I got the phone call for going and filling in for (Matt) Hagan, I was out walking around the pits at Indy.”

Johnson Jr. was quick to emphasize he wants to drive again.

“Everybody's like, ‘Well, you done?’” he said. “I'm like, ‘No, I'm not done.’ I still feel like I have got pretty good assets for the team, you know? And unbelievably, drag racing and fuel cars is more by experience than it is by age, you know? I mean, in my opinion, the experience really shined and I've kind of felt like I was in my prime, this is my prime years. I have all that experience from all those years and still physically capable of doing it, so it felt like I was in my prime and ready to go.”

During his decorated racing career Johnson Jr. has competed and won in Top Fuel and Funny Car and he has no qualms about driving either one again.

“No, it doesn't matter, either one,” Johnson Jr said. “I just want to go back full-time and run again and see what we can do. And there's a chance I may go to Australia and run for Rapisarda (in Top Fuel) down there here shortly. It isn't finalized yet, but there's a chance.”

Johnson Jr. drove a Top Fueler for Rapisarda over the years before joining DSR and running a nitro Funny Car fulltime from 2014-2020.

“I'd like to get back out there full-time and go see what we can do again,” Johnson Jr. said. “I miss the competition. I mean, I watch on the weekends. I'll watch the race and it gets in your stomach when you see, ‘Oh man, we could have won that one. Could have won that.’ You miss that competition and the thrill of pulling the parachutes ahead of somebody. That's the best part. I was pretty thankful for that opportunity (to sub for Hagan). More than anything, I was just super thankful for them to give me a call and trust me with the car. And at the same time, super thrilled with the results. And it was one of the highlights of my career.

“It was just one of those weekends where you felt almost something like you had something to prove because they put their trust in you and yet you didn't have a full-time ride and you had a little something to prove to everybody like, ‘Hey, I should be out here.’”

Johnson believes driving in the nitro ranks is something he can jump right back into.

“It's like riding a bike,” Johnson said. “And when I got the call last year at Indy, I hadn't been in the car in over eight months, and when they strapped me in, it felt normal. There actually weren’t any nerves whatsoever. I was confident and ready to go. I mean, it (racing) has been my life. I don't know anything else. 

“I've traveled for the circuit for my entire life and that's what I ate, slept, and breathed, and that's probably been the hardest part is to shut that off. And thank goodness for woodworking. I've managed to fill a little bit of a gap and kind of give myself another passion that I've enjoyed and it's kind of taken off and kept me so busy. I've been so busy woodworking and building stuff for people, it's incredible. Oh, I did (woodworking) since high school, but just as a hobby, just playing on the side.

Now, I'm building cabinets and ... I just finished the interior motor home. They're making a mobile eye vision lab out of it. I’ve done the Flo Racing. I did their production studio. They have it in a van. I built Larry Dixon's deck. Yeah. You name it, I've done it. Heck, I'm booked up for a couple months with projects. It's helped keep my mind off not driving. I've kept so busy; I haven't had a lot of time think about racing. But yeah, definitely, there's a hankering to go back, and I want to... I told my wife, I says, ‘If I never get the opportunity to go again, okay,’ because how much better of a way to be your last race – and beat John Force in the finals and you drop the mic and walk away.” 

Once again, though, Johnson Jr. doesn’t want that to be the end.

“But at the same time if the right deal come along... I'm not going to go just run whatever car,” he said. “I want to go back and be competitive. I've done it too long not to do that. I don't want to have just the thrill of driving a car. I want to go race and win. So, if an opportunity came along, I'd be in it in a heartbeat.”