Regardless of where or when on the 24-event NHRA POWERade schedule it is
achieved, whether it's the first, last, or 10th race of the season, the term
"first place" always carries with it a special ring. Coming off his second
national-event victory of the year in Chicago on June 8, that's where Team
Chevy's Kurt Johnson finds himself, and where he hopes to be when the season
comes to a close in Pomona, Calif., on Nov. 16. Given the ultra-competitive
nature of the Pro Stock category these days, the 45-year-old resident of Buford,
Ga., knows that staying in the top spot will be a difficult task.
During
the first 10 events of the 2008 campaign, the factory hot rod division has seen
eight different winners. Johnson captured his first win of the year at St. Louis
on May 4, and at Chicago, he became just the second driver in Pro Stock to win
more than once, joining Greg Anderson on the short list of multiple winners this
season.
"To come back and win two of the last four races - the car's
just been good," said Johnson. "When you go to the first nine races and have
eight different winners it shows how competitive it's been. Nobody's had the
perfect combination. There have been eight drivers, eight cars with the perfect
combination on one day, but only two of us in the last 10 races have been able
to duplicate it. It's brutal out there.