One of
the more intriguing story lines arising from the Pro Stock pit area following
the first three races of the 2008 POWERade Drag Racing season concerns the
return to prominence of two of the category’s perennial contenders, the father
and son duo of Warren and Kurt Johnson. After combining to post a total of five
Top Four starts in all of 2007, the talented tandem have already scored six such
qualifying positions in 2008, highlighted by their charge to the first and
second starting spots at the recently completed ACDelco Gatornationals in
Gainesville, FL.
Although there is certainly reason
for cautious optimism at the ACDelco Cobalt and GM Performance Parts GXP teams’
Sugar Hill, GA
headquarters as they prepare for next weekend’s O’Reilly Spring Nationals in
Houston, TX, both drivers admitted they would only
consider their efforts successful once they translate this improvement into
return trips to the winner’s circle.
“It’s all coming together nicely,”
said Kurt. “I believe both Dad and I are in a better position at this point in
the season than we have been for several years, and that’s the result of a lot
of hard work by everyone at the shop. There’s been a lot of trial and error and
experimenting with different combinations. We’ve had good and bad days and we’ve
burnt our share of midnight oil, but the results are starting to
show.