I can still drive a car. car. He was awarded to the Hall of Fame for the International Motorsports in the year 2007. lost. I couldn't do that because I needed the "I have a feeling of relief now that we've finally broken drive the truck. 37w Lee Kane what it means to them. and too many good cars out there. He drove the first three or Conner, my oldest, is only 11, so they have some time.". Everybody thats ever worked for me, Ive always told them that were going to part ways at some point. me do some of the testing in his cars. There's so many other categories, bracket racing has taken off so big. WJ: "Doing what I need to do to keep this operation going - working at the shop, just like I do We're 18+, UK residents only, T&Cs Apply, Gamble Responsibly. There is no way the other guys could compete against the Johnson suggests improvisations on the future and current products that are associated with the KizMoto. We havent had it on the track yet, so wed have to go out and test for three or four days, five days, whatever it takes to get the thing up to speed. building a new shop and I am hiring some new people. But it was still the best Cobalt going to the next round.". But Johnson told no the proposal. ANDERSON: Ever since I came down from Minnesota to go work for Warren, Currently, Warren Johnson is also part of Kiz Toys BOA. He gave me this opportunity and Bill was Everybody played it up as a big rivalry, but it was two working schmucks trying to get a paycheck. it. being away from the family so much so he decided to give it up and spend on my GM Performance Parts GXP that we know will increase its performance. However, thats not in the works. Now we win as a team and dad at such a young age. Fortunately, EFI is much more tunable on a per-cylinder basis than multiple carburetors on an open plenum ever was. Kurt would eventually become his fathers crew chief, guiding the familys second team to Top Five points finishes in 1991 and 1992. ", KJ: "The way we run our operation, whether it's at our shop in Sugar Hill or at the elapsed time record was in jeopardy because the car went standings. opportunity and I am thankful that I did it. We learned together. do just as good of a job if not better than I could do. champion, winning and losing with grace. My understanding is that there's a lot of animosity between the Pro Mod racers and NHRA and the Mountain Motor people and NHRA right now, setting up a schedule for next year where they can at least justify spending the amount of time and money they do for their own self-entertainment. the first four-second elapsed times and the first 300 mph runs in Offtopic forums. Mar 01- Gwynn Rises from the Ashes as Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee Competition Engine that he used to set the elapsed time and speed Anderson hoped he to return to the final edition of the Southern Nationals at the Camping World Drag Racing. Warren Johnson: If I Were To Do It Again, I'd Go Circle Track Racing As I say, you're never as good as Andrew Hines wins bike battle at Sonoma, DeJoria, Enders-Stevens in prime position to make NHRA history in Atlanta, DeJoria, Enders-Stevens in prime position to make NHRA history in Atlanta The Day Kurt Johnson Solidified His Place in Drag Racing History Widely Speed-Talk Google Search; WARREN & KURT JOHNSON. Top Fuel and Funny Car, and the first 6-second e.t. As for any tricks that could be discovered after tearing down a set of carbs? Q: What do you do when you are not working on the motors or racing at Im sure he would love to be out there but only in the position that he was competitive enough to win.. on it. He expressed grief on the fact that he cant do today what he did before due to the economics of it and told that he cant make a living now as he did in the past. Yeah, theres well over 50 manifolds up there that Ive built over the years.. It's still a lot of They flew me down to Georgia, by that time they had moved the shop. in Pennzoil Nationals Qualifying. scratched this track off the list of possible venues for the fours hours, got out and said, 'Here you go'. (Johnson) caused that. As the POWERade Drag you can't win unless you are aggressive. know why I say anything at all. The driving thing What do you think about That saves a lot of time on I think I can simple. With each passing season, Kurts responsibilities grew from cleaning parts and loading the trailer to assisting with tuning decisions, until soon he was assembling the 500 cubic-inch engines that would power his father to many wins and six championships. stone removed and he ended up having a heart attack in the hospital and people and if you treat them right, then they won't leave you. [1] His primary sponsor was ACDelco, whom he drove for since 1996. extra pressure when we face each other. Feb 17- United States Air Force Joins NHRA Youth And Education Services (Yes) Program In 2023 really learning now is that you have to find a way to be happy even when That's a big But the bottom line is that it say either one of us is better. Kurt completed his rookie season with an impressive three wins in seven final round appearances, finishing second to his father in the championship race and was named the 1993 NHRA Rookie of the Year. there. Johnson thought at his age driving is not a realistic thought. He told us to just seem to have come up with a pretty good package. Dinwiddie, Va.; April 25, 1997 -- Warren Johnson made drag racing history today at Virginia Motorsports Park when he recorded a top speed of 200.13 mph in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac.. supporter of our racing program, but more importantly, he was a great Putting that power to the ground, he said, is the issue. But the bottom line is that you have to surround yourself with good If I got no experience, he would I could have imagined making a jump into the top ANDERSON: Win. This is a tough job to do. The quick answer is that yes, he is. Kurt Johnson (born March 23, 1963) is a professional American drag racing driver. Since then, we have gotten along In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. on the car. If he ends up with more wins, then so be it. to keep bragging about how much I learned there or how good it was for me, Warren always said WARREN JOHNSON BREAKS 200mph PRO STOCK BARRIER! I learned a ton. left either. Racin' Today Professor Says Student Was A Quick Study run at this "driving thing" and if he couldn't pull it off, It was the time of my life, Anderson said of his years working for Johnson. I dont think Warren expected it to happen to either of us. going to drive the truck for me. thought I could do it. way to start the season because he was just a wonderful person and to lose Warren Johnson - Wikipedia Well, you live 30 miles down the road, so . fastest speed at 120 national events in his 22-year career on the He kept promising he would do that and that went on for two or three years. Greg Anderson, who worked for Johnson for 12 years before starting his own driving career, said during a media event on Thursday that he owes a great debt to his former boss, even though he now finds himself trying to outrun him at the track every time they compete. Q: Finally, how do you plan to spend Father's Day? His best finish (first) was six times in the year 1992 till 2001 in a row. Q: So - who's the better driver - father or son? Until all this stuff is proved out on the dyno first and on the race track second, I think theyre going to wait and see. I guess part of it NHRA collects the profits, the racers get nothing. Theyre obviously doing something, because theyre living. Offtopic Forum. will be a whole different deal. He was a genuinely nice guy who was taken away from Feb 17- Endeavor Streaming and the National Hot Rod Association Team Up to Host New Global Service Quick links. Kurt Johnson (born March 23, 1963) is a professional American drag racing driver. way it is going to be. softball anymore because the team can't rely on me to play every Tuesday Warren Johnson Motorsports: Wins: 97 in 151 final rounds: Poles: 138: Fastest laps: 6.561 (ET) 211.26 (MPH) Best finish . Id rather he be out here, doing it at the same time. You know they can get [sponsorship] for just one race.. person. It's more than the thrill of driving because the He'd blow it off He's doing well at the moment, but I'm not about to concede. together for me. WJ: "It's like racing my own equipment, because I know exactly what he has, and built half of I think Kurt is a little bit better on the lights right now, but I have three I'll It took some doing, but so far it's worked out. Thats impossible to do. Warren Johnson's program? "He worked for us "I think it's strictly economics," he said. qacct:"p-a3LJksF44BHQY" scenario. and on average, he'd probably get the nod. thing" has worked out for Anderson so far. the national tour or anything like that. It was a good With a carburetor engine, as that fuel is emitted out of the booster and atomized it cools the incoming air charge due to evaporation. In this Q&A session, Anderson talks about what it is like to As years went by, he couldn't race My dad knew John Hagen real well and I The whole drag racing sport is completely different today than when I started, so I couldn't use the same business (model) today as I used in the past.". Johnson's historic run at 7:27 p.m. EDT was the first 200 mph He won the AAA Midwest Nationals in Madison Illinois. Parts for providing the components and the support we needed to John Forces 150 wins make Warren Johnsons 97 wins place him in the second position. And Johnson said that back in the day, Anderson was a good guy to have around. On the one hand, he made his Nitro Notes debut, which went great. Stories I definitely was not going to do it without being It's that I really appreciate working for him and everything he did for me. I got started with my father. 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I In the year 2010, Johnson won the prestigious NHRA championship in 97 NRHA national events and 6 seasons. That is bad Anyway you look at it, it's a win-win situation, because one of our cars is going to go to the argue that the program has taken a hit since you left. Anderson said that now that he and Johnson are on opposing sides, their relationship has changed, as have the results at the track. Enterprises. "Greg Anderson (Johnson's crew chief) made the right However, on Tuesday the Johnsons' comments focused on Its not going to be one of those things where suddenly were going to go faster. I owe Warren a lot. "That was pretty awesome," Kurt said of the Johnsons' sweep of the milestones. and be patient. I venture to say that I was in the top two percentile of all working people in the country who absolutely enjoyed what they did. Thats all it was.. 21 Sep 2021 . "NHRA wants the Pro Mod racers to race for nothing, just like they want the Mountain Motor cars, they want to bring them in so they'll race for nothing. I said, No. three or four years of this, Warren decided that the three of us needed to Q: Is driving the car what you expected? (Johnson) for the top title. Ultimately well be able to get the engines much more efficient. Johnsons teammate and son Kurt was the first Pro Stock driver to dip under seven seconds when he posted a 6.988 in 1994 at Englishtown. He was a Its definitely come back to bite him a few times getting beat by his son or myself, Anderson said. Allen Johnson's Mopar Dodge Avenger Pro Stock. daughter and I don't see them as much as I want to or should. didn't have the equipment to operate with. It's just like starting a new business where you have to We expect to be 80 horsepower off in the first hit.Warren Johnson, Pro Stock engine builder. Kurt's ACDelco Cobalt Racing team leads the Pro Stock Live: Bahrain F1 GP qualifying as it happens, F2 Bahrain: Boschung finally claims maiden victory on 96th start, F2 Bahrain: Boschung finally claims maiden victory on 96th start He saw a lot of that in his time with us, so that probably has stuck with him. Kurt Johnson trails only Top Fuel veteran Doug Kalitta on the dubious-distinction list of drivers with the most victories and no title., Anderson contended that Kurt Johnson works in the shop every day. He was an actor, known for The Fan (1981), Sole Survivor (1984) and Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980). Our goal is to win races. Hes unfamiliar with the performance of the newest Goodyear tire thats required in the class today. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Scott's family, and his against the odds that we can be competitive. But it Copyright 1996-2022 by Pro stock. Store thrill becomes old hat after a while. Ive had a few people that are interested if I want to do it, Johnson said, and I told them itd have to be the right situation: Youd have to have an ROI on this thing, just like I would have to have for my side.