July 6, 2013 , Norwalk, Ohio - Mopar’s Pro Stock driver and defending NHRA world champion, Allen Johnson has earned his first No.1 qualifier honor of the 2013 season in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger at the seventh annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
Johnson’s second top qualifier position at the Norwalk track in consecutive years was posted with an elapsed time pass of 6.592 seconds (209.75 mph) on his second qualifying run in Friday evening’s unseasonably cool track conditions, a time that held through two more qualifying sessions on Saturday in warmer and more humid conditions, to give him his 29th career pole position.
“Last year we ran really well here and our Mopar Express Lane Dodge just loves this track,” said Johnson who has three wins this season and who’s previous No.1 qualifying effort was last fall in Dallas during the Countdown to the Championship. “More importantly we’re gaining on [points leader] Mike Edwards a little bit and I think we made some progress performance-wise as well. The last few races we’ve pretty much matched him engine-wise and we’re figuring out some things on the car. We had one good run and one not so great today but I think you’ll see pretty close to the same conditions on Sunday. We’ve got a pretty good set-up and we feel good about it.”