BRAINERD, MN 8/11/07
Steve Johnson’s hopes for the NHRA POWERade Series Pro Stock Motorcycle
championship took a severe hit at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.
when he lost a close first round race against Eddie Krawiec. That loss enabled Krawiec to leapfrog ahead
of Johnson in the standings to take over the eighth and final qualifying
position in NHRA’s new “Countdown to the Championship” points system.
“Our
backs are against the wall,” a disappointed Johnson admitted after the
race. “We have only one more chance to
qualify for the Countdown, and that’s next weekend at the Toyo Tires Nationals
in Reading, (PA), but in order for us to make it we’re going to have to be very
lucky, and the people ahead of us in the standings are going to have to have the
kind of weekend we had here in Brainerd.
“After
the first qualifying session I thought our Snap-on Tools Suzuki was one of the
best motorcycles on the grounds,” Johnson continued. “After the fourth session, when we ended up
12th among the qualifiers, I could tell that
the gremlins that have been ‘infecting’ our operation for the last few races
were back.”
Johnson
and crew chief Mark Peiser had planned on installing a brand new engine for the
final qualifying session, but when their machine slowed on successive qualifying
efforts they decided to wait until next week.
“We may not run the engine even then,” Peiser
said. “We can’t afford to make a single
mistake next week, or at any time for the rest of the year, if we’re going to
have any hope of being a serious contender.
Our aim is to make this motorcycle ‘right’ for Reading, and if that means
sticking with our proven powerplant, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Three
straight runs in the 7.18 second range were enough to convince Johnson that
wholesale changes may be called for in an all-out attempt to make the
Countdown.
“That was
kind of depressing,” Johnson said of the three runs. “No matter what we did, the motorcycle didn’t
improve. We have got to get this thing
figured out, and we’ve only got two or three days to do it before we have to be
ready for next weekend. I‘ve go faith in
our guys, and faith in Mark, so whatever we collectively decide is the right way
to go, that’s what we’ll do.
“The
bright spot of our weekend was the fact that on Saturday morning we hosted the
largest group of WyoTech Technical School students and their parents that I
think we’ve seen all year. Believe me,
our pit area was jammed, but that’s the kind of crowd I really enjoy.”
In
addition to his WyoTech hosting Johnson also participated in the Snap-on Tools
“Day at the Races” promotion during which he interacted with and signed
autographs for Snap-on Tools dealers and customers.
“Everybody knows I love doing that stuff,” Johnson said, “but what I
really like doing is getting the Snap-on folks to our pit area where they can
see the products actually in use. Ya
know, it’s one thing to talk about the tools, but quite another when you see the
guys actually working with them on the race bike. There’s no substitute for the ‘action’
stuff!”
Will
Steve Johnson and the Snap-on Tools Suzuki be among the eight Countdown
qualifiers? One week from today we’ll
all have the answer.
“Man, I’m
already nervous and it’s still Sunday,” Johnson joked as his team loaded the
transporter in preparation for the trip east.
“I feel like I’ve got a target painted right in the center of my back,
but I don’t care about who’s behind me in the standings. I’m looking ahead, and my target is the guy
in eighth pace, ‘cause that’s where I need to be a week from today.”
Session #1: 7.123/184.95 #5 (7.339 Bump)
Session #2: 7.247/187.68 #8 (7.212 Bump)
Session #3: 7.189/188.25 #12 (7.187 Bump)
Session #4: 7.185/187.81 #12 (7.182 Bump)
Round #1 0.059 R.T. 7.184/187.47 lot to Eddie Krawiec
Notable: Johnson is
now in 9th place, 31 points out of 8th in the POWERade points standings, and
remains in 8th place in the standings for the Ringers
Gloves Pro Bike Battle.
Next: NHRA Toyo
Tires Nationals, Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, PA 817-8/19
From Stacey Hill with Snap-0n tools Suzuki team
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