Originally from Gainesville, FL, Mark has been around racing since entering his first soapbox derby in 1971. He’s a former late model dirt series driver who has two national championships to his credit. For the better part of the last 10 years, he has been a fixture in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks, working with such people as George Bryce, John Myers, Steve Johnson, Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown. In 1998 he helped Brown to a top 10 finish in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings en route to three national event wins and a third-place finish the following season. In 2006, Peiser joined Steve Johnson Racing to tune the Snap-on Suzuki and that’s where he’ll be in 2007 as well.

Besides racing Peiser is an avid bass fisherman and will be fishing competitively in the Wal-mart  FLW Southern Stren Series as well as the Bassmaster Southern Opens in 2007. Having had some success in 2005 with a best finish of 6th at the Wal-mart EverStart Series tournament on Lake Michigan, Peiser is eager to attack both venues ( NHRA drag racing and Tournament Fishing ).

Along with his expertise at the track, open water and in the shop Peiser is also the inventor of the TackleRac tackle organizer. " I really believe I can make some fishing fanatic's drag race fans as well making NHRA fans want to follow competitive fishing." With 16 NHRA events and 7 National bass tournaments and the possibility of two Championship tournaments Peiser admits the schedule is brutal but he's up for it, " I'm at my worst when I'm idle, all I did in 2005 was fish and the time between tournaments just wore me out. Now I can stay busy at the shop working on ways to go faster at the track. My fishing and racing really help each other, I think a lot about how to catch fish when I'm working in the shop and when I'm fishing I'm constantly thinking about how to go faster at the track."

Like Steve Johnson, general manager Tim Kulungian is a native Californian. He was born in the San Fernando Valley, and first met Steve as a young drag bike pilot. "When I was 15 I started drag racing motorcycles, and Steve's shop—Steve Johnson Sport Bikes in Chatsworth—was the only shop in town. So my dad and I would get all of our stuff from him," he says.

That initial meeting led to a part-time, then a full-time job with Steve. Kulungian has worked with Steve Johnson Racing for eight years. What's the weirdest thing Kulungian has seen in his racing career? "Steve Johnson's been the weirdest thing I've seen," he says, laughing. "Anybody who knows him can appreciate that."

Kulungian says his greatest accomplishment was Steve's 2005 U.S. Nationals title, a title that wasn't awarded until after the race was over, when the NHRA reversed its original declaration that had named Matt Smith the winner of the sport's biggest event.

 "We found out about it in a very odd way," Kulungian says. "I was back at the shop, I wasn't on the road. I started getting updates on the phone, and that's how I found out they'd granted us the trophy. It was bittersweet.

Tim is married to Christal, and the couple has three children: twins Seth and Hannah, 7, and Delilah, 2.

The rigors of drag racing don't faze Richie Wiley. The Birmingham, AL native saw much harder duty when he served a six-month tour in Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine "Grunt." The 23 year-old Wiley, a self-described "wrench turner" on the Snap-on Tools Pro Stock Suzuki, says everything he's learned in his racing career has come from chief mechanic Tim Kulungian. "He's my personal teacher," Wiley says.

It didn’t take long for Wiley, who’s been with Steve Johnson Racing for 2 years, to experience the weirdest environment drag racing has to offer. "I would say the weirdest thing I've seen in my time here has been the people at The Zoo after the race in Brainerd, Minn. It's just a race that we go to, and they call it The Zoo. It's probably one of the craziest races, from the fans alone. It's a huge party."

Wiley is married to Jessica, and the couple has a 1 year old son, Adakin. Wiley says the family aspect of racing appeals to him. "Everybody I work with and have met has been great people," he says. "This whole thing is a tight knit family. It's a family-oriented business."

She began pursuing that dream by interning with the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. As Event Coordinator for the 2006 Induction Ceremony, Hill helped organize the largest ceremony to date, in which legends Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jack Roush, Humpy Wheeler, Harry Gant, and Janet Guthrie were inducted and Tony Stewart was honored as Driver of the Year. Following the ceremony, she became a volunteer for Barber Motorsports Park and helped out at the Porsche 250 Grand American Sports Car Race. In the fall of 2006, Hill accepted an internship with Talladega Superspeedway in the Marketing and Hospitality Department where she assisted with preparations for the NASCAR Nextel Cup race. Now, she finds herself as the Account Executive for WyoTech at Steve Johnson Racing and accomplishes a wide array of responsibilities. "I am just thrilled to be a part of such an amazing team and to see that my hard work throughout college has paid off. I am proof that dreams can come true; it just takes some extra effort, a lot of passion, and plenty of faith."

In her little free time, Hill enjoys spending time with her family and friends, being outdoors, working out, cooking & baking sweets (usually for the guys at the shop), and of course shopping!

Stacey's Motto: "You have to attack life with immense optimism and unwavering determination."