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• Charlotte

• Joliet

• Englishtown

• Indianapolis, pre race

09/05/2010 Qualifying 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM ET/7:00 AM - 8:00 AM PT (ESPN2)
09/05/2010 Qualifying 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM ET/8:30 AM - 11:00 AM PT (ESPN2)
09/05/2010 Qualifying 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET/2:00 PM - 4:00 PM PT (ESPN2)
09/06/2010 Eliminations 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET/10:00 AM - 3:00 PM PT (ESPN2)
09/08/2010 Repeat Eliminations 3:00 AM - 5:00 AM ET/12:00 AM - 2:00 AM PT (ESPN2)

Englishtown, NJ 6/14/10  Twenty-four year NHRA veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson of Irondale, Alabama made his second consecutive Full Throttle Series national event final round at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park on Monday morning after rain delayed the scheduled finals Sunday evening.

Johnson recorded the quickest elapsed time of his career with a 6.893 second run aboard his Suzuki during qualifying, which netted him the third position in the field of 16 competitors.  “We were definitely excited by that,” Johnson said on Saturday evening, “but even with that run, we were still only the third quickest motorcycle in the field.  We knew we were going to have our hands full during eliminations.”

Johnson, who recently signed a major associate sponsorship agreement with C& L Companies, manufacturers of an extensive line of aftermarket parts for dirt bikes, acknowledged that racing luck played a role in his reaching his second final round in as many weeks.  “I had a pretty bad Reaction Time in the first round,” he said, “but luckily, our Suzuki had the power to get the win light.”

 In the second round Johnson’s qualifying effort may have been on the mind of standout performer Andrew Hines, who redlighted away his chances. Regardless, Johnson’s Suzuki had the quicker elapsed time and likely would have won the race even without Hines’s error.

One week ago L.E. Tonglet of Metarie, Louisiana defeated Johnson’s Suzuki in the final round in Chicago, but in the shadow of the Big Apple, Johnson turned the tables, winning with a superior Reaction Time and quicker elapsed time.  “I’m not one of those guys who talks about ‘revenge,’” Johnson said after his semifinal round win.  “For us it’s just one more round win, one more opportunity to reach the finale.

“I won’t deny it,” he added.  “Having to wait overnight for the finals against Michael (Phillips) was tough, and the fact that he was the Number 1 qualifier must have been on my mind.  That’s the only explanation I can offer for just not being quick enough on the starting line this morning.  I hate saying it, but Michael had a better light, and he deserved to win.”

Making the loss even more bittersweet for Johnson was the fact that he once again recorded his career-best elapsed time, but in a losing effort.  His E.T. of 6.886 seconds will go into his personal record book, but combined with a slightly slower Reaction Time, that was all Phillips needed to make it to the finish line first.

Still with a grin on his face, Johnson said after the race, “Blame the rider for the loss.  Yeah, that’s me, but what can I say?  I’m really pleased with the way our Suzuki ran this weekend, and the credit for that goes to Tim Kulungian and Sam Perry more than me.  Just a tiny bit better Reaction Time would have made all the difference.  I’m bummed I let those guys down.

“We’ve had our hands full this year, as everyone knows.  We’re struggling financially, but two Full Throttle Series final rounds on back-to-back weekends demonstrates that we’re headed in the right direction.  We’re determined to make the Countdown to 10 and a big-time championship run later this year (Johnson moved up two more spots in the standings, from 7^th to 5^th), and weekends like the ones we’ve just had give us a huge emotional boost.  Just tell me when the next race is, and we’ll be ready!”

Uh, that would be the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio on the weekend of June 25-27, Steve!

Birmingham Al. (June 7, 2010) – In Sunday’s rain-delayed eliminations from the Route 66 Raceway, Steve Johnson drove his C&L Companies Suzuki to the final round while competing in the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago, Ill.  This was Johnson’s seventeenth career final round appearance.

Johnson, who recently signed an associate marketing/sponsorship agreement with C&L Companies, knocked off the No. 2 and No. 3 qualifiers to score his second runner-up finish in six races this season.

“Running fast and winning rounds is just super cool for our team,” said Johnson.  “Tim and Sam are doing a great job tuning and preparing the bike, which frees me up to keep hunting for that elusive major sponsor. And when we can go to the finals, we know the TV time on ESPN2 will follow.”

Johnson, who was the No. 6 qualifier, ran a 6.896 in Round 1 on Sunday morning, just two thousands off his career-best, to beat Matt Smith’s 6.984.  For Round two of eliminations Johnson was matched against Shawn Gann, who was qualified third.  Although the two left the line at the exact same time, Johnson’s Suzuki powered by Gann to take the win, 6.918 to 6.966.

In the semifinals Johnson met last year’s NHRA Full Throttle Series Champion Hector Arana, who was having a great weekend as the No. 2 qualifier, but left the line early and suffered a red light.  With a 6.928 elapsed time, Johnson advanced to the final round to face LE Tonglet.  The 20-year-old had a slight advantage off the line and was able to increase his lead, which resulted in a win over Johnson, 6.935 to 6.966.

“At the start of the year we considered coming to races in a pickup truck, hoping to get qualifying and first round money,” Johnson recalled.  “We are so fortunate to have sponsors that support our efforts both on and off the track. Pulling into the races with a rig full of tools and a team is really essential in having a first class team that can win races even if the funding is not totally set. At the end of the day, we are six races into the season and we’ve been to two final rounds.”

As a result of his runner-up finish Johnson moved up two positions in the NHRA Full Throttle point standings from ninth to seventh.  He will compete June 10-13 in the 41^st annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ.

“Excitement is an understatement heading to Englishtown with our Suzuki running well,” added Johnson.  “We are going to some tech schools with Snap-on Tools before the race and talking about our success we had in Chicago will be an added benefit to our very unique program. I am very confident of the message and program we bring to these students but when you come off a great weekend, it just has a bigger impact for my message of passion and education creates success. Having said that their eyes light up when they watch our racing video, tour through our rolling race shop on wheels and then get some tips on how to market themselves after graduation.  But at the end of the day, there are not a lot of things cooler than winning and that’s what we are planning on for Englishtown.”

CONCORD, NC 3/30/10 -  Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson of Irondale, Alabama will have his name permanently etched into drag racing’s record books for having qualified for the sport’s first-ever Final Four.

         At a time of year when the words “Final Four” are on every sports fan’s mind, this particular Final Four doesn’t feature athletes capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound.  Rather, it included no less than four Pro Stock Motorcycles racing side-by-side in the final round of the NHRA Full Throttle Series Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, NC.

         Bruton Smith’s stunning speed palace is the nation’s first to have been built with four lanes for competition, and Johnson, among many other competitors, loved the concept.  “I’ve got to admit it was a little tough at first,” he said prior to the start of eliminations on Sunday afternoon.  “With four motorcycles up there staging together, and then all of us trying to leave the starting line at the hint of a green light, well, there was a lot of stuff you had to process in your mind.”

         Without going into every little detail, suffice it to say that the staff at zMax Dragway worked hand in hand with the National Hot Rod Association to successfully pull off the first-ever drag race featuring four competitors racing heads up against one another in three rounds of eliminations racing.

         There was far more to the running of this race than one might imagine, not the least of which was figuring out how to wire together the Christmas Tree starting systems for all four lanes so that every competitor was aware of when his opponents – all three of them – were properly staged to race.

         Johnson moved into eliminations from the Number 6 qualifying position (among 16 Pro Stock Motorcycles) with an elapsed time of 6.924 seconds, this coming after he ran his personal best elapsed time of 6.894 seconds at the NHRA Gatornationals in Florida a few weeks ago.

         “We were trying to be conservative in qualifying,” Johnson said.  “We’re being forced into that situation by our financial circumstances, and that just makes things that much tougher for us, but we’re going to keep giving it our best shot, no matter what.”

         So how do eliminations work in four-wide racing?  It’s really no more complicated than a “normal” two-vehicles-at-a-time race in which the first competitor to the finish line wins and advances.  In four-wide racing the first two machines to the finish line advance.  There are still 16 competitors in the first round of racing, with four separate races each with four competitors.  The first and second place winners in each “quad” advance into the second round, which features two four-bike races.  Again the two who reach the finish line first advance into the finale – the Final Four – from which the first competitor to reach the finish line is declared the event winner.

         Johnson, who won the inaugural NHRA national event at zMax Dragway two years ago, desperately wanted to be the first four-wide winner, and tried to replicate everything from his 2008 race.  “NASCAR driver Mike Wallace and family were with us two years ago, so I asked them if they could come back again, and they did.  That was a big emotional boost for me and my guys, Tim Kulungian and Sam Perry, but darn it, that didn’t help us make horsepower!” Johnson said.  “We just didn’t get it done in the finale, but I will never forget having been one of drag racing’s first Final Four.  No one will ever be able to take that away from us.”

         Johnson had advanced out of his first round “quad” with a winning elapsed time of 7.041 seconds.  He was joined by Michael Phillips, who ran a quicker E.T. of 6.973 seconds, but had a slower Reaction Time than Johnson.  In the second round Phillips turned the tables on Johnson, winning with a 7.017, but Johnson was second with an identical 7.017.  It was a costly “win” for Johnson, as his engine expired at the finish line.

         “We had everyone, including two-time Top Fuel champ Larry Dixon, working on our Suzuki between rounds,” Johnson said.  “It was a madhouse, but we got it done, and I just can’t thank my guys and Larry enough for having pitched in that way to help.  Just making it to the starting line was kind of a victory in itself!”

         In the finale Matt Smith set the pace, winning in 6.937 seconds.  Full Throttle champion Hector Arana was second with a seven-flat, while Johnson came home third with a disappointing elapsed time of 7.305 seconds as the fourth rider redlighted.  “No doubt about it,” Johnson said.  “We were off the pace.  In years past, our two back up engines were as good as the main one. Right now we just have one back up engine and its just not as powerful as our main one.  That is the first thing on our sponsor wish list, but regardless, I’m still very proud of how we performed as well as being 5^th in points.”

         Is four-wide drag racing going to become more commonplace?  “I think it will,” Johnson said following the race.  “Bruton (Smith’s) going to add two more lanes to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see four four-wide races on the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle schedule. 

“And you can count us in, ‘cause we’ll race at all four of em!”