Just keep doing what we're doing, go out there and win races and catch the eye of somebody who wants to sponsor a Top Fuel car.". The 27-time NHRA winner loyal to his Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge said, "It's been an amazing run for my dad and I, but it just felt like now was the right time to step away from the Pro Stock chapter of our careers. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, Blaine Johnson was ranked No. The two-month internship starts on May 29 and will see the interns travel with the team to select races during the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Johnson partnered with Food Network's Guy Fieri to boost marketing and help get the word out. Tuners at major teams may offer guidance to multiple cars when called upon, but theyre ultimately responsible for one team. He had such a promising future. After the Pomona opener, Torrence would say, "Nicely, thank you." . Behind the Numbers: Funny Car will tighten up down the stretch, Behind the Numbers: Clay Millican may finally have consistency he needs, Behind the Numbers: Hines and Krawiec identical through three races, Behind the Numbers: Consistency has Todd off to the races, Behind the Numbers: Vincent Nobile's return to the winner's circle. "Hopefully it catches somebody's attention. The program is aimed to provide more women with opportunities in traditionally male-dominated careers in the field of motorsports. During this time Alan created the AJPE 481X engine platform. She doesnt talk to me very much, and he doesnt talk to me at all. The announcement left Johnson in a huge bind a little more than a month before the season opener. On September 14, 2008, at the inaugural NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, North Carolina, Schumacher surpassed Joe Amato as the driver with most wins in NHRA Top Fuel history with his 53rd career victory. Alan is currently a co-crew chief with John Force Racing, tuning Top Fuel driver Brittany Force to her first ever Championship in 2017. The valve cover rail was raised to allow for an internal fuel rail to eliminate oil leaks, and a new exhaust flange angle and bolt pattern to improve header life and seal to the head. Bernstein attended Texas A&M University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology, specializing in Sports Management in 1996. Expect Salinas to do his best to strike. Both Torrence and Force have acknowledged that theyre on-track rivals, but this tech alliance is mutually beneficial. In 2008, his last season with co-crew chiefs Tim and Kim Richards, the team made four final round appearances, finishing seventh in point standings. Primary designs are for Blown alcohol Dragster and Funny Car or Pro-Modified. And win they did. In 1997 he won the title in his first full year of competition, after replacing Blaine Johnson, who had been killed at the 1996 US Nationals, while leading the top fuel championship, in . Alan Reinhart and Joe Castello get ready for 2022 PRO Nitro Spring Training NHRA Testing 2/8/2022 Feb 08, 2022 NHRA announcers Alan Reinhart and Joe Castello preview 2022 PRO Nitro Spring Training at Wild Horse Motorsports Park. Mike Salinas earned his first NHRA Drag Racing win ever with legendary tuner Alan Johnson at the helm. Still, that suggests positive things about his driving and the focused attention of Johnson and Husen not to mention the crew that came over from Force during the offseason. We couldn't have done it without the help and hard work of our J&J Racing team members over the years. Youre so overwhelmed with the grief, that you just seem to take it to a different level. It so happens that drag racing is popular in Qatar and some other parts of the Middle East theres an Arabian Drag Racing League and Al Thani, who is in his late 20s, has been a fan since he was a teenager. In 2004, he became the second Bernstein to hold the NHRA speed record when he set it at Chicago. Winning is a team effort. Salinas began working with Johnson in some capacity when he returned to Top Fuel racing in 2017 and brought him on full time to begin the 2019 campaign. When Alan and his younger brother four years younger, that is moved to the sports top class, Top Fuel, in 1994, they were on the precipice of taking off in the minds of many observers. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. "Mopar has been there for all those 22 years, through the good times and the bad, either as our primary or associate sponsor, and it's been just an amazing relationship. Furthermore, Chip Ganassi Racing plans to hire one of the 2022 Women In Motorsports interns, Rebecca Hutton, as a full-time engineer upon graduating from college soon. In this clip we see both of their masteries, come together to win the round at the 2022 . Just before engines fired to begin the four rounds of eliminations that day, the entire Johnson family stood at the starting line and pointed to the sky. Do I want to sell you parts? The trio of female college students will receive fully funded internships that provide valuable exposure within the professional motorsports industry. I looked at it and said how the hell did I do that? Its a constant battle. Copyright 1996-2023, NHRA. Not only do we need more cars but we cant in any way afford to lose any of them.. It makes it even more difficult.". Johnson's teams have won NHRA Top Fuel titles in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2010, 2011 and 2013 with five different drivers: Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham and Langdon. Hed also win the Funny Car championship in 2005, becoming one of just three drivers that have won titles in NHRAs two biggest race classes, Top Fuel and Funny Car (the others are Kenny Bernstein and Del Worsham). The step is part of Steve Torrence's bid to become the first driver to win NHRA World . Dixon began his long friendship with Don "The Snake" Prudhomme in 1988 while working on Prudhomme's Funny Car.In 1994, he earned his Top Fuel license with 4.76-second pass at Gatornationals at Gainesville, Florida. Hein is an off-road racer and automotive service technician, while Goodman works as a laboratory instructor and Moody serves as a race engineer on her schools iRacing team. The initiative was launched one year ago to help drive awareness and support gender equality and economic inclusion for women in the workforce. Thats what it takes and hes going to be a great driver.. Its all been about innovation. We are extremely disappointed to make this decision, but at this point it is our best option, team owner Alan Johnson said in a statement. We got along real good and we raced real good together. On the other hand, Steve Torrences team has won lots of races. This is good for my dad and good for me. Johnson didnt win a championship with Torrence, but he won with Force and certainly got the job done with Tony Schumacher more times than you can count on one hand. With evident signs already of the crews re-dedication toward superior preparation and attention to detail, I am confident we can improve the entire teams performance and strive to get Brittany her first win very soon., Innovation happens when you realize that you have a problem to solve and you need new tools to do it with. Alan Johnson is not only one of the most successful crew chiefs and team owners in NHRA history, hes also one of the most focused individuals in the sport. But a month ago, Al Thani and his estimated $10 million-plus of annual sponsorship money for the two-car team suddenly vanished without public explanation. Johnson tuned Brittany Force from 2016 to 2018 as a tuning consultant with Brian Husen as crew chief. Brittany Force took the provisional qualifying lead after that Fridays first session, and with her top performance at the Nitro Spring Training final day of testing at Phoenix, it appeared she was coming into the seasons first race day with a full head of steam. Make no mistake, Johnson still wants to win. Al-Anabi means Go Team Maroon!. These were available with 2.400/2.450 x 1.900 valve sizes. The story of AJPE begins in Santa Maria California, a small farm town in Central California. The 5.3 Hemi spent a year on the design screen and ran the full 2011 season in ADRLs Pro-Extreme Pro-Modified class. But even worse on the same weekend, veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Elmer Trett was killed the day after Johnson perished, also at Lucas Oil Raceway. And he has no timetable for getting it restarted. But I think thats what makes champions anyway, being able to focus in on what you think you need to do and the things that are right and we thought that was the best thing to do for the fans and ourselves and we did it.. Johnson did just that earlier this month at the NHRA's season-opening Circle K Winternationals at Pomona, California . These heads were designed for Blown Alcohol Dragster & Funny Car, NHRA and IHRA Pro-Modified, and a unique concept to the naturally aspirated injected Nitro combination. One of the biggest problems last year is that I was working with two teams, but the cars were different, said Johnson. is trying to get the rules right so were all competitive but I dont think were there yet. All logos and images are reserved. During 1999 AJPE added two new CNC machines to their manufacturing facility and broke ground on an additional 15,000 sq. NHRA has an estimated net worth of about $258.67 thousand. Without a sponsor, Alan Johnson Racing made the quickest run in NHRA history, a 3.70-second effort that made Langdon the No. We have every intention of returning to NHRA drag racing in 2016. While it didnt light the world on fire it did prove that AJPE had the ability to create, manufacture, and test, an entirely new engine package within a 12 month period without any major setbacks. Alan Johnson has gone on to both prominence and wealth in both racing and business. 1997 brought in Winston as a primary sponsor for the family dragster and a new Top Fuel head design from AJPE. He went from standing with the crowd along the edge of the guardrail-less Southeast racetracks as the cars lined up to an elite racer who financially and morally supports safety on the drag strip and the street. I needed to get someone who has a program and knows how to run it., He was quick to defend his crew chiefs from last year, saying These were great individuals that ran my dragster., Husen, appealing to Forces love for football, set the parameters for how the deal would work. Their on track performance and race wins spurred interest in their engine program and resulted in many engine and parts sales for AJPE. President, AJPE, Inc. On August 31st, 1996 we lost Blaine Johnson in a tragic racing accident that changed us all on many levels. When respected Top Fuel tuner Alan Johnson added John Force Racing to his Steve Torrence consulting duties, NHRA fans wondered how that would work. I know they [NHRA Tech Dept.] His company, Alan Johnson Performance Engineering, supplies racing parts to roughly 50 percent of todays Top Fuel and Funny Car teams. Hes focused on racing and thats it., A lot of people might think hes stuck up, but Alan just wants to win. The AJPE Stage 2 Muscle Head debuted in early 2007. Johnson is responsible for one Top Fueler this season: the one driven by Salinas. Prock, Pedregon, Anderson, Smith close season with Auto Club Finals titles, Sunday News and Notes from the Auto Club NHRA Finals, Severance, Gordon, D'Agnolo, and Hidalgo clinch Lucas Oil Series Sportsman titles, Professional fields are set for Championship Sunday at Auto Club NHRA Finals, Force, Pedregon, Anderson, and Sampey lead in Pomona after Friday qualifying, High drama in Las Vegas as Force, Hagan, Enders, and Arana Jr. hit the jackpot, Sunday News and Notes from the NHRA Nevada Nationals, Force, Hight, Enders, and Smith top pro qualifiers at NHRA Nevada Nationals, Force, Hight, Stanfield, and Smith, lead Friday qualifying in Las Vegas, Ashley, Capps, Enders keep up the pressure with huge Texas FallNationals victories, Sunday News and Notes from the Texas NHRA FallNationals, Prock, Hagan, Enders, Sampey hold onto Friday leads at Texas NHRA Fallnationals, Texas NHRA FallNationals Saturday preview, Prock, Hagan, Enders, Sampey lead fields after track-record-setting opening day, Torrence, Hight, Enders, and Smith dominate the NHRA Midwest Nationals, Steve Torrence, Robert Hight, Kyle Koretsky, and Matt Smith remain top qualifiers at NHRA Midwest Nationals, Matt Smith, Kyle Koretsky, Robert Hight, and Steve Torrence lead Friday qualifying at NHRA Midwest Nationals, Brown, Capps, Stanfield take championship-crucial wins at Betway Carolina Nationals, Sunday News and Notes from the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals, Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Sunday preview, Ashley, Force, and Enders take top spots heading into Charlotte eliminations day, Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Saturday preview, Kalitta, Force, and Enders lead Betway Carolina Nationals Friday fields, Allen Johnson enjoying life in the Factory Stock class. 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