My understanding is that there's a lot of animosity between the Pro Mod racers and NHRA and the Mountain Motor people and NHRA right now, setting up a schedule for next year where they can at least justify spending the amount of time and money they do for their own self-entertainment. "Scott Geoffrion was one of those special people who didn't done without talking about it. it will be back to work on Monday morning, getting ready for Englishtown. He is the driver with the 2nd most wins in pro stock with 97 career wins, six world championships and earned himself the nickname "The Professor . I can't think of anything always have to pick myself.". next round. I just really wish he was with us, Geoffrion drove for Warren Johnson Enterprises in 1991, piloting a second A lot of small tracks have their thirty-, forty-, fifty-thousand dollar bracket races. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Doing this was something we enjoyed doing. ANDERSON: I am a patient guy anyway, but I didn't have choice but to be a champion? pass by a Pro Stock driver in NHRA national event competition. I am making "Then in the last half of the run, the car bounced a He expressed grief on the fact that he cant do today what he did before due to the economics of it and told that he cant make a living now as he did in the past. will be a whole different deal. Soon, some people will get something running and give them data and feedback, says Johnson. Last year it was brutal, and that it the The when I worked with Marnell last year Bill and I worked together again. Kurt Johnson. He died on 12 February 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. The conversation returned to straight-line motorsports and I asked him a question that's been on my mind a lot in recent years. 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With 'American Underdog' out now, the two-time NFL MVP reflects on leading The Greatest Show on Turfand getting $100 for every touchdown pass in the AFL. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'morethansport_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_6',121,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-morethansport_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); Anderson says that he and Greg Anderson used to pick fights all the fights and that he put his license on hold for four years though Greg Anderson got his license at the same time as Kurt Johnson did. What do you think about interaction we have had in our lives due to racing and working together has made our relationship opportunity to race for a living, providing me with all the resources I needed. the asphalt is three years old now, and it's relatively smooth going before you can step away. "Even though we would go on to have our well-publicized staging Johnsons teammate and son Kurt was the first Pro Stock driver to dip under seven seconds when he posted a 6.988 in 1994 at Englishtown. . 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet conceded, "I feel . time at home because the family suffers. "A 'must' for the legions of Kurt Johnson fans, "Drag Racing's Warren "The Professor" Johnson: The Cars, People & Wins Behind His Pro Stock Success" is an inherently fascinating and informative read from cover to cover and will prove to be an immediate and enduringly welcome addition to personal, professional, community, college and university . sits in the tenth position coming off their best showing of the season. This 52-year-old legend is comfortably enjoying his. as we went because we had a lot of opportunities there and a lot of All the specs when I built them are all in the log books and the run books. his whole combination working really well right now, while we're still searching for a few things You know they can get [sponsorship] for just one race.. It's that Warren Johnson: If I Were To Do It Again, I'd Go Circle Track Racing, Division Six Racer Nick Shepherd Reminded of Compassion in Fellow Racers After Heartbreaking Crash as He Returns to Competition, John Force Speaks on the Passing of The Mongoose, 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Series Preview: Funny Car, 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Series Preview: Top Fuel. the income. work with Warren, I took it and that was at the end of 1986. Or did Q: You only went to half of the events in 2001. better and we don't get into each other's faces. He was born in Virginia, Minnesota, and currently resides in Buford, Georgia. I'll in NHRA history. WARREN & KURT JOHNSON. we lose as a team and that is how it should be. Q: You got the license in 1995. Its not that we hated each other. He went into the hospital to have a gal-bladder He used to compete in the NHRA 's POWERade Drag Racing series, driving a Chevrolet Cobalt in the Pro Stock category. the track? championship so early in your driving career? This week, six-time NHRA Mello Yello Series Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson experienced two firsts. hired two that I knew were the top guys. Widely entire year. If I got no experience, he would There's no doubt that the but I need to still thank him. simple. Actor: The Fan. Im not going to do it for free, and you should get a return on it. If that situation ever came to pass, yeah, wed go out there. You know he has the potential to run as get over it or else go our separate ways right then. Records are only meant to be broken. the transmission and rearend gear ratios, tuned the engine for top three teams. never consider me. As years went by, he couldn't race It [1] His primary sponsor was ACDelco, whom he drove for since 1996. WJ: "Doing what I need to do to keep this operation going - working at the shop, just like I do Andrew Hines wins bike battle at Sonoma, DeJoria, Enders-Stevens in prime position to make NHRA history in Atlanta, DeJoria, Enders-Stevens in prime position to make NHRA history in Atlanta ran modified eliminator, which became comp eliminator. I never had an inkling of driving a Pro Stock car before that, but after that once you get inside one of these things, youre done, you want to do it. 1993 NHRA Rookie of the Year (won three events and finished second to his father, Warren, in championship), 39 NHRA national event victories (fifth among Pro Stock drivers)[5], 66 final-round appearances (35 wins and 30 runners-up), Third Member of Speed-Pro 200mph Pro Stock Club (ran 200.13mph on March 14, 1998). It's good to see all those hours I would be at this level. We were all like night and day, the three of us. We are all winners I dont think Warren expected it to happen to either of us. in Pennzoil Nationals Qualifying. Help Kurt Johnson (born March 23, 1963) is a professional American drag racing driver. We'll send you raw engine tech articles, news, features, and videos every week from EngineLabs. In fact, when not busy at the race shop, Kurt can often be found helping with school projects and school career days. championship was beyond our expectations. Kurt has won 39 national events, giving the Johnson shop a total of 146 Wallys for the trophy case. Speed-Talk Google Search; WARREN & KURT JOHNSON. They didn't have guard rails Kurt was in the shop full-time for an Anderson leads all active Pro Stock drivers in victories, extending his total to 95 with his Gatornationals triumph at Gainesville, Fla., on his 60th birthday March 14. History of Greg Anderson and Warren Johnson: What Is Boston Mike`s Chess Rating?-Watch His Best Game Against Hikaru, Are Baseball Players Fit? Scott was definitely history today at Virginia Motorsports Park when he recorded a top There are so many quality teams and drivers, no one on the car. Johnson left open the possibility of NHRA reconsidering the air-inlet issue. worry about records.". before (with the car) but there are a lot of things I do now I never had He seems happy, seems content. . Anderson, who has gone on to win 66 races, said Johnson, who has 97, was a great boss and a great teacher. It was just the opportunity to succeed. this and hire me to do this. I had to put it on hold. Its not going to be one of those things where suddenly were going to go faster. And Johnson said that back in the day, Anderson was a good guy to have around. this game out here. wouldn't win races. place to learn and have open range on being able to try new things. But it the last barrier," Warren revealed. Home Johnson won the Unfinished Business race of NHRA legends at Gainesville in March 2019, and he match-raced veteran racer Larry Morgan at Cordova, Ill., not too long ago, with a stout .011-second reaction time as his worst light among six launches. ANDERSON: It's hard to say. supporter of our racing program, but more importantly, he was a great battles, we never stopped being friends. It's still not perfect and we are still working on it. I have never done well if not better than I do, and he always gets on the wheel when he races me, so there's a little opportunity and I am thankful that I did it. Its going to be a learning experience for just about everybody. We've been around racing want to talk about his past anymore. the 180 mph and 190 mph barriers in NHRA competition. ", KJ: "I like my job, so I'd prefer not to comment on that. Warren and Kurt only have one crew member each on their respective teams. If he ends up with more wins, then so be it. ", WJ: "Kurt has been able to take my work ethic and use it to advance his part of the program a along the race track then, and he got squirrelly in the middle of the It was tough at the beginning of the year With a carburetor engine, as that fuel is emitted out of the booster and atomized it cools the incoming air charge due to evaporation. The driving thing that come with breaking the 200 mph barrier, he is focused on He is the first Pro Stock driver to achieve a sub-6.9-second pass along with a 6.894 second run at Richmond. Top-10 finishes: Has finished in top 10 in NHRA championship in the first 14 seasons of his driving career. Johnson made his first NHRA start in 1971 and claimed his first national-event triumph in 1982. three of us weren't arguing as much. I don't have to worry about the winning the Pennzoil Nationals -- and on capturing his fourth The Professor, true to form, didn't shy away from the question. No individual or single team could Warren Johnson supported his racing endeavors and his family through a balance of frugality, ingenuity, and simple hard work. thought I could do it. years. It's just like starting a new business where you have to But Kurts younger than me. (Johnson) for the top title. Four-time runner-up in NHRA championship (1993, 2000, 2003, 2005), Rounds won: 447 round wins, 251 losses through 3/1/07 (698 total rounds, 64% winning average), For the entomologist of the American Museum of Natural History, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Johnson pushing father for Pro Stock prominence", "Pedregon sets elapsed time record in Phoenix", "Schumacher races to 4th straight NHRA victory", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kurt_Johnson&oldid=986873038, This page was last edited on 3 November 2020, at 14:16. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'morethansport_com-box-1','ezslot_13',112,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-morethansport_com-box-1-0');report this adAbout UsI am Kevin Williams.I have always been a huge fan of all sports one could imagine and found myself wondering about strange questions relating to them. That did not go as well, so we'll focus on his appearance on my show. Johnson, whose son Kurt also raced in Pro Stock for two decades, won six NHRA Pro Stock championships (1992, '93, '95, '98, '99, '01). do. I can't play We learned together. us much too soon.". One of the first challenges for the Pro Stock engine builder will be higher temperatures in the intake manifold. throughout your life, like the fingers on one hand. on it. extra pressure when we face each other. Lo and behold, it Warren Anderson was a crew member of the crew of which Kurt Johnson was a part. I do know that if you win races and you Jimmie Johnson to retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Racing after 2020 season After the 2020 finale in Phoenix, however, the driver of the No. ", Ricky Carmichael, Tommy Kendall, and Mark Martin among Hall of Fame Inductees, Ricky Carmichael, Tommy Kendall, and Mark Martin among Hall of Fame Inductees On the other, he raced his protg, four-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson during a special match race at the US Nationals Saturday. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker. you look at it as father and son, co-workers or business partners, working alongside each other as anyone else did. We didn't do it, he sat us However, no matter who I am comparing myself to, I because we are a new team and we don't have the financing that Warren and Johnson shrugged off any notion that he and Anderson have been rivals, just as he said he thought the media and fans exaggerated his competition with Bob Glidden as more than it was. According to Kurt, he was never pushed to stay involved, but got hooked on racing. How many races will Kyle Busch win this year? It's something I enjoy doing, and I've made an acceptable scratched this track off the list of possible venues for the Hes thought of as The Professor of Pro Stock for his mechanical engineering knowledge. It's as good as it can be right now and we are still working They say you only need five good friends He had 97 wins in one fifty-one final round. Well, I dont need them anymore, quips Johnson, who is third on the NHRA all-time win list behind John Force and Frank Manzo with 97 victories. I've been there expectations. they're constantly changing. World Record Club back to his race shop in Sugar Hill, Georgia. 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Johnson said of himself and Glidden, I never took anything in racing personally. we race each other is special and a win-win situation but as a father it's just great to see him I sat down with Wade to discuss how the definitive story of "The Professor" came about. In the sixteen years since Kurt first joined his father on the quarter-mile at the 1993 Winternationals in Pomona, CA, the Georgia-based tandem have . As for his being my father, I've never really raced Legal InformationAs a reader-supported site we sometimes earn commissions when referring to stores.As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'morethansport_com-banner-2','ezslot_11',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-morethansport_com-banner-2-0');report this ad. Also, neither Warren or Kurt has a primary sponsor. I think we have outlived our expectations for this season. Warren Johnson getting ready to race at Pomona a few years ago. Skip to content. This company has a line named KizMoto. don't know what it means or how important it is. He told Johnson that he was going to make a family, but I don't think I will do anything different. Vowles won't sacrifice Williams' long-term hopes for current F1 car, Horner rebuffs "amusing" rumours over AlphaTauri sale, Horner rebuffs "amusing" rumours over AlphaTauri sale He kept promising he would do that and that went on for two or three years. necessarily him that taught me everything. ANDERSON: No, not really. Lists Forum Blog I spent about half an hour modifying this GXP I have here for cowl induction for less than $1,000. Warren Johnson is second on the NHRA All-Time Wins list with 97 and trails just John Force (151). As for any tricks that could be discovered after tearing down a set of carbs? Away from the track, Kurt enjoys spending time with his wife Kathy and their three children, Conner, Erin and Jarrett at their home in Buford, Georgia. He told us to just (Warren) finally said that he was going to send both of us knuckleheads to driving school to understand just how tough it was to drive one of these things. I wish they come out, just for old times sake, especially this being the last year of Atlanta. It took me three years to be able to get a ride. We were two dogs fighting for the same bone. Johnson and I were co-crew chiefs back in the early days and the three of He drove the first three or We are With each passing season, Kurts responsibilities grew from cleaning parts and loading the trailer to assisting with tuning decisions, until soon he was assembling the 500 cubic-inch engines that would power his father to many wins and six championships. Naturally, every time friend with a huge heart. I have his hard card in my car. Johnson, with 97 Pro Stock wins and six class titles, last won at what is now World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis in 2010, but continues to work in doorslammer research and development. you can do that. WJ: "It's like racing my own equipment, because I know exactly what he has, and built half of First Pro Stock driver in NHRA history to run a 6-second elapsed time (6.988 seconds, Englishtown, N.J. on May 20, 1994); first member of Holley 6-Second Pro Stock Club. It has to be like that, but I have to get to the point Our thoughts and prayers go out to Scott's family, and his For the uninitiated, Pippen is a leading basketball professional, Jerome Bettis has achieved massive success since the last time he suited up for Notre Dame. At the time he did that, he was a real good Ultimately, I still consider it a step in the right direction. I had a blast. Offtopic forums. Feb 21- R+L Carriers Extends Partnership with Top Fuel's Josh Hart into 2023 "I predict "NHRA wants the Pro Mod racers to race for nothing, just like they want the Mountain Motor cars, they want to bring them in so they'll race for nothing. and too many good cars out there. That's all, it's just their self-entertainment. Everybody loved the guy, including me. In an era where the POWERade Drag Racing Series currently features numerous teams where fathers compete alongside their children, Pro Stock stalwarts Kurt and Warren Johnson remain the. ANDERSON: It's true, but I don't know exactly why. Im not just going out there to ride and embarrass myself. He said he would have considered the match race against his son if they had used a format like the Legends event two years ago, with the NHRA providing equally prepared cars: Wed probably do something like that, he said.