Team Mopar NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson threw down the gauntlet in the off-season, recording a 6.498-second elapsed time during testing, an unofficial record for a Pro Stock car. Johnson is ready now to carry the fight to where it matters most — the NHRA regular season, which begins this week at the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., Feb. 24–27.

Johnson finished the 2010 season in sizzling fashion, recording four straight No. 1 Qualifier Awards to end the season, including at the NHRA Finals in Pomona back in November, with eight total poles on the year. Despite enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, the lack of a championship (he finished sixth in the final 2010 standings) prompted Johnson to break in a new chassis on his Mopar Dodge Avenger for 2011 and place a raging fire in the belly of the veteran Pro Stocker to bring home his first title.

“I feel like that (6.498-second) run sort of set the stage for the upcoming year,” said Johnson, who has one career final-round appearance at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, a runner-up in the ’03 Winternationals. “If we have the right air at Pomona, we can break the record. The air would have to be in the 500-ft. range or something like that, and then it would be very possible. We ran a 6.541 pass with 1,700-ft. air in the fall. Everybody is going to be working their butts off to shoot for us. I’m up for the challenge, and I know my J&J Racing team is up for it.”

Johnson’s team returns intact, with Mark Ingersoll back as crew chief and Allen’s father, Roy Johnson, building the Mopar HEMI® engines for the J&J squad. A goal during testing was to make the new 2011 Mopar Dodge Avenger more consistent than last year’s car

“Every win is special, and I believe this year we are going to have more than one,” said Allen Johnson. “To go out to Pomona and qualify in the top three, win the race and have a consistent car, that’s our goal. That’s the biggest thing, to show that we are consistent.”

The 2011 season will mark Johnson’s 16th behind the wheel of a Mopar-powered Dodge. With five straight top-10 points finishes in the last five years, the Greeneville, Tenn. has never been more confident that he can make the leap into the No. 1 spot, with the help of the Mopar brand.

“It’s great having Mopar as a sponsor, with the power and performance of Mopar parts backing us,” said Johnson. “The brand’s support over the years for my J&J Racing team has been huge, and I feel very lucky to have them on board again in 2011. I feel we have the correct tools to get the job done, with the Mopar Dodge Avenger and the Mopar brand behind us.”

Johnson’s Statistics of Note

2010 Season

• Finished sixth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship Pro Stock playoff standings

• Claimed four consecutive No. 1 Qualifier Awards (Dallas, Reading, Las Vegas, Pomona 2) to end the season

• Scored a victory at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, his second straight win and third in four years at his primary sponsor’s race

• Advanced past the first round at 21 of 23 events

• Posted a 37-21 round win record, the most round wins of his career

• Advanced to at least the semifinals in 12 of 23 events

• Advanced to the final round at the NHRA event in Norwalk, Ohio

• Scored his second final-round appearance of the season at the NHRA event in Topeka

• Claimed his 200th career round win at the NHRA St. Louis race

• Advanced to four straight semifinals to start the season in his new Mopar Dodge Avenger

• Banked his first final-round appearance of the year at the NHRA Houston event

2009 Season

• Clinched a spot in the 2009 NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs 

• Captured wins at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver and O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka

• Finished seventh in NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock point standings

• Made three finals appearances, scoring a runner-up finish at NHRA Gatornationals

• Captured seventh career No. 1 Qualifier Award at NHRA event in Seattle, reaching  semis

• Made eight semifinals appearances

• Posted a 30-20 round win record for the season

2008 Season

• Finished seventh in NHRA Pro Stock standings

• One of only 10 drivers to qualify for NHRA Countdown to 1 six-race playoffs

• Won K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus event at Norwalk, recording perfect .000 reaction time to defeat Greg Anderson for victory

• Powered to three No. 1 Qualifier Awards

• Made eight semifinals appearances

• Posted two straight runner-up finishes at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals and Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals

• Racked up 28-24 round win record

2007 Season

• Finished career-best fourth in NHRA Pro Stock point standings

• One of only four Pro Stock drivers to qualify for inaugural NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff

• Claimed win at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver

2006 Season

• Finished sixth in NHRA Pro Stock standings, scoring win at Seattle

Career

• Qualified for Countdown to Championship in all four years since NHRA adopted playoff format in 2007

• Claimed eight career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock wins

• Captured 15 career No. 1 Qualifier Awards

• Claimed more than 200 career round wins

• Has a career best elapsed time of 6.545-seconds and a career best speed of 211.73 mph

• Recorded 21 career final round appearances

• Competed in 300th race at 2009 NHRA St. Louis event

• Scored second career win at Atlanta in 2002 and finished eighth in point standings

• Seized first career win in 1999 at Richmond and went on to claim first top 10 finish in standings

• Made NHRA Pro Stock debut in 1996, driving a Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger

Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals

The Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals is scheduled to take place Feb. 24–27 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, Feb. 26 beginning at 11 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday, Feb. 27, beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to http://www.nhra.com.