KJ Works to Hit the Jackpot in Las Vegas
Contact: Jon G. Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing
ACDelco crew targets successful defense of 2006 SummitRacing.com Nationals title
Sugar Hill, Ga., April 11, 2007 – Throughout the first four races of the 2007 POWERade Drag racing season, Kurt Johnson and his ACDelco Cobalt Racing team have worked tirelessly to establish the consistency necessary to win on a regular basis. There have been glimpses of their tremendous potential, such as their winning performance in Phoenix in February. However, Johnson knows that in order to challenge for this year’s championship, such strong showings must be the rule rather than the exception.
Fortunately, coming into this weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, NV, the second-generation racer is confident they have gotten a firm handle on their race car, and arrives in the Nevada desert determined to repeat their winning performance from this race a year ago.
"If you really want to know the truth, we were just trying to get our odds up coming into Vegas," joked Johnson. "In all seriousness, things were happening with our race car through the first few races that hurt our performance. It's taken some time, but we have been working to not only find out what to fix, but to also see what we needed to do to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.
"As a result, we've gone over every inch of this ACDelco Cobalt several times. We know what went wrong in Gainesville and in Houston, and have addressed both issues. We made a few test runs in Atlanta last week, and believe everything should be working perfectly this weekend. I’m just as confident as I was coming off the win in Phoenix. We're ready to start swinging for the fences again, seeing if we can hit a home run, and win someone a trip to Las Vegas courtesy of ACDelco."
In only its seventh year on the NHRA tour, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has firmly established itself as one of the crown jewels of the drag racing world and a favorite of both the racers and fans. This magnificent facility has also entrenched itself at the top of Kurt's personal list, as evidenced by his two wins and five final round appearances in his last eight races in the Silver State.
"Las Vegas has been very good to the ACDelco Cobalt crew," said Johnson. "The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the very best facilities we race on, as are all the racetracks owned by Bruton Smith. The racing surface is pretty smooth, the pit area is completely paved and they take excellent care of it. When you combine that with its location in the shadow of the entertainment capital of the world, you come up with a fun place to race. It's shaping up to be a great weekend, and we’re ready to waltz down the boulevard."
This year, ACDelco is teaming with Kurt Johnson to produce the "ACDelco Drive to Win" Sweepstakes, where entrants can win awards, racing trips and prizes, including the grand prize: a 2007 Cobalt SS complete with Genuine Chevrolet Accessories. For more information on Kurt Johnson, ACDelco and the Drive to Win Sweepstakes, please visit http://www.acdelco.com/promotions/drivetowin/
Kurt Johnson & the ACDelco Cobalt Racing team By the Numbers – SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals edition:
2 – KJ wins in Las Vegas, which came in 2005 & 2006
5 – Kurt's Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Final Round Appearances
6 – Top half qualifying starts for KJ in Las Vegas, where his average starting position is 7.08
6.613 – KJ's career best elapsed time (in seconds) recorded in October 2006 in Richmond, VA
12 – KJ Vegas starts, dating back to the inaugural race in 2000.
13 – Consecutive years in which Kurt has won at least one national event, the longest active streak in Pro Stock.
20 – KJ elimination round wins at The Strip, versus 10 losses for a .667 win percentage.
209.26 - KJ's career best top speed (in mph) recorded in October 2006 in Richmond, VA
699 – Kurt career elimination rounds coming into Las Vegas, with a 447-252 win-loss record.
2006 – KJ's most recent win at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which came at this race one year ago when he qualified sixth and defeated Mike Edwards, Erica Enders, Jason Line and Dave Connolly.
Event Schedule:
Friday, April 13: Two qualifying sessions at 3:00 & 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 14: Two qualifying sessions at 12 noon & 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 15: Pre-race ceremonies starting at 10:00 a.m.
First Round of Eliminations at 11:00 a.m.
TMG Sports Marketing
ACDelco crew targets successful defense of 2006 SummitRacing.com Nationals title
Sugar Hill, Ga., April 11, 2007 – Throughout the first four races of the 2007 POWERade Drag racing season, Kurt Johnson and his ACDelco Cobalt Racing team have worked tirelessly to establish the consistency necessary to win on a regular basis. There have been glimpses of their tremendous potential, such as their winning performance in Phoenix in February. However, Johnson knows that in order to challenge for this year’s championship, such strong showings must be the rule rather than the exception.
Fortunately, coming into this weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, NV, the second-generation racer is confident they have gotten a firm handle on their race car, and arrives in the Nevada desert determined to repeat their winning performance from this race a year ago.
"If you really want to know the truth, we were just trying to get our odds up coming into Vegas," joked Johnson. "In all seriousness, things were happening with our race car through the first few races that hurt our performance. It's taken some time, but we have been working to not only find out what to fix, but to also see what we needed to do to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.
"As a result, we've gone over every inch of this ACDelco Cobalt several times. We know what went wrong in Gainesville and in Houston, and have addressed both issues. We made a few test runs in Atlanta last week, and believe everything should be working perfectly this weekend. I’m just as confident as I was coming off the win in Phoenix. We're ready to start swinging for the fences again, seeing if we can hit a home run, and win someone a trip to Las Vegas courtesy of ACDelco."
In only its seventh year on the NHRA tour, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has firmly established itself as one of the crown jewels of the drag racing world and a favorite of both the racers and fans. This magnificent facility has also entrenched itself at the top of Kurt's personal list, as evidenced by his two wins and five final round appearances in his last eight races in the Silver State.
"Las Vegas has been very good to the ACDelco Cobalt crew," said Johnson. "The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the very best facilities we race on, as are all the racetracks owned by Bruton Smith. The racing surface is pretty smooth, the pit area is completely paved and they take excellent care of it. When you combine that with its location in the shadow of the entertainment capital of the world, you come up with a fun place to race. It's shaping up to be a great weekend, and we’re ready to waltz down the boulevard."
This year, ACDelco is teaming with Kurt Johnson to produce the "ACDelco Drive to Win" Sweepstakes, where entrants can win awards, racing trips and prizes, including the grand prize: a 2007 Cobalt SS complete with Genuine Chevrolet Accessories. For more information on Kurt Johnson, ACDelco and the Drive to Win Sweepstakes, please visit http://www.acdelco.com/promotions/drivetowin/
Kurt Johnson & the ACDelco Cobalt Racing team By the Numbers – SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals edition:
2 – KJ wins in Las Vegas, which came in 2005 & 2006
5 – Kurt's Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Final Round Appearances
6 – Top half qualifying starts for KJ in Las Vegas, where his average starting position is 7.08
6.613 – KJ's career best elapsed time (in seconds) recorded in October 2006 in Richmond, VA
12 – KJ Vegas starts, dating back to the inaugural race in 2000.
13 – Consecutive years in which Kurt has won at least one national event, the longest active streak in Pro Stock.
20 – KJ elimination round wins at The Strip, versus 10 losses for a .667 win percentage.
209.26 - KJ's career best top speed (in mph) recorded in October 2006 in Richmond, VA
699 – Kurt career elimination rounds coming into Las Vegas, with a 447-252 win-loss record.
2006 – KJ's most recent win at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which came at this race one year ago when he qualified sixth and defeated Mike Edwards, Erica Enders, Jason Line and Dave Connolly.
Event Schedule:
Friday, April 13: Two qualifying sessions at 3:00 & 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 14: Two qualifying sessions at 12 noon & 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 15: Pre-race ceremonies starting at 10:00 a.m.
First Round of Eliminations at 11:00 a.m.
posted by David @ 4:01 PM
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