The Steve Johnson Racing team seemed to have plenty of battles over the weekend but something special was sure to happen and Johnson wasn't going to leave the track without a Wally in hand.
Johnson was strong in the opening quad where he topped Angie Smith, Hector Arana Jr., and Ron Tornow. Finish Order & Margins: 1. Steve Johnson was 0.0103 sec./about 3 feet ahead of 2. Angie Smith, who was 0.119 sec./about 35 feet ahead of 3. Hector Arana Jr, who was 0.121 sec./about 34 feet ahead of 4. Ron Tornow.
Steve Johnson has not always had the most consistent motorcycle in the class, but he was strong when he needed to be, and this was clear in the second round where he pulled out a 6.712, the quickest run of Sunday’s final eliminations to hold off a quad that included Stoffer, Jimmy Underdahl, and Angie Smith.
Stoffer made a good pass and moved on to the final round with Johnson. Finish Order & Margins: 1. Steve Johnson was 0.1535 sec./about 45 feet ahead of 2. Karen Stoffer, who was 0.002 sec./about 7 inches ahead of 3. Jim Underdahl, who was Green ahead of 4. Angie Smith who was Red.
In the final, Johnson faced Joey Gladstone, Eddie Krawiec & Karen Stoffer and he continued to dominate the field to pick up the win.
Johnson has always been known more for his colorful persona than his on-track performances and even though he’s got arguably the quickest bike in the class, much of that hasn’t changed. Following the win, Johnson shared his normal amount of excitement for the sport and his place within it. The Broccoli man even took a piece of his favorite vegetable and placed it snuggly on his prized Wally like a bouquet.
“These bikes, they’re so hard to ride perfectly,” Johnson said. “We made some good runs today, but it’s never going to be an easy day in this class. For us to win, it’s special and this track is always a special place. Anytime you can win and win a race at a Bruton Smith track, you’re killing it and doing a great job.”
“What happened to glitter girl?” said Johnson, an obvious swipe at low qualifier Angelle Sampey. “Did she break? Her bike was a rocket ship.
“I wish NHRA would show how hard it is to be perfect in this class. It’s so hard drove drive a bike that goes 6.7-seconds. It’s so hard. You have to have strength. When the front end is in the air you have to steer with your feet.”
“And then there’s Angie, bless her heart. She’s out here on a Buell and that’s tough. At least until Matt brings out his Buell and we’ll all get crushed again. Matt and I don’t get along. It’s okay. That might be the only real rivalry we have in our sport right now. I don’t hate anyone. I just say what I feel.”
For Johnson, the win was the 13th of his long career in 29 final round appearances. With the win, Johnson moved into the lead in the Camping World Pro Stock Motorcycle standings.
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