300 and Counting...
Team Mopar® NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson marked a very special occasion on May 1–3 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. The long-serving Team Mopar veteran competed in his 300th race during the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals.
“That’s a big one,” said Johnson of reaching the 300-race mark. “I never thought we would race this long. But I have to say now that we’re here, I could see us going on and getting to the 500-race mark. I can only count a handful of teams that have been around as long as we have. We have to be doing something right.”
The Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T driver added, “We’ve been very lucky to have Mopar as a sponsor for almost our entire career, so obviously the partnership has paid dividends. To sustain a team for that long and to be a productive team, that’s really something.”
A.J. exited in the first-round at Gateway, losing a HEMI® vs. HEMI battle with fellow Mopar-powered driver Rickie Jones. At press time Johnson was fifth in the NHRA Pro Stock standings and well on his way to making the six-race NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs for the third consecutive year (see story on page 34).
MOPAR PERFORMANCE PARTS CATALOG AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN PRINT!
The “bible” of Mopar gear heads is now just a mouse click away. Yep, the new Mopar Performance Parts Catalog is available online at www.mopar.com. Visitors to the Mopar.com Web site can download a PDF of the catalog or print out a full-color hard copy to get access to information on everything from Mopar restoration parts to the latest and greatest HEMI engines. Enthusiasts can also order a print version of the catalog through their local dealer.
THE BETTER HALF?
That’s a question Formula Drift (FD) star Samuel Hübinette might be asking himself as it pertains to who is more skilled in the driver’s seat—himself or his beautiful wife Stina, who is seeing her own star rise on the racetrack. And like her husband, she’s doing it behind the wheel of a Mopar-powered race car.
However, in order to keep the Hübinette home a happy one, Stina smartly chose to leave domination of the FD series to her two-time champion spouse, Samuel (a wise decision when you live with someone whose nickname is the “Crazy Swede!”). Stina instead set her sights on Redline Time Attack competition, in which drivers complete three timed hot laps, with the fastest lap time earning the win.
Stina wheeled her Mopar Dodge Neon SRT4® to an impressive outing in her Redline Time Attack debut in July 2008 at Fontana, Calif., seizing a runner-up finish in the modified class. She staged another “attack” on March 28–29 at Buttonwillow (Calif.) Raceway, running the fifth best lap time out of 24 teams in the street legal front wheel class in her Mopar-powered Neon, maintained by Southern California’s DC Performance. Come race time, Stina claimed her second Time Attack top-ten finish, clocking in at seventh overall.
“I was really happy to be out on the track again after the off season,” said Stina. “Unfortunately, in the competition I lost turbo pressure and dropped down to 7th place. Of course, I was bummed, but that’s how it is in racing. Overall I had a great time.”
“It’s been great to see how fast Stina adapted to road racing,” said Samuel. “We are really happy for all the help we get from Mopar, BFG, KW, Manny Z Performance, Royal Purple and DC Performance. I think she’ll just continue to learn and get better and better behind the wheel.”
