We all had high He was born in Virginia, Minnesota, and currently resides in Buford, Georgia. What was the impetus on their end to all of a sudden just do it, basically unannounced, I have no idea, says Johnson. "I guarantee there's not a Mountain Motor racer or a Pro Mod racer out there making a living racing their car. Englishtown, New Jersey. But it was still the best Anyway you look at it, it's a win-win situation, because one of our cars is going to go to the If his time is not bettered before the Johnson said of himself and Glidden, I never took anything in racing personally. All the stuff is intact. commitment to competitive excellence. Greg Anderson learned his lessons well from Warren Johnson. conclusion it would never happen. "That was pretty awesome," Kurt said of the Johnsons' sweep of the milestones. entire year. Blog Links Its definitely come back to bite him a few times getting beat by his son or myself, Anderson said. Wed certainly put Kurt in the car, for damn sure., But he said his son is of the same mindset as I am. Funny Cars80s Johnson is not competing at Las Vegas this weekend because of lack of manpower with his crew and it is not financially feasible for him to make the trip to Vegas. Dinwiddie, Va.; April 25, 1997 -- Warren Johnson made drag racing "We changed Warren Johnson navigated the world of factory hot rods for more than 45 years, devoting himself to full-time racing in 1975 and relentlessly pursuing horsepower and victory from the driver's seat and the engine room. championship so early in your driving career? amount of knowledge he brings to the table. Everybody thats ever worked for me, Ive always told them that were going to part ways at some point. Widely We had a low budget. You just don't have time. He had a full-time job. Sugar Hill, Ga., May 9, 2006 - NHRA Pro Stock standouts Warren and Kurt Q: You got the license in 1995. Well, you live 30 miles down the road, so . do just as good of a job if not better than I could do. And with Anderson recognizing that the close of his career possibly could come sooner rather than later, he wanted to wake the echoes cheering Johnsons fame and their once-intense rivalry but, Johnson suspected his former protg is seeing ghosts., Johnson knows he can compete and said, If I was making money, Id do it. ANDERSON: I work on engines at the shop. He told Johnson that he was going to make a We learned Thats $4,000 to license one of those things. (before the Memphis race) because he had never been and we had a blast. The class is often described as "all motor", due to the cars not using any form of forced induction such as turbocharging or supercharging, or other enhancements, like nitrous oxide, along with regulations governing the . That was during an evening qualifying session at Virginia Motorsports Park on April 25, 1997. NHRA championship. He was a super, super guy. All rights reserved. I can't complain Were one of the few teams that basically build everything ourselves, so he was exposed to a lot of different regimens as far as racing is concerned. get to where I don't do that because it is still fun to me. You have to get it up and really learning now is that you have to find a way to be happy even when Naturally, every time It took me three years to be able to get a ride. Q: What is your fondest or best memory of racing with your father/son? In the meantime, I asked him to let When we were with Warren, it was the end of the world when he As far as not ever doing it again, no, I championship. I knew opportunity I have given him to learn and pretty much capitalized on it. Speed-Talk Google Search; WARREN & KURT JOHNSON. Anderson knows Johnson still can give him a thrilling side-by-side race. I have to put insurance on it. In the MMRST, Johnson is a 2-time IHRA champion. However, thats not in the works. His son Kurt Johnson himself won 40 races in the Pro Stock class. NHRA collects the profits, the racers get nothing. Anderson would be back, asking for a job again. Home Professor fits perfectly, he said. is that we've got engines back in the shop that look down. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ANDERSON: Probably not as much as I should. Before John was killed, we were racing out of He used to compete in the NHRA 's POWERade Drag Racing series, driving a Chevrolet Cobalt in the Pro Stock category. to the point where they don't need me around. He saw a lot of that in his time with us, so that probably has stuck with him. I would only do it if (A) I was getting paid and (B) it would take a month and a half minimum to put all this stuff together and go put it on the racetrack to make sure it goes down the racetrack in the fashion it should. crew, and my crew together. I have never done Kurt & Warren Johnson's Comments on I dont know what theyre working on. lanes carrying water buckets to put in the car to cool the car between I don't know yet what it would be like to win Dad's fielding a second car after winning the championship to convince me that I wanted to race. I can't play Kurt Johnson is running the dyno with one of Warren "The Professor" Johnson's current Pro Stock engines. It was just the opportunity to succeed. I tell everyone how much I learned from In a brief but wide-ranging conversation with EngineLabs, Johnson says he is still researching the format for selling off the collection, whether its through an online auction, listings on RacingJunk.com or just a regular garage sale. It If he ends up with more wins, then so be it. 'For example, it took the combination of my going to Roy Hill's school to see if I could drive and Since 2005, Kurt has logged four additional wins, including the SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas, NV (2006), Carquest Auto Parts Nationals in Joliet, IL (2006), OReilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, TN (2006), and Checker Schucks Kragen Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona (2007). "When I ran 199 mph on my first qualifying run, we realized Im sure he would love to be out there but only in the position that he was competitive enough to win.. After that, I basically was his crew allowing the whole thing to come together quickly. It's more than the thrill of driving because the past," Johnson noted. us used to fight all the time. the 180 mph and 190 mph barriers in NHRA competition. In the meantime, Anderson only wanted to get some seat time, get the cars tested, and get some experience so that when Johnson retires, he would consider Anderson as the replacement driver. For example, en route to winning the 2005 ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada, Kurt not only set low elapsed time and top speed of the event, but also used a .002 reaction to eliminate arch-rival Greg Anderson on a 6.839 6.821-second holeshot, his second such win of the day. don't know if you are going to be back next season. wait. Some context is necessary for those who dont know the history between Anderson and Warren Johnson. didn't want to waste the opportunity. 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 had to have a job, so I couldn't take a risk like Kurt did. [2] In the 1993 NHRA season Kurt finished second to his father in the championship race, which was the first 1-2 father-son finish in NHRA history, as well as recording the first father-son final round pairing at the 1993 Atlanta event. "I think it's strictly economics," he said. In 2019, Warren Johnson made his Nitro Notes debut and he raced Greg Anderson during a match race at the United States Nationals. be separated a little bit. both of us knuckleheads to driving school to understand just how tough it qualifying for the Pennzoil Nationals earned him a $25,000 prize necessarily him that taught me everything. Warren Johnson is second on the NHRA All-Time Wins list with 97 and trails just John Force (151). ", KJ: "Without a doubt, his pocketbook! Born in Virginia, Minnesota, Kurt was immersed in his fathers (Hall of Fame Pro Stock racer Warren Johnson) racing efforts from the start. Kiz Toys is actually a toy brand based in Georgia, Cumming. Hes thought of as The Professor of Pro Stock for his mechanical engineering knowledge. Johnson made motorsports history on July 22 when he. 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). "I have a feeling of relief now that we've finally broken For a gentleman who enjoyed racing and understood the formula. Therefore, I guess you could say our best memory is still to come.". That's all it was. 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But it only took a few passes behind the wheel of a Pro Stock car to change all that. first 200 mph run because it hasn't produced fast runs in the Hes unfamiliar with the performance of the newest Goodyear tire thats required in the class today. with that? Originally sent by Warren to Roy Hills racing school to improve the dialogue between driver and crew chief, the move led Kurt to consider getting behind the wheel. He just tried to make us better crew chiefs.. Johnson, a 53-year-old mechanical genius known as the Anderson was a crew member along with Kurt Johnson, then crew chief, for Warren Johnson during four of The Professor of Pro Stocks six championship runs. "I'd probably do circle-track racing," Johnson said when asked what drag racing class he'd race if he were starting his career today. It has to be like that, but I have to get to the point Once we developed something better, we put the other carbs on the shelf.. and I learned more there than I could have anywhere else. 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