MA rider Johnson to Debut New Chassis at Bristol; Will Attend Prestigious Medal of Honor Dinner

by Susie Arnold, Bernstein Racing

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Tommy Johnson, Jr., driver of the Monster Energy Funny Car, hails Bristol Dragway as one of his favorite tracks on the 24-event NHRA tour.

“I just love this facility,” said Johnson, “plus Bristol, before it was renovated into the premiere facility it is now, was the site of my first alcohol Funny Car win in 1987.”

Johnson, who was in the final four at Phoenix in February, acknowledges that the start of the 2008 season has been much slower than expected.

“NHRA has mandated a rule change on our Funny Car chassis that will come into effect by the July Denver event,” said Johnson. “We have tested this new-style chassis twice, most recently after the last event in St. Louis. In both tests, this chassis has performed better. Since this Hadman-built chassis is showing so much promise, we plan to run it at Bristol.

“At the St. Louis event we ran one of our best elapsed times this season,” said Johnson, “Our team has been working around the clock to make more performance strides.”

Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying begins Friday, May 16 at 4:30 p.m. followed by a second session at 7 p.m. There are two qualifying sessions Saturday 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., with eliminations scheduled to begin at noon Sunday.

Monster Mentions: Johnson to attend Medal of Honor dinner. Tommy Johnson will accompany wife Melanie Troxel to the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation banquet, Thursday, May 15 at the grand ballroom of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta as guests of one of Troxel’s car owners Roger Burgess. Brian Williams, anchor of NBC nightly news and emcee of the dinner will pay respect to 25 Medal of Honor recipients. Also receiving tributes will be former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn and Kimberly Dozier, the CBS correspondent who was so badly wounded in Iraq on Memorial Day, 2006. Dozier has written a book, Breathing the Fire.

“It is quite an honor to have an opportunity to attend this dinner,” said Johnson. “I’m looking forward to being in the company of some of our country’s real heroes.”

O’REILLY THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
TELEVISION ADVISORY

Qualifying – May 17 – ESPN2
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. ET

NHRA Race Day – May 18 – ESPN2
11-11:30 a.m. ET

Eliminations – May 18 – ESPN2
6:30 – 10 p.m. ET

Monster Energy’s MacClugage & Warner Sweep APBA Opener On Their Monster/Kawasaki Water Craft

MacClugage (1-2) and Warner (6-1) are best in Pro Am Open race at the American Power Boat Association’s National Tour opener in Parker, Ariz.

CORONA, Calif., (May 7, 2008) – Monster Energy/Kawasaki personal water craft racers Chris MacClugage and Craig Warner got off to a dynamite start recently on the American Power Boat Association’s (APBA) National Tour, both winning main events in the two-day APBA season opener in Parker, Ariz.

Both MacClugage and Warner were running the Monster Energy-branded Kawasaki Ultra 250s in the Pro Am Open class, with MacClugage striking first blood when a charging Warner broke a belt on his supercharger and lost power in the first moto. MacClugage was able to go on and win that moto, with Warner having to settle for a DNF.




But Warner would rebound in a big way in the second moto of the first day’s races, forcing the holeshot with an outside sweeping move and chopping everybody down in the second turn. From there he (Warner) pulled away from the rest of the field and lapped up to 3rd place – securing the second moto win with ease. End result: MacClugage 1st overall (1st -2nd ), Warner 6th (DNF-1st ).



The second day began with Warner opting for his back up boat, a Kawasaki STX15F. In the first moto he blasted out to a 2nd place start, but would bobble on the second lap while gunning for the lead. “On the next lap I let it all hang out and passed the 2nd and 1st place riders, then dominated the field and lapped up to 3rd place again for my second victory,” said Warner.







Warner set up much of the field in turn four at Parker. Confident with his efforts, he switched back to his Monster Energy/Kawasaki Ultra 250 and pulled the holeshot again – sweeping to the outside and splitting two riders for the lead. “I dominated the field by a half lap and lapped up to 3rd place again,” added Warner. “Chris MacClugage and I went head-to-head on very similar boats and it was a great battle for us. I came away with three moto wins and one DNF and was very happy with my performance. Thanks a lot to Monster Energy for backing us.” End result from Sunday: Warner 1st (1st -1st ), MacClugage 2nd (2nd -2nd ).



Up next for Monster Energy’s MacClugage and Warner is the June 7-8 APBA National Tour stop in Myrtle Beach , S.C.