InnerView:

Warren Johnson

by Chris Martin

Warren Johnson is the defending five-time NHRA Winston Pro Stock Champion (1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999) and is on any drag race fans' list as one of top two or three such racers of all-time. In addition to his NHRA conquests, "W.J." won the 1979 and 1980 IHRA Pro Stock titles and was the first AHRA Pro Stock competitor to run a seven-second time, a 7.93 at the Gateway Nationals in St. Louis. As most contemporary fans know, Johnson also became the first driver over 200-mph in an NHRA Pro Stocker with a 200.13-charge at Richmond, Virginia in April of 1997. Throw in the fact that he is also the third winningest driver in NHRA annals with 80 career trophies and one has one of the great careers in any auto racing discipline.

However, as fate sometimes works, the 2000 season is likely to be Johnson's worst season in 10 years. If he wins the NHRA title a sixth time, it will mark the greatest comeback in class history as he has won just one race (NHRA Gatornationals) as of August 1 this year. A number of factors figure into this, not the least of which being the incredible success of six-time 2000 winner Jeg Coughlin in his Rich Maskin-tuned Jeg's Mail Order-backed Olds Cutlass.

After the Autolite Nationals we talked to Johnson about all things W.J. and Pro Stock. Below are his comments to selected questions.

DRO: Warren, what's the deal with the 2000 season?

W.J.: Well, it's just been one of those years. We laid out the best of plans for the 2000 season, had a definite plan of attack, and then screw-ups came into the picture. Certainly, a key one for us would have to be parts supply problems. Our parts supplier had a forging dye failure, which led to the parts being late and in one particular instance, led to our getting 150 mis-machined parts. This set us up for a bad start, because we had to rely on last year's old internal engine parts and we were down on power and this went on until the end of March.

Once we got what we needed, then we had to work with them. It's not just a case of slapping them into the car and start winning races. Plus, by the time we had the equipment, we also had the fact that the Coughlin team had won three or four races and we had some catching up to do.

DRO: How about the Coughlin team. How would you rate Jeg Jr. as a driver and Rich Maskin as a tuner?

W.J.: Well, an answer depends on whether you're talking about natural abilities or how he rates historically or whatever. As far as a driver goes currently, I will say his efficiency is as good as it gets right now. He's doing the job over in that camp and doing it well and from the midpoint of last year to this point, it's hard to fault his driving. If you're talking historically, then things are diffferent. I'm not knocking him personally, don't forget, but he's like a lot of younger drivers now. In some cases, a lot of the newer guys can't tell a piston from a petunia.

When, myself or [Bob] Glidden or [Bill] Jenkins drove, we did it all. We drove the truck, tuned the car at the shop, flogged it at the track, raced it, loaded it back up and went home. That's a lot of work. We didn't stand at the autograph lines or meet the press while the crews got the car in shape. If all we had to do was just drive the car, we all might've won more races than we have. It's a different sport now and comparisons are difficult. It's just like comparing a Babe Ruth to whoever's the big hitter now, it's very hard to categorize him or Jeg Coughlin or Glidden or anyone else, because you're taking things out of a particular historical context. I will say the success he's enjoyed to this point has elevated the public's interest in Pro Stock and that's good for everybody.

Maskin's business [Dart Industries] enables him to get a lot of information and contributions from outside the sport. I don't see him as an innovator, but he does have a wealth of information from every form of auto racing his business extends to. He supplies a lot racers, IRL, NASCAR, and others and there's a lot of talent outside of drag racing.

DRO: How about your driving this year? How would you rate it? Do you plan on getting out of the seat at any time soon?

W.J.: Let's see. For 2000, I would say barely mediocre. We're third and fourth (son/teammate Kurt Johnson) in the points, and it's certainly a year that I have not been very happy with. But as bad as it's been, there are probably a lot of teams that would be satisfied with what's happened. We won [the Gatornationals] and have three runner-ups, but that's not what we're accustomed to doing.

As far as not driving anymore, I don't have any time frame for it or see it happening. This hasn't been my best season, but it's not time to think about slashing my wrists or anything like that.

DRO: As far as Pro Stock in general, what do you think would help the class gain even more recognition?

W.J.: I see the need for more plates as a glaring example. By that, I mean we need more Fords, more Buicks, Plymouths, not just Pontiac Firebirds and Dodge Avengers. We are sorely lacking for variety in Pro Stock, and that's important because not everyone loves the Firebird or the Avenger. We in drag racing should not lose sight of the fact that we are aiming at the people in the seats and I think many different models would only build their interest.

I also would like to see Fuel Injection come into the picture. Some might be a little intimidated by that, but they are far more user-friendly than the carburetors. It's my opinion that there are few tuners who really know how to handle the carburetors, the intricacies of jetting and other adjustments. Fuel injection takes some learning like everything else, but it's less complicated than the carburetor. I think if they came into the picture, you'd see the carburetor in the round file.

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