Don Schumacher’s DSR Racing team continued their domination of NHRA’s 2016 fuel FC class with yet another all team final round during the NHRA’s Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol.  It was the  fifth consecutive and the seventh time in 11 events that a DSR Racing Mopar Dodge Charger landed in the winner’s circle this season!

This time it was Tommy Johnson Jr. earning victory lane which provided a great dual birthday and Father’s Day gift for his dad Tommy Johnson Sr., that couldn’t be bought – only earned.

“I love this race, and Father’s Day seems to be really good to me,” the younger Johnson said.

It also was perfect timing for Johnson and the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T team funded by Terry Chandler to make an upward move in the standings. The 13th title of his career and first of this season moved him from ninth to seventh in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car standings.

“We had a great season last year and finished third in the points, but it started slow and then we made a really good charge late,” said Johnson, who won the Thunder Valley Nationals in 2014.

“This year, we had that same slow start, then we were runner-up in Epping (N.H., two weeks ago) and that just seems to set the tone for the rest of the year. My guys did a great job. We’re not an aggressive team; we race the racetrack, and (crew chief) John Collins makes some really great calls on what to do. He’s feeling it out as the season begins, and we get all that data and then really start to make a charge.

The win also qualifies Johnson for the $100,000 Traxxas Nitro Shootout all-star race held during the U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis.

“This takes a lot of the pressure off, to lock yourself in like that,” Johnson said. “It’s in the back of your mind, and we had a shot in Epping and just barely lost to my teammate Capps, who is already in.

“Then to race against (Matt) Hagan, another teammate who’s already in the Shootout, I thought, ‘Man, we have to get this done.’ We missed our first big shot, but they made a mistake giving us a second chance. We had to go get it. I kept telling myself it would be OK if we didn’t make the Shootout because the championship is the big picture – but you really want it. It’s a big race. You want that Shootout trophy on the mantel.”

Johnson’s Make-A-Wish Dodge made four great runs down the racetrack Sunday.

In the first round of eliminations, Johnson faced Cruz Pedregon and used a run of 3.988 seconds at 316.38 mph to turn on his first win light of the day.  He moved on to round two, where his 3.990 eliminated Robert Hight.
In the semifinals against Alexis DeJoria, he beat the heat with a 4.039. That sent him to the final round against Hagan. Johnson was quicker off the starting line with an outstanding 0.035 seconds reaction time that enabled his 4.039 to overcome Hagan’s quicker 4.030.

“Today, the car drove flawlessly,” Johnson said. “(Collins) made all the right adjustments to get the car down the track in these hot conditions. He used the data (from an earlier run) to make the car go down the track all day. This is just a great way to celebrate Father’s Day and my dad’s birthday.”

(Tommy Johnson Jr used a slight holeshot to edge out Matt Hagan in the fuel FC final round)

Johnson hopes his win at Bristol will produce more victories this year and will continue the team’s momentum into the rest of the race season.

Johnson and his Make-A-Wish team will finish their four-race series next weekend when they head to Norwalk, Ohio, for the Summit Nationals.

Event Essentials:   NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals (June 17-19th 2016) 

(Ron Capps qualified #1 with a track record 3.884 secs)

(Alexis DeJoria had a strong Bristol event – going to the semi final round)

Posted by Leah Vaughn — Photos courtesy of Auto Imagery & Mark Rebilas