NORWALK, Ohio -- Allen Johnson won the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge on Saturday at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, his first victory in the special bonus event for the eight quickest Pro Stock teams from last year.
If Johnson can wins Sunday he could earn an additional $25,000 from NHRA for sweeping both races, bringing his potential weekend earnings to more than $100,000.
Johnson covered the quarter-mile distance in 6.725 seconds at 204.91 mph in his Dodge Stratus and used a rare perfect reaction time (0.000) to beat Greg Anderson, who posted a quicker, but losing 6.717 at 204.91 in his Pontiac GXP.
"The perfect light in the final, I don't know where that came from," said Johnson, the second Dodge driver to win the Challenge and first since Darrell Alderman in 1991.
"I haven't been driving too good lately. In the second round, I was able to get off my hind and cut a little better light, and then in the final, of course, you're just sucking up everything you've got to really get it close, and fortunately, it was green and perfect. To win this means a lot, especially being the first Mopar driver to win in the last 17 years. I don't think this will be our last time. Dad (Roy, crew chief) and the crew are just doing such an awesome job."
In other racing, Rod Fuller, Robert Hight, Jason Line and Eddie Krawiec topped qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event.
In Top Fuel, Fuller earned his first top qualifying effort of the season and second straight at the event with a run of 4.629 at 311.13.
Funny Car's Hight joined Fuller in posting his second straight No. 1 in the event. He drove his Ford Mustang to a 4.882 at 309.77 to claim his 25th career No. 1 qualifying position and second of the season.
