Johnson, Chandler’s Make-A-Wish team will test Monday after first-round loss in NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. (April 30, 2017) – Unfortunately for the second weekend in a row, the Sunday ended too early for Terry’s Chandler’s Make-A-Wish Funny Car team.
Driver Tommy Johnson Jr. lost in the opening round last week at Houston and in the first round Sunday in the unique eighth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Johnson said. “The last thing we expected was to go out there and shake in the first round.
“We felt pretty confident coming into race day. We had a really consistent car, so that was the last thing on our mind that was going to happen.”
Johnson and the Make-A-Wish 2017 Dodge Charger R/T team, led by crew chief John Collins and assistant Rip Reynolds, entered race day as the No. 7 qualifier a time of 3.922 seconds at 319.52 mph.
The Four-Wide Nationals is the only race on the NHRA tour where up four nitro cars are line up for competition with the top two in each quad advancing. On Sunday, Johnson lined up in a quad consisting of Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation car, also sponsored by Terry Chandler, Robert Hight of John Force Racing and Jim Campbell of Jim Dunn Racing.
Johnson left the starting line first of the four with his reaction time of .053 seconds but his car went into tire shake and slowed to a 4.288-second lap at 314.31 mph while Hight and Beckman advanced to round two.
“We pedaled the throttle and tried to catch them. We just need figure out what’s wrong with the car. We’re going to test (Monday) so we can be ready for Atlanta next week.”
FUNNY CAR
Event winner:
No. 1 qualifier: Courtney Force (John Force Racing) 3.851 sec.-track record, 323.27 mph
(The two drivers advancing to next round are underlined.)
TOMMY JOHNSON JR., Terry Chandler’s Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T
Qualified: No. 7
SUNDAY
First round: Robert Hight (3.884 sec., 327.66 mph), Jack Beckman (4.025, 316.23), JOHNSON (4.288, 314.31), Jim Campbell (6.712, 98.34)
QUALIFYING
FRIDAY: 3.993 sec., 312.86 mph, (Session 1); 3.922, 319.52, (Session 2)
SATURDAY: 3.994, 311.05, (Session 3); 3.952, 316.52, (Session 4)
1. RON CAPPS (2) 518 —–
2. MATT HAGAN (2) 475 -43
3. John Force (1) 433 -85
4. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (1) 390 -125
5. JACK BECKMAN 375 -143
6. Robert Hight 365 -153
7. Courtney Force 343 -175
8. J.R. Todd 295 -223
9. Jonnie Lindberg 286 -232
10. Jim Campbell 242 -276
ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH
Make-A-Wish® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can have positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. Based in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 27,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 37 minutes. It has granted more than 254,000 wishes since its inception in 1980; more than 14,200 in 2014 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish at wish.org to learn more.
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields eight professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the Matco Tools dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown and the Papa John’s Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr.
DSR has won 302 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Wolf (wolfj@shoeracing.com), 702.524.1368
Leah Vaughn (vaughnl@shoeracing.com), 618.516.1988