US Nationals Video Uploaded 9/17/2008

Englishtown, NJ 6/14/10  Twenty-four year NHRA veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson of Irondale, Alabama made his second consecutive Full Throttle Series national event final round at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park on Monday morning after rain delayed the scheduled finals Sunday evening.

Johnson recorded the quickest elapsed time of his career with a 6.893 second run aboard his Suzuki during qualifying, which netted him the third position in the field of 16 competitors.  “We were definitely excited by that,” Johnson said on Saturday evening, “but even with that run, we were still only the third quickest motorcycle in the field.  We knew we were going to have our hands full during eliminations.”

Johnson, who recently signed a major associate sponsorship agreement with C& L Companies, manufacturers of an extensive line of aftermarket parts for dirt bikes, acknowledged that racing luck played a role in his reaching his second final round in as many weeks.  “I had a pretty bad Reaction Time in the first round,” he said, “but luckily, our Suzuki had the power to get the win light.”

 In the second round Johnson’s qualifying effort may have been on the mind of standout performer Andrew Hines, who redlighted away his chances. Regardless, Johnson’s Suzuki had the quicker elapsed time and likely would have won the race even without Hines’s error.

One week ago L.E. Tonglet of Metarie, Louisiana defeated Johnson’s Suzuki in the final round in Chicago, but in the shadow of the Big Apple, Johnson turned the tables, winning with a superior Reaction Time and quicker elapsed time.  “I’m not one of those guys who talks about ‘revenge,’” Johnson said after his semifinal round win.  “For us it’s just one more round win, one more opportunity to reach the finale.

“I won’t deny it,” he added.  “Having to wait overnight for the finals against Michael (Phillips) was tough, and the fact that he was the Number 1 qualifier must have been on my mind.  That’s the only explanation I can offer for just not being quick enough on the starting line this morning.  I hate saying it, but Michael had a better light, and he deserved to win.”

Making the loss even more bittersweet for Johnson was the fact that he once again recorded his career-best elapsed time, but in a losing effort.  His E.T. of 6.886 seconds will go into his personal record book, but combined with a slightly slower Reaction Time, that was all Phillips needed to make it to the finish line first.

Still with a grin on his face, Johnson said after the race, “Blame the rider for the loss.  Yeah, that’s me, but what can I say?  I’m really pleased with the way our Suzuki ran this weekend, and the credit for that goes to Tim Kulungian and Sam Perry more than me.  Just a tiny bit better Reaction Time would have made all the difference.  I’m bummed I let those guys down.

“We’ve had our hands full this year, as everyone knows.  We’re struggling financially, but two Full Throttle Series final rounds on back-to-back weekends demonstrates that we’re headed in the right direction.  We’re determined to make the Countdown to 10 and a big-time championship run later this year (Johnson moved up two more spots in the standings, from 7^th to 5^th), and weekends like the ones we’ve just had give us a huge emotional boost.  Just tell me when the next race is, and we’ll be ready!”

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