Johnson All Geared Up For NHRA Southern Nationals In Atlanta

IRONDALE, AL 4/21/08 Snap-on Tools Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle racer

Steve Johnson is on pins and needles awaiting the start of this coming

weekend's NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta

Dragway in Commerce, Georgia. "It seems like forever since we've

raced," said Johnson from his shop in Irondale. "I know it's really

only been about three weeks, and our team has been really busy, but

there's nothing like real, on-the-track competition to keep your blood

flowing.

"We're ready for this coming weekend, believe me. We've

been testing four times since we raced in Houston, and while we did find

some things that will improve our performances, I'm not going to go out

on a limb and make wild promises. I'd rather wait and see how quick and

fast we are in Atlanta, and take it from there."

The goal this coming weekend is to make four good qualifying

runs on Friday and Saturday, and then win two or three rounds of racing

on Sunday. "Yeah, we'd like to win all four rounds, but we have to be

realistic," Johnson said. "If we can make it to the semifinal round

we'll know we're headed in the right direction. That's a realistic goal

for us right now. It is extremely tough competing against the Buells

and Harley-Davidsons because they have a significant cubic inch

advantage over the Suzuki's. We're not discouraged by that, though. It

just makes us work that much harder."

Along with an intensely busy schedule of personal

appearances at schools on behalf of both Snap-on Tools and WyoTech

Technical Schools, Johnson will be the opening speaker at the Skills USA

convention on Friday night in Lilburn, Georgia about 30 minutes from the

track. With just 45 minutes after the last qualifying attempt of the

night he will be trading in his 195mph race bike for a microphone as he

will give a brief presentation on careers in motorsports and the

technical industry. On Thursday Johnson will also make numerous

appearances with Snap-on franchisees at car dealerships and Suzuki

motorcycle stores throughout eastern Georgia. Then he'll travel to

nearby Talladega for the induction ceremony at the International

Motorsports Hall of Fame, which is something he's really looking forward

to. "It's amazing to be there with so many famous people from al facets

of motorsports," he said, "but naturally, being a drag racer I'm really

looking forward to the induction of Bill 'Grumpy' Jenkins. He's one of

the most honored 'door slammer' drag racers and engine builders in our

sport's history, and he's a very colorful character, too.

"I'm also looking forward to the induction of Ralph

Seagraves, who was instrumental in bringing Winston sponsorship to drag

racing. He passed away back in '98, but I know the turnout for his

induction will be huge because of what he did for our sport."