On the Run with Warren Johnson driver of the GM Performance Parts Pontiac Pro Stocker

As I write this column, the first race of the 2006 season is exactly one month away. Though it seems as though we just left Pomona, it has been, in fact, 64 days since our last race, time that I believe has been well spent by everyone in the Warren Johnson Racing organization.

For many years, there was a tendency to think of this time of year as the "off-season." However, it has become increasingly evident to anyone who follows our sport that the only difference between now and the actual racing season is that we do not go to a track for a national event. Other than that, the GM Performance Parts crew has been working as hard as, if not harder than, we do at any other time of the year to prepare for the fight ahead.

My time away from the circuit got off to a rather unusual start when I was honored to be part of a contingent of four NHRA drivers who spent three days visiting U.S. troops at the Kaiserslautern Military Complex in Germany. The post is really a mini-city, and we were able to see a lot of the infrastructure, including the motor pool, weather squadron, and equipment repair facilities.

A key stop during our visit was the hospital, where we visited with some of the wounded who were returning from the war in Iraq as well as those taking care of them. Although it's difficult to see these brave young men and women who have been injured, it was enjoyable to spend time with them and thank them for their service to our country. I was happy to donate my time to this cause because without their efforts we would not have the freedom to do what we do.

Overall, it was a great experience, and I thank the people responsible for putting the trip together, including Fred Simmonds at Pontiac, SFC (Ret.) Wayne Reed, and Maj. (Ret.) Dieter Protsch of the Army Special Forces Association, as well as everyone at the USO and the 435th Services Squadron at Ramstein Air Base.

For the most part, this off-season has been standard fare for us, balancing research and development at the shop with on-track testing. After working on our engine program, we had a very productive two-day test session in mid-December at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, Ga.

One factor working in our favor was the relatively new condition of our GM Performance Parts GTO, which had only seven test runs on it at the end of the 2005 season. This was due to the fact that nine of our 11 previous test sessions were rained out and that our Madison test was shortened to three runs due to inclement weather. Therefore, we had no concerns about wearing it out, and we should have no problem making it last until we debut a new car in the early part of the season.'

Although the results were certainly impressive - my son Kurt and I bettered both ends of the current national record - our primary objective was to gain information that would help us during the regular season. In other words, this session was productive because we've established a better chassis setup than we've had in two years.

Since then, we've been back at our shop in Sugar Hill, Ga., with the crews taking care of the race cars and tractor-trailers while I concentrate on the cylinder heads, intake manifolds, and carburetors and Kurt and his guys focus on the short blocks, engine assembly, and dyno-tuning. It's a pretty smooth operation involving a tremendous amount of analysis.

If Mother Nature cooperates, we'll soon be going back to Cecil for another two days of testing, then return to the shop to work on the fifth iteration of the DRCE-3 engine as we look to improve on the piece that served us so well last season.

Making the job easier is the outstanding personnel we currently have assembled on our two teams and at the shop. I've had some tremendous people work for me over the years (as well as a few jokers), but I have to say that the team chemistry at Warren Johnson Enterprises is the best it has ever been.

This is a big year for both Kurt's and my teams; this is my 20th season with General Motors Service and Parts Operations (GM SPO) and Kurt's 10th season with ACDelco. We're extremely proud to have them as our sponsors, and we would love to reward them for their long-term support by bringing home another championship. Although it certainly won't be easy, let's just say I like our chances.

Copyright National Hot Rod Association Jan 20, 2006
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