competitive 6.86 elapsed time
on his MacRak Suzuki but need-
ed none of it after Stoffer let the
clutch go a fraction of a second
too soon and red-lighted.
The win was the third of the
season for Johnson and left him
well within striking distance of
leader Smith with just one race
remaining.
"I really, really want to bring
home a championship. Matt
[Smith] has four and Angelle
[Sampey] has three and I just
want one," Johnson said. "I'm so
disappointed that we let one get
away in Bristol but now we've got
a chance to go to Pomona and
finish it."
"It took me 17 years to win my
first national event, 2004 in St.
Louis. After 10 years, my mom
was like, 'How about lawn care,
dentistry, or something else?'
The truth is I'm a sucker for this
sport."
Johnson's sudden improve-
ment can be traced to a recent
NHRA rules revision that permit-
ted the Suzuki inline four-cylinder
bikes to run a four-valve cylin-
der head. Several riders have
been able to benefit from the
new design, but few better than
Johnson, who is in the midst of
his best season.
After qualifying second behind
Smith's Denso Buell, Johnson
raced to victories on Sunday
against Charles Poskey, Angie
Smith and fellow championship
contender Sampey. The win over
Sampey represented a big points
swing, especially after Smith
also went out in the semifinal
round.
In the winner's circle, John-
son was also reminded that the
Las Vegas event represented
the 1000th national event for
NHRA, which was founded in
1955. Johnson has participated
in 461 of those races, more than
any other Pro Stock Motorcycle
competitor.
"It is very special to win this
1000th NHRA event and the
money is also like life blood
for us," Johnson said. "I'm just
happy to be depositing a check
for once."
With one event left to run,
Smith remains the leader with
Johnson just 20 points back and
Sampey still in the mix, 30 points
out of first. Smith and Sampey
have plenty of combined experi-
ence in tight championship bat-
tles while this is a new endeavor
for Johnson.
Stoffer is also using the four-
valve engine combination and
her performance has also im-
proved dramatically. Two weeks
ago, she was a runner-up to
Sampey at the Bristol round, and
she rode to another final round
in Las Vegas by beating Kelly
Clontz, White Alligator Suzuki's
Jerry Savoie and Smith. In that
round, Stoffer left the starting
line first and won via a holeshot
with her 6.86 arriving at the fin-
ish line before Smith's 6.83.
The 2021 NHRA season will
wrap up on November 12-14 at
the Auto Club Finals at Pomona
Raceway near Los Angeles. The
event features points-and-a-half
for professional competitors,
making it possible for at least a
half dozen riders to still win the
title.
Kevin McKenna
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 44 NOVEMBER 2, 2021 P29
