Johnson also went off on
reigning world champ Matt Smith,
another longtime rival. Last week,
Smith raced Johnson in the final
round in Houston. Before the fi-
nal, Smith elected to swap bikes,
parking his new Suzuki in favor of
last year's championship-winning
Buell. Although perfectly within
the rules, Johnson was appar-
ently incensed by the move.
"It's no secret that Matt and I
don't get along," Johnson said.
"It's okay. It might be the only
real rivalry we have in our sport.
I said some things last week and
I know that Angie [Smith, Matt's
wife] didn't see the humor in it.
Look, I don't hate anyone, but I
just say what I feel."
Beyond Johnson's perfor-
mance (and his comments),
there were other highlights from
the Charlotte round. Gainesville
winner Karen Stoffer had another
solid race aboard her Big St.
Charles/Skillman Auto Suzuki.
Stoffer, who made the two
quickest runs in the history of the
class in Gainesville, went to the
final round with consistent runs of
6.79 and 6.80 to keep herself in
the battle for the season champi-
onship. Stoffer also had a scary
moment during qualifying when
the front fairing of her Suzuki
came loose at half-track. Travel-
ing well over 170-mph, the front
end of Stoffer's bike went air-
borne and pitched sideways. She
managed to get the bike stopped
without incurring any damage but
quickly noted it was one of the
wildest rides of her long career.
"I had no warning, none at all,"
Stoffer said. "The front end came
up and I knew the bike wasn't go-
ing straight. My biggest concern
was crossing the centerline and
maybe hitting one of the timing
blocks because I almost certainly
would have come off the bike if
that happened. In the end, it all
worked out, but it was definitely
tense for a while."
Back to Johnson, he's lead-
ing the standings for one of the
few times in his career albeit by
just six points over Stoffer. Now
that he has the top spot, he's
determined to stay there although
there are 12 more rounds left in
the long season.
"I've worked my whole career
to be in this position," Johnson
said. "It hasn't been easy but
here we are. I'm just proud of all
the sponsors that continue to
stand behind our program. We
just need to keep this going."
Kevin McKenna
IN
THE
WIND
P52
Johnson made it two wins in a row.
