Dallas: Kurt Johnson takes the win

DALLAS, Nov. 4, 2000 - Kurt Johnson extended his final-round record in 2000 to a perfect 5-0 with a victory Saturday in the rain-delayed O'Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex. Johnson notched his 20th career victory with a final-round win over newly crowned champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., 6.966 at 196.73 mph to 7.555 at 141.00 mph. Kurt's ACDelco Camaro was seeded in the No. 2 spot based on the Winston championship standings after rain washed out qualifying. Without any preliminary runs, Johnson and his ACDelco crew had to roll the dice on their car setup before the start of eliminations. "I love this kind of racing," Kurt declared as he celebrated his third victory at the Motorplex. "It's like going to Las Vegas and gambling. We looked at the information we collected here last year and put together a package to get us down the track. We didn't really change anything all day long." K.J. dominated on race day, running the quickest elapsed time in every round of eliminations and recording the fastest Pro Stock speed of the event at 198.55 mph. Kurt stopped the timers in the first round at 6.923 seconds to defeat Larry Morgan and ran 6.946 in the second stanza to take out Richie Stevens. He beat two Coughlin brothers en route to the winner's circle, taking out Troy in the semi-finals with a 6.931 e.t. and Jeg Jr. in the final. Kurt has now defeated Jeg in all three of the pair's final-round meetings. Following his father's win last weekend in Houston, Kurt continued the Johnsons' dominance in Dallas. A member of the Johnson family has now appeared in 12 consecutive final rounds at the Texas Motorplex, a streak that began in 1993. "I needed this one to put some points on the No. 3 and No. 4 guys," explained Kurt, who increased his lead for the runner-up spot in the Winston championship to 80 points over Warren. The final standings will be determined at the season-ending Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., next weekend.

KURT JOHNSON RACE RESULTS:
Qualifying: Kurt Johnson qualified No. 2 based on driver points.

Eliminations:
First Round: Kurt Johnson (6.923/198.44) defeated Larry Morgan (7.056/194.80)
Second Round: Kurt Johnson (6.946/198.41) defeated Richie Stevens (6.984/195.56) Semi-Final: Kurt Johnson (6.931/198.55) defeated Troy Coughlin (8.467/115.52) Final Round: Kurt Johnson (6.966/196.73) defeated Jeg Coughlin Jr. (7.555/141.00)

Low ET: Kurt Johnson, 6.923 seconds
Top Speed: Kurt Johnson, 198.55 mph

<pre> POINTS RACE: (After 22 of 23 events) Driver Wins Points 1. Jeg Coughlin Jr. 10 1,956 2. Kurt Johnson 5 1,490 3. Warren Johnson 2 1,410 4. Ron Krisher 2 1,359 5. Mark Pawuk 1 1,180

NEXT RACE: Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Nov. 9-12, Pomona, Calif. TV: ESPN2, Nov. 12, 10:00 p.m. (ET)