Allen Johnson posts back to back wins in Pro Stock at Sonoma

This past weekend, the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
ascended upon Infineon Raceway in Sonoma California for the 25^th
annual Sonoma Nationals and for the second event in a row – Team Mopar driver
Allen Johnson took home the Pro Stock victory.

For the second event in a row, Team Mopar driver Allen
Johnson put his Dodge Avenger in the top qualifying spot for the Pro Stock
class.  Allen’s run of 6.517 at 212.09
miles per hour made him the top qualifier with fellow Avenger drivers Vincent
Nobile(5^th), V. Gaines (7^th), Jeg Coughlin(9^th)
and Matt Hartford (16^th) joining him at there were a total of 5
Dodge Avengers in the Pro Stock field. 
It should be noted that Greg Anderson did not have the top qualifying
time but he did have the highest speed in qualifying.

In round one, three of the five Dodge entries were
victorious starting with Jeg Coughlin, who went slower than first round
opponent Warren Johnson but thanks to a big starting line advantage, Jeg got
Team Mopar off to a good start.  Vincent
Nobile took on Warren’s son Kurt Johnson in R1 and thanks to a red light start
by Johnson’s Pontiac GXP, Nobile got the free pass to the second round.  Top qualifier Allen Johnson took his Mopar Avenger
to the starting line against fellow Dodge driver Matt Hartford, pulling an
advantage at the start and driving away to make short work of Hartford while V.
Gaines fell victim to former Dodge driver Larry Morgan in a very close race.

In round two, we unfortunately had another Dodge-v-Dodge
matchup pitting Jeg Coughlin against teammate Allen Johnson but the race was
over in a hurry when Coughlin lost traction shortly after the launch.  The other Dodge Avenger in the second round
was Vincent Nobile, who unsuccessfully took on Jason Line in the Summit racing
Camaro – leaving only Allen Johnson to carry on the torch for the Dodge
teams.  Even though Johnson had what
amounted to a free pass in the second round, he still turned in the fastest
pass of the round with a 6.517 at 212.46 miles per hour.

In the third round, Allen Johnson took on Jason Line – with the
Mopar Avenger using a starting line advantage and a faster pass to advance to
the finals.  The other half of the final
four pitted Greg Anderson in his Camaro against Mike Edwards in a Pontiac GXP
and when Edwards red lit, it set up a final round between Anderson and Allen
Johnson.

In the final round, Greg Anderson pulled a near-perfect
reaction time (0.001) and had an early advantage but the super-fast Mopar
Avenger and Allen Johnson ran Anderson down – winning for the second time in
two events.

On the season, Allen Johnson now sits in the first spot with
a lead of 54 points over second place Greg Anderson.  Vincent Nobile currently holds the 5^th
spot, Jeg Coughlin is currently 10^th, and V Gaines is 11^th
overall.

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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