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NHRA PRO STOCK LEGEND WARREN JOHNSON UNHURT IN CRASH AT U.S. NATIONALS
Johnson was practicing for an exhibition race on Saturday

Warren Johnson won 97 times in the NHRA Pro Stock class during his career.

Warren Johnson, the “Professor of Pro Stock” and General Motors loyalist, turned in a startling performance that neither he nor the automaker had in mind Friday afternoon at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis at the NHRA Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

Johnson, whose 97 victories rank second only in the sport to Funny Car icon John Force’s 150, wrecked his Chevy Camaro early in his warmup run preceding his “Back To School” best-of-three match race against former protégé Greg Anderson.

The two are scheduled to begin their battle Saturday during the second overall pro qualifying session and finish during Sunday qualifying.

The passenger side of Johnson’s car made contact with the opposite guard wall in Friday’s exhibition pass after the rear end got loose and did a 180-degree turn. It came to rest along the left-side wall, facing the starting line.

Johnson was uninjured in the mishap.

He and Anderson have traded verbal digs throughout recent years, and this was a chance not only to pit the two who have 10 Pro Stock championships between them but also to hint at next year’s tribute to 50 years of Pro Stock action.

Johnson, a 38-year veteran of the sport, was on a solo pass when Friday’s accident occurred at about the 300-foot mark.


He was the winner against Ed “The Ace” McCulloch in March at Gainesville, Florida, in the Legends of Drag Racing’s “Unfinished Business” runoff.