Starting the weekend, Steve Johnson was still beating himself up over making silly mistakes in Bristol. With an opportunity to grab the Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship, he was ready to vindicate himself in Vegas and at the end of the day, it was a bet that many wished they would have taken.
“It’s so cool to be in this fraternity with fellow winners like Steve Torrence and to be able to represent our sport,” said Johnson. “It took me 17 years to win my first national event, 2004 in St. Loius. After ten years, my mom was like, ‘How about lawn care, dentistry, or something else? The truth is I’m a sucker for the sport.
“It is very special to win this 1,000th NHRA event and the money is also like life blood for us,” Johnson added. “I’m just happy to be depositing a check for once.”
RPM Round By Round:
Round 1 - Johnson faced Chrles Poskey in round #1 and a slow start decided this matchup from the start. Johnson wins with a holeshot running 6.874 at 194.44 MPH.
Round 2 - To beat a good man you half to get through his wife first and Angie Smith was waiting in the second round for Johnson. While Smith had a slight advantage at the start it was Johnson grabbing the win with a run of 6.867 at 195.25 MPH.
Round 3 - The semi's brought Angelle Sampey who is also looking to add another championship. Both riders knew that making it to the finals would help their case to catch up with Matt Smith who would end up losing in the semi's himself. Sampey has a 25-10 record against Johnson but this time was a little different with Johnson getting to the strip first with a run of 6.877 at 194.88 MPH.
Round 4 - Karen Stoffer is in her second straight final after falling just short in Bristol. Stoffer has doubled up Johnson in previous meetings with a record of 18-9. This time Stoffer red lighted handing the Wally to Johnson who ran a 6.869 at 195.11 MPH.
See the full recap by Kevin McKenna at NHRA.com: