Arvadan to defend racing title - #lakewoodnews

Arvada resident Vicky Johnson wants to add another drag racing trophy to the shelf.

"I had a great year in 2015 and I won the top dragster class at the Mile High National Drag Races at Bandimere Speedway," she said. "It was an amazing feeling and it is my dream to double up in championships."

Johnson and her husband Steve competed at the July 2 Jet Car Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison. But the focus that day was really on tuning the dragster's new engine so it will be at top performance when Johnson pulls to the starting line to defend her title during the July 21-24 Mile High Nationals.

"I love this sport," she said. "There is no way to properly explain what it is like to be behind the wheel of this dragster. It goes fast and I love that."

Johnson competes in the Fast 16 class and her dragster goes from a standing start to the finish line a quarter mile away in 6.9 seconds. The car is traveling about 195 miles an hour when it crosses the finish line.

"I have had people tell me they wouldn't get in the cockpit to go that fast," she said. "I tell them to just try it once and you'll be hooked."

Johnson watched drag racing before she started driving as both her dad and her brothers competed in the sport.

"I just grew up with the sport and I was fortunate to meet my husband Steve, a drag racer. One weekend he asked me if I wanted to try driving. I said yes and I've been behind the wheel ever since," she said. "Our kids grew up around drag racing and they are now involved, too."

Johnson shares her car with her 20-year-old daughter Bri. After Johnson runs in the Fast 16 class, her daughter drives the car in the super comp class. The couple's son, Blake, is 17 and racing for the final year in the junior dragsters.

Fast 16 dragsters like the Johnsons drive are usually about 25 feet long and weigh about 2,000 pounds. They are powered by an engine of 500 cubic inches or more and burn very high octane fuel, plus get a boost from injections of nitrous oxide to produce about 1,400 horsepower.

Races are side-by-side competitions. The drivers pull up to the starting line, which triggers a series of lights called a "Christmas tree." The yellow lights flick on, then off, until the green light appears to start the race.

Driver-reaction time is important in closely matched cars. The idea is to leave as quickly as possible when the green light comes on.

"It is an expensive sport," Johnson said. "The engine in the car alone costs about $25,000. I would guess the price tag for a car like mine that is ready to race would be in the neighborhood of $50,000."

And maintaining the car isn't cheap. The high octane fuel costs about $14 a gallon, she said.

"We cover some of the costs because there are cash awards for winning," she said. "But I don't think any of us are in this sport for the money. We are in the sport because we love the thrills and all the fun we have drag racing."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Arvadan-to-defend-racing-title,226680