NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Tommy Johnson Jr., celebrating 30 years of nitro competition at this event, scored what is probably his wildest victory in round one of the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Arizona Nationals, winning the round despite a car-damaging explosion.

Racing Jim Campbell, Johnson’s Make-A-Wish entry broke the left-rear axle a few hundred feet into the run, which allowed the engine to freewheel and exploded the blower. The team’s new Dodge SRT Hellcat Charger body was badly damaged and the left rear tire and wheel broke loose.

Despite all of that, Johnson still got the win light when Campbell clipped the finish line lights for an automatic disqualification.

“I wasn’t sure what had happened,” said Johnson. “I knew it had smoked the tires so I pedaled the car but there was nothing left to pedal. I didn’t know that the tire had come off until it passed me as I was getting the car stopped. I think it actually got caught up in my parachutes for a second [see third photo below] because the car was jerking left and right. There were a couple of times it got up on the headers and I was wondering what the hell had happened. I  thought that the blower exploding had taken out the rear tire."

Johnson also didn’t know that he had won the round until NHRA on FOX’s Amanda Busick told him after he exited the car.

Crew chief John Collins reported that the chassis was not hurt and that the team had a spare Hellcat body ready to go for round two, where they will face J.R. Todd.

It’s not Johnson’s first experience with a broken axle as he lost his right rear wheel and tire due to a broken axle during qualifying at the 2017 Sonoma event, although the engine was not damaged in that accident.

“And let’s not forget about 2007 Englishtown,” said Johnson. “I had a bad fire and burned the car to the ground in winning the first round and we came back and won that race.”