WJ'S FIRST BANDIMERE WIN - 1984

Race Car: 1984 Hurst/Olds Oldsmobile Cutlass
Performance: WJ Qualified First, 8.021 seconds, 172.74 mph
Defeated Gene Fasching, Butch Leal, Bob Glidden and Lee Shepherd

In Warren's Words:

"The primary thing I remember from that race was that we had several GM engineers on hand. We were still racing the boxy Cutlass, while many of my competitors had the sleeker Camaros, Firebirds and the like.

However, any aerodynamic advantage they might have had was diminished in the thin air in Denver. I know Shepherd and his team had spent a tremendous amount of time with their Camaro in the wind tunnel trying to match Glidden's T-Bird, but they still couldn't match the speed of the "Boxcar." Needless to say, it was a very satisfying win."

Notes of the time:

* This win was the seventh of Warren's Pro Stock career, and came in the 11th final round of his career.

* Ironically, W.J. defeated Pro Stock stalwart Lee Shepherd in the final, who was appearing in his fifth consecutive Bandimere final round.

* Of Warren's seven national event wins to that point in his career, five had come from his defeating Shepherd in the final.

* This was Johnson's third win in 1984, as he would finish with five national event wins and a runner-up finish in that year's Winston championship standings.

* This was WJ's ninth No. 1 qualifying performance of his career, with the 8.021-second elapsed time resetting the Bandimere Speedway track record.

* Local Super Comp racer Judy Lilly was the 16th qualifier with an 8.457-second elapsed time.

* WJ recorded the quickest time in all rounds that weekend and the top speed in every round but one.

* This was the first time that the Funny Car and Pro Stock classes featured sixteen-car fields at Bandimere, with the top half running the bottom half in the first round of eliminations (i.e., #1 vs. #9, #2 vs. #10, etc.)

* The thin air in Denver worked in "The Professor's" favor, as it reduced the aerodynamic advantage the sleeker Firebirds, Camaros and Thunderbirds had over his boxy Cutlass.

* The field consisted of WJ's Olds Cutlass, Chevy Camaros, Pontiac Firebirds and Trans Ams a Dodge Charger, a Mercury Cougar and Capri (driven by current Pro Mod team owner Roy Hill) and Glidden's Ford Thunderbird.

* In other categories that weekend, the Top Fuel final featured a pair of current team owners with Connie Kalitta setting the track top speed record at 255.68 mph to defeat Joe Amato, while Raymond Beadle, behind the wheel of the legendary Blue Max Mustang Funny Car, defeated Frank Hawley to win in Funny Car.