CARL "CANNONBALL" JOHNSON

On his first exhibition run on Friday, 64-year-old Carl "Cannonball" Johnson showed why people love Fuel Altereds. The Rockford, Ill., driver hammered the throttle on his 104-inch, blown and injected 392-cid iron Chrysler-powered '23-T Ford roadster and did a lock-right narrowly avoiding a demolition of the Cordova Dragway starting line hut.

On Friday, Johnson made a decent 9.11/158.26, but only after hopscotching the ornery nitro beast through the middle of the course and narrowly avoiding kissing the guard rail. He actually accomplished that on one of his three runs, punching the pitside guardrail, bouncing out to mid-lane and chugging down the quarter Friday night.

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Johnson has quite a history. In 1958, he and his Sterling Engines '23-T won the A/Street Roadster class at the 1958 NHRA Nationals, the 1960 World Series, and competed at a number of the ATAA, NHRA and AHRA races in the Midwest.

In the late 1960s, he drove Top Fuel dragsters, namely Dick Huffer's "Quietus" and Dick Allen's "Gypsy" and carded a best of 7.77/206 mph. In all of that time through the 1950s and 1960s, Johnson never wheeled a roadster on nitro ... not until he built this car five years ago.

"About five years ago, I wanted to do something," he said. "I was just bored and I remember I always liked roadsters. I tried to find my old one, but couldn't and the only thing I have from it is the grille frame. I've always loved roadsters and it just led to this."

Sort of like an occasional Bayer aspirin leading to Elvis' medicine chest.