After enjoying a recent surge in performance, veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson is eager to bring his 200-mph Suzuki to the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, the penultimate race in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship. It’s a continuation of his 40th anniversary celebration of a record-setting four decades of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competition.
Johnson comes into the Las Vegas Nationals with plenty of momentum after a strong semifinal finish in Texas. The lanky veteran recorded the quickest run of his long career at the Fall Nationals with 6.674-second elapsed time at 200.65 mph in a first-round victory over John Hall. It was the first time Johnson had ever dipped into the 6.60’s and his first run over 200 mph since the 2022 season. He improved again in the second round with a 6.673 at 201.23 mph to defeat a quicker and faster, Gaige Herrera, on a holeshot. The Texas Capital Air Show Suzuki slowed to a 6.780 at 198.59 mph in a semifinal round loss to points leader Richard Gadson. It was Johnson’s third semifinal finish of the season and the 53rd of his career, moving him up one spot in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series points standings.
“The most exciting roller coaster in the world goes so slow as it’s going uphill, but boy is the ride exciting once it gets over the top,” said Johnson, describing the thrilling feeling after making the quickest run of his storied career. “That’s how I felt after our 6.67 run at 200 mph. Technically, it took me 40 years to make that run, but realistically, it’s been a pretty tough since April of 2022.”
Johnson has won half of his six round wins this season with a quicker reaction time and it’s something he works on almost every day.
“I have a full-size Christmas tree in my shop that Port-A-Tree designed specifically for Pro Stock Motorcycle racers,” Johnson said. “I put on my helmet and gloves and go through as much of the process as possible. I even go to the level of opening the shop door while racing the computer. That’s when I pre-stage and stage and pop the clutch as soon as I see the first amber light. I can then look down the street to find the orange spot on a tree that duplicates my target on the race track.”
Working all night in his Alabama-based shop, building engines and testing them on the dyno for hours, is standard operating procedure for Johnson. The 12-time national event winner’s strong performance in Texas was the result of hundreds of hours of hard work.
“Every single detail with our team preparation, the motorcycle, the crew, the track and the weather conditions, like the strong cross winds we encountered in Texas, all make a big difference. The process is really about determining what details matter the most. We only have so much time between each round of racing and each event and the most important thing becomes chasing as many details as possible. In a nutshell, I just need more time to generate resources.”
Johnson is excited to return to the The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he has been successful in the past. The veteran racer has appeared in three consecutive Pro Stock Motorcycle final rounds at the scenic high desert facility, earning runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2020, before claiming his 9th career Wally in 2021.
“The whole team really likes Vegas, so maybe that’s why we do so well there,” he offered. “Winning the special black chrome Wally at 1000th NHRA national event was one of our most enjoyable winner’s circle celebrations.”
The 2000-foot altitude of The Strip presents racers with a unique tuning challenge at the Las Vegas Nationals.
“I won’t make as many adjustments as I normally do after our bike ran so well in Dallas,” Johnson explained. “We’ll change the gearing in the transmission and the ignition timing, among some of the things that we’ll look at. We decided on a new Mickey Thompson tire, as well, which always has the potential to be really fast if broken in correctly. You can never go wrong by putting on a new Mickey Thompson tire because it always gives you the potential of being the quickest in the first 60-feet.”
As Johnson heads west for the final two races of his 40th anniversary season, he remains filled with plenty of motivation, which includes a safe return to Alabama.
“Our main goal at the final two races is to qualify as high as possible and win both first rounds. However, surprisingly, the most important goal for me is making sure our truck and trailer make it to the events and back,” admitted Johnson. “The truck and trailer are a huge weight on my shoulders, especially considering their age. Making sure Jeff Brown completes the 6000-mile journey to Las Vegas, California and back home is something I’ll be thinking about every second until he arrives home safely. Hopefully with a couple of NHRA 75th anniversary diamond Wally’s.”
The post Steve Johnson Eager to Roll the Dice at the Las Vegas Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
