Since I’m still stuck on a RWD V8 Dodge Daytona kick, I decided to dive into one of the few things I remember from watching Pro Stock racing as a kid: the burndown between Warren Johnson and Scott Geoffrion at the 1994 NHRA Slick 50 Nationals in Houston, Texas.

Scott Geoffrion had been a driver on W.J.’s team, but by 1992 he had jumped ship to the Wayne County Dodge team. For the first couple of years Johnson was on top of things, but Geoffrion had figured things out with his Daytona and alongside teammate Darrell Alderman, was on fire for the 1994 season, having taken Johnson down in Atlanta and Dallas. Rolling into Houston, the tension was thick enough to be seen. When Dave McLelland and Steve Evans were referring to the burnout box as the “war zone”, they weren’t kidding…Geoffrion and Johnson absolutely, utterly hated each other. W.J. had been openly questioning the ability and power outputs of the Wayne County Dodges for quite some time and was determined to put Geoffrion in his place (namely, deep in the rear-view mirror or down on the ground bleeding, depending on the moment.) And the second the Oldsmobile Cutlass and Dodge Daytona rolled into the burnout boxes for the final round of Pro Stock Eliminator, the crowd knew they were going to see one hell of a show.

Johnson didn’t just do a burnout, he unloaded his Cutlass’s fury all at once with a tire hazing that sounded more like a street grudge match than a NHRA event, going a damn sight further down the track than Geffrion did. They both pre-staged…and then did pretty much nothing, with Geoffrion rapping the throttle every few seconds. The crowd went insane. After about thirty seconds, NHRA starter Buster Couch ordered both drivers to finish staging, and when neither complied, he kicked both drivers back to the boxes and had them shut the engines down. He then proceeded to walk over to the Cutlass and verbally ream out W.J. They were then ordered to start engines and stage within ten seconds or face disqualification. By the skin of their teeth both made staged on time, and though Geoffrion got the light, Johnson got the win, 7.07 to 7.10.

That wasn’t the end of it though. At the top end of the track words and threats were traded, and Johnson’s interview was decidedly less-than-cordial. Johnson later said, “I’m no virgin at this. Everybody knows that Scott was instructed to stage last, so I was going to sit there and wait for my Social Security check if that’s what was necessary. It was a game to teach the kid a lesson.”

Unfortunately it wouldn’t be the last lesson for Wayne County. Their shop was broken into in May 1995 and all of the engines were vandalized, though that event is shrouded in conspiracy and rumors. Accusations of nitrous use plagued the team for years, and the team never fully recovered from the hit, claiming that they were attempting to develop a more competitive engine. Within a few years, the team was shut down. Geoffrion attempted a comeback run for Team Mopar but was released in 2000. After driving Fords with Hurley Blakeney for the 2003 season, Geoffrion hung up his helmet from racing, and after suffering some health issues, died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 40.