Christopher Johnson, technician

born: Richmond, Vir., USA
current residence: Newport Beach, Calif., USA
unique note: Johnson graduated high school with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin. The two were in the same car club.
duties: car maintenance
race day duty: Left-side tire changer, maintenance
major accomplishments: Member of 2007 Utah Grand Prix-winning team. Nine NHRA Sports Compact Series victories as a technician, finished third at Lime Rock (2005) in SPEED World Challenge.

bio brief
Christopher “Chris” Johnson joined Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing at the 2007 Sebring season-opener. He began in motorsports with import drag racing’s EasyStreet Motorsports on the NHRA Sport Compact Drag Racing Series in 2004. Working with driver Ali Afshar the team became the world’s fastest Subaru WRX with a best time of 7.9 seconds at 175 mph down the quarter-mile. During this time he honed his racing technician skills working for two years handling transportation, fueling and technical work on customers Subarus. He moved into sports car racing working for GMG Racing with owner/driver James Sofronas in the SPEED World Challenge. Johnson’s primary duties included transportation, fueling and tires. GMG moved into the IMSA GT3 Cup in 2006 with series rookie Wes Hoaglund. GMG also specialized in tuning and road car performance focusing on Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen. Johnson’s primary duties with Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing include car maintenance and tire changes.

away from the track
Johnson was married this year in the Philippines after meeting his wife at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2006. When not racing, Johnson works at Acura and Subaru dealerships as a Service Advisor. His hobbies include road racing, import drag racing, football, basketball and Playstation. He lives in Newport Beach, Calif. with his wife Anelynn.