"No man would intimidate me!"

So begins our story of Warrenstown, Va., resident Ms. Frankie Johnson, the winner of the 2000 Carlisle Top Flight competition. As a woman in the male-dominated performance automotive industry, she's had to work twice as hard in many regards to gain equal measures of acceptance and success. It's that attitude that led Johnson to the top of the tuner heap where she's reined in kudos on the showfield and the drag strip. At nearly every interval she's dealt with male attitudes, but now she's above the fray.

"It used to be really bad when I first got into the industry. I only get it now from the newest people in the circuit," Johnson says. "I actually enjoy going head to head (with guys) without the blink of an eye."

The upside is that she receives the admiration and respect of those who've seen her in action. Johnson is the owner, builder and driver of the Top Flight-winning 1996 Acura Integra GS and is the retail sales manager at Autothority in Fairfax, Va. So, while its true that some guys just don't get it, Johnson is well-known and highly sought after in the industry.

"I've been involved in the industry since 1993. 1 have a natural, self-invoked interest," she says. I have not found many women who have a true interest in this industry. Most drive the cars that their mate builds for them, having no involvement in their own car. That's disappointing. If I see a woman who has her own desire I try to give them as much advice as I possibly can."

Johnson is half of Team Ground Assault; the other half being her partner Manuel Agosto. Each drives a '96 Acura Integra hers is a three-door GS, his a four door GS-R. Their cars, which share paint schemes and aftermarket mods, stand out from the crowd. The pair first met in March 1997 and have endured a streak of hard luck over the past three years while seeking to achieve their goals.

"No win ever came simple. The night before our May 2, 1998, show a quarter-inch miscalculation cost me my main brake line. The line was a special order item, we had no choice but to custom build a brake line," Johnson says. They made it to the show and won four trophies.

Johnson blew two exhaust valves running her nitrous system prior to an ID Drag Wars event in June 1998. But the determined team stayed up all night rebuilding the motor and arrived at the show at 2:30 p.m. the next day, just in time to claim The Best of Show and First Place awards.

Johnson and Agosto were managing a business in Silver Spring, Md., in 1998, making it harder to find the precious time needed to work on Team Ground Assault.

Hard luck nearly became tragedy in 1999 when Johnson was abducted in her Acura. She survived the attack, but the car was down for months. That summer, Agosto hit a deer in his Integra and totaled the car. They bought the Integra from the insurance company and rebuilt it. Team Ground Assault doesn't let anyone else touch their cars. Paying someone to dress their cars up is not their style.

Another thing happened in 1999 - a new idea sprang forth. It was apparent to Agosto that while there were women doing well on the show circuit and stereo competitions, hardly any women were racing. Frankie says Agosto "pushed me to go for it" and early in the 2000 season she did. Now she was a two-headed monster.

"The car is currently 50/50. It was originally set up as a daily-driven show car," Johnson says. "It was transformed ... in the summer of 1999. Both aspects are important to me. I enjoy the challenge and versatility that both provided."

Johnson added a nitrous system to the completely rebuilt 1.8-liter DOHC VTEC engine in 1998. It's a 50-shot dry system, which she says provides the most horsepower dollar for dollar. But the biggest problem was tuning. She solved this by going back to stock cam shafts, 10.1:1 JE pistons raising compression from 8.7:1. Johnson also added an Apexi Super V-AFC digital fuel computer that combines fuel computer functions with a VTEC engagement controller. She also has an Apexi Ignition Timing Controller, allowing the timing curve to be adjusted by setting the timing at five different points along the rpm range.

"The car would run 12.8 if I gutted it, but I'm not looking to do that at this time ... that would be without my nitrous system," Johnson adds.

After two show seasons of hustling, Team Ground Assault decided to slow down a bit in 2000 and concentrate on the high profile events. One of those, the Carlisle Custom Compact Power Jam yielded Top Flight cash wins for both Johnson and Agosto. She has been making the trip to Carlisle since 1997.

"At that time, other than NOR, it was the largest show on the East Coast, and it's a lot closer. I love Carlisle. The staff is always extremely friendly and organized. It has gotten bigger and better each year," Johnson states.

Team Ground Assault still drives their cars daily. Frankie's Acura has 150,000 miles on the odometer. She credits her teammate and best friend Agosto for keeping it running and being a true support base.

"He and I have stuck it out through thick and thin," Johnson says, remembering the sleepless weekends working on their cars, as well as winning shows and races.

"There is no one I'd rather have as a partner."