All-Mopar Funny Car Final at Atlanta;
Gray Beats No.1 Qualifier Hagan for SouthernNationals Win
· Gray takes Mopar Funny Car to winner’s circle at rescheduled 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta
· All-Mopar Funny Car final elimination with No.1 qualifier Hagan as runner-up to DSR teammate Gray
· Top Mopar Pro Stock finish in eliminations by Coughlin with semifinal appearance
· Mopar is second and third in NHRA points standings in both Pro Stock and Funny Car categories
Commerce, Ga. (Saturday, May 11) – Following last weekend’s postponement of 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, Mopar was back on track earning the No.1 qualifier position in Funny Car with Matt Hagan in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T, and then the title win by his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Johnny Gray, in an all-Mopar final.
After breaking a long winless streak last month at the Four-wide Nationals in Charlotte, Hagan earned his first no.1 qualifier position since his 2011 NHRA Championship winning season. He did it by setting Atlanta Dragway’s Funny Car elapsed-time record with 4.067-second run (305.29 mph) in the second qualifying session on Friday for his 11th career pole position. On Saturday, Hagan proceeded to win rounds and reach his third final elimination of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello series season for a Mopar versus Mopar showdown against his teammate Gray.
While Hagan won the start with a 0.042 to 0.059-sec reaction time, Gray soon gained ground and set the quickest pass of the day with an e.t. of 4.077 seconds (314.17 mph) to his Mopar teammate’s 4.160-second pass (309.49 mph) for the title win. It is Gray’s second victory of the season after earning the GatorNationals title in March, the fifth of his career and his first in Atlanta. The win moves him up from fifth to third in the Funny Car championship battle, putting him just behind Hagan who remains second in the points standings.
“All of us at Mopar would like to offer congratulations to Johnny Gray on his win at the Southern Nationals,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “The Mopar-powered Funny Car package looks strong again this year, and we look forward to Johnny [Gray] and his Don Schumacher Racing teammates contending for more wins in defense of the Championship title throughout what is already an exciting and closely contested season.”
In Pro Stock action, Jeg Coughlin Jr. was the highest finishing Mopar by reaching the semi-finals, losing on a holeshot by Shane Gray who cut a 0.002-sec light to defeat him with an e.t. of 6.62 to 6.60-second run.
2012 NHRA Champ Allen Johnson was upset in first round action, also losing on a holeshot, by Greg Stanfield who reached the finish line with an e.t. of 6.64-seconds (207.37 mph) to Johnson’s 6.63-sec (208.84 mph) in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger.
The SouthernNationals title was won by Mike Edwards who wins his second ‘Wally’ of the year to extend his lead in the championship.
Mopar remains second and third in the Pro Stock points standings but has Coughlin jumping into second spot with 530 points and a no.1 qualifier position, ahead of Johnson’s 501 points with two title wins in 2013.
Next weekend, Mopar looks to defend title wins by both 2012 NHRA Champions Beckman (Funny Car) and Johnson (Pro Stock) at the 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, the eighth event on the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.