Trio of DSR 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car Entries Qualify in Top-Five at NHRA Southern Nationals;
Allen Johnson Seeded Fourth for Pro Stock Eliminations

Don Schumacher Racing puts three 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars in top-five for eliminations at the 35th annual NHRA Southern Nationals
DSR drivers Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr. qualify 3-4-5 at Atlanta Dragway
Allen Johnson and Magneti Marelli Dodge Dart qualifies fourth for Pro Stock eliminations

Commerce, Georgia (Saturday, May 16, 2015) – After posting five title wins in the first six events of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) team wasn’t going to let two weekends away from competition slow down any progress they’ve been making with the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, and they proved that by putting three of their HEMI®-powered vehicles in the top-five in qualifying for the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

DSR pilot Jack Beckman’s qualifying efforts at Atlanta Dragway continues a streak of consistent results that have seen the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger R/T in the winner circle at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, along with a No.1 Qualifier position and runner-up finish at the previous event three weeks ago at the NHRA SpringNationals in Houston. Beckman qualified third with a Friday night qualifying drive in 4.033 seconds at 301.13 miles per hour (mph), posting the result despite an explosion that did damage to the new body after a parts malfunction. The DSR driver wrapped up qualifying on a good note by posting the quickest time of the final session with an elapsed time run of 4.106 sec / 310.63 mph in conditions that should be similar to those expected on race day.

“We blew it up pretty good Friday night and our guys were at the track late getting it ready, but they came back today and got us down the track pretty good,” said Beckman who will see Robert Hight as his first round opponent.

DSR teammate Matt Hagan, looking to add a third title to his tally so far this season in defense of his 2014 NHRA world championship, put his Mopar Express Lane /Rocky Boots machine fourth on the eliminations ladder with his Friday qualifying pass of 4.040/ 319.37. Giving Hagan even more confidence was the fact that his Mopar made two solid passes in the Saturday qualifying sessions that took place in the heat of the day, and that bodes well for race day where he will see Dave Richards as his first round match-up.

“Obviously they call it Hot-Lanta for a reason,” said Hagan of 130-degree track. “The car is going down the racetrack and we’re learning as we go. You have to make it down on the track on Friday night to get a good spot in qualifying but Saturday conditions are more relatable to race-day conditions and I’m pretty pleased with what I saw today from this team.”

Tommy Johnson Jr., who hasn’t taken his new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T to the winner’s circle yet this season like his three teammates have, took a step closer to that goal with a fifth place effort in qualifying with his Make-A-Wish machine posting a 4.040/312.86 pass.

“We did some testing in Indy before this event to try to get our Make-A-Wish Dodge on track,” said Johnson who will meet-up with Tony Pedregon in the first round. “It was nice to see the results of testing paying off. We came out Friday that first run and went straight down the racetrack with a nice pass. Then to come back last night and step it up with a 4.04, which is what we ran in Indy testing, was a very good first day. We right away had a lot of confidence with how the weekend was going.”

Funny Car points leader Ron Capps, who earned his second Wally trophy of the season with a title win in Houston, didn’t have the kind of qualifying passes he was looking for. Capps’ best run came on Friday night with a 4.068/315.93, the only pass of his four attempts to cross the finish line under full power to put him ninth overall in qualifying.

“We obviously didn’t qualify as good as we wanted to but we did win at Gainesville from the ninth position when we didn’t have lane choice in the first round,” said Capps who will see Alexis DeJoria in the lane next to him for the first round. “We had little glitches here and there that our guys were able to find within those four runs of qualifying. When you can find them that quick it says a lot about your team.”

In Pro Stock Action, things were looking a lot more positive for Allen Johnson and the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart with a fourth place qualifying effort at Atlanta Dragway, tying his best starting position for eliminations this season in Phoenix, after the team has been grappling with tuning issues resulting from the introduction of a new fuel for the class this year. Johnson earned the fourth seeded position with his run of 6.556 /210.87 on Friday evening and remained in the top-five in both sessions on Saturday. He’ll face his fellow HEMI-powered Dodge Dart driver, V. Gaines, in the opening round of eliminations.