Mopar Racing

Mopar and Dodge Drivers Hagan and Pritchett Start Season with Dual No. 1 Qualifying Efforts at NHRA Winternationals

Mopar and Dodge Drivers Hagan and Pritchett Start Season with Dual No. 1 Qualifying Efforts at NHRA Winternationals

Matt Hagan claims pole in Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, ties own time and national speed record
Papa John’s Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil driver and Southern California native Leah Pritchett takes second career pole at hometown track
Seven Dodge Charger R/T machines qualify for Funny Car eliminations
February 11, 2017 (Pomona, California) – The first qualifying rounds of the 2017 NHRA schedule are in the books, and Mopar is two-for-two in Nitro qualifying on the young season. Don Schumacher Racing’s Matt Hagan led the contingent of seven Mopar-powered Funny Cars in a field of 18 to win the pole during the 57th NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, tying two of his own records along the way. Mopar-powered Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett also collected her second career top qualifying spot to give Mopar the first two Nitro No. 1 qualifying positions of 2017.

Friday’s first session kicked off with Hagan claiming the top spot in Funny Car in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T. He never relinquished that position and the native of Christiansburg, Virginia, matched his national records of 3.822 seconds and 335.57 mph (both set in 2016) in Q4 on Saturday afternoon to claim the 27th No. 1 qualifier position of his career. Both elapsed time and speed were also track records at Pomona.

Meanwhile in Top Fuel, 15 cars made qualifying runs. Qualifying was based on just three sessions, with Mother Nature winning round two on Friday afternoon. Southern California native Leah Pritchett recovered from a mechanical issue on Friday to qualify first in the Papa John’s Pizza/ Mopar Pennzoil Top Fuel Dragster at her hometown track. Pritchett is originally from Redlands, California. She turned in a career-best run in Q4 with a pass of 3.672 seconds at 327.90 mph to taker her second career pole, and second in the last five events.

In the Pro Stock ranks, Allen Johnson qualified 13th in his Dodge Dart in Pro Stock and will face off against No. 4 qualifier Shane Gray in the first round on Sunday. Two other Dodge Darts made the show, including Deric Kramer in the 10th position.