Ron Capps Earns No. 1 Qualifier in Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals with Record-setting run in Mopar-powered Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Funny Car
· Capps goes beyond No. 1 qualifier with new career-best and track-record setting elapsed time and speed at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pa.
· Matt Hagan qualifies Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car ninth
· Seven Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers in Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Funny Car field
· Leah Pritchett races Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster to No. 2 position
· Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals is first of six races in NHRA Countdown to the Championship
· DodgeGarage.com, a digital content hub for muscle car and race enthusiasts, features highlights from NHRA season
· New @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel features Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers in NHRA action
September 14, 2019, Mohnton, Pennsylvania – Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Ron Capps launched his run to the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car world championship with a record-setting performance in qualifying for the 35th annual Mopar Express Lane at Maple Grove Raceway.
Capps captured his 24th career No. 1 qualifier on the strength of his track record-setting and career-best run of 3.837 seconds at 339.28 mph in Friday night’s second qualifying session behind the wheel of the NAPA Filters Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). The 2016 Funny Car world champion will take on Mike McIntire, Jr. in the opening round of Capps’ 550th professional event.
In the first of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship races, six other Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers qualified for Sunday’s 16-car field including Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson, Jr., Jack Beckman, Cruz Pedregon, Jim Campbell and John Smith.
Beckman, driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, is coming off a runner-up finish in the U.S. Nationals and will start from the No. 3 position. Johnson and Hagan, qualified seventh and ninth, respectively.
Top Fuel pilot Leah Pritchett has her eye on claiming Sunday’s victory in her Countdown to the Championship run and continuing the trend of Maple Grove race winners going on to become NHRA Top Fuel world champions. Since 2013, the winner of this event has gone on to be crowned world champion at season’s end. Pritchett qualified the Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster from DSR No. 2 in Sunday’s 16-car field and will face Lex Joon in the opening round of eliminations.
Tune-in Info
Three hours of action from the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals will air on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) Sunday, September 15, with coverage scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET. For complete information, visit www.nhra.com
Dodge Garage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News
Fans can follow Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals coverage at Dodge Garage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise.
@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel will share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers in action in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.
Dodge//SRT Mopar Notes & Quotes
(qualifying times/speeds below)
Ron Capps, NAPA Filters Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 1, will face No. 16 Mike McIntire Jr.
Friday: (3.849 seconds at 329.75 mph – Q1); Friday: (3.837/339.28 – Q2 = set new track and personal records); Saturday: (7.221/93.26 – Q3); Saturday (3.877/332.34 – Q4)
“We feel great going into race day. Starting from the No. 1 spot today allowed us to test a little bit in Q3, and then typical Rahn Tobler (crew chief), we went back up there for Q4 and wanted to make sure we didn’t lose the run. We did a little test mode on Q3, and it shook, so I’m sure that Q4 run was him just getting down the track. Sunday is going to be such a different day; sunny, mid-80s, it’s going to be similar to what it’s been the past two years here. But, I always brag about Rahn Tobler and his NAPA Know How, and how he is so good at adapting to conditions, and we’ll need every bit of his adaptability tomorrow. If you walk around the pits right now, you’d see a lot of parts coming off of cars and changes being made because the conditions will be so different than what they’ve been all weekend.”
Leah Pritchett, Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Lex Joon
Friday: (4.672 seconds at 155.52 mph – Q1); Friday: (3.673/332.92 – Q2); Saturday: (3.673/332.92 – Q3); Saturday (3.676/332.92 – Q4)
“They say momentum is key, and we’ll take it. This place is known to be fast, and we’ve been known to go fast here. I’m looking forward to improving upon our performance on Sunday. This Mopar hot rod is running clean, running nice. We came into this race with a strategy of qualifying well, finding our window. Q1 was a gnarly ride. We started over-center and backed it down and we feel very good about where we’re at. It’s going to be great conditions tomorrow, and starting off with the first win light is key.
“It’s an honor to be the Mopar flagship in Top Fuel and to lay down such incredible passes for the fans and for Mopar and Pennzoil. They’re supporting us and we have every intention to execute top-tier performance in every round tomorrow, and get this Countdown started off right.
“After yesterday’s wild ride in Q1, I nicknamed this car Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. I think that’s fitting. Everybody is out for themselves in the Countdown. This hot rod, she showed that she’s hungry and we’ve been letting her eat, putting down three solid passes, and tomorrow is the first round of The Hunger Games.”
Matt Hagan, Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car
Qualified No. 9, will face No. 8 Shawn Langdon
Friday: (10.049 seconds at 75.90 mph – Q1); Friday: (3.940/329.75 – Q2); Saturday: ( 3.919/333.00 – Q3); Saturday (3.913/333.66 – Q4)
“We won’t have lane choice, but it never matters if you don’t have it. So it’s one of those things where the car has been running pretty good, we’ve had three out of our four runs be very consistent – running 90s pretty much every time, so things look to be pretty equal. So unless something major happens or the weather changes drastically, I think we’ve got a pretty solid hot rod to at least get down the race track and give it a good shot.”
Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 3, will face No. 14 Jim Campbell
Friday: (5.761 seconds at 133.10 mph – Q1); Friday: (8.313/79.06 – Q2); Saturday: (3.876/331.77 – Q3); Saturday (3.932 /297.09 – Q4)
“It was moving over toward the wall during the last qualifying run and we don’t need to bang up anything there so I clicked it early. I like our shot. We still have a good ET and we’ve got great data to go on. We went zero for two on Friday, and as far as I’m concerned two for two on Saturday. Now it’s time to go four for four on Sunday.”
Tommy Johnson, Jr., Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 7, will face No. 10 J.R. Todd
Friday: (3.964 seconds at 315.42 mph – Q1); Friday: ( 3.905/326.95 – Q2); Saturday: (3.906/327.74 – Q3); Saturday (5.204/138.50 – Q4)