Category Archives: Mopar Racing

Mopar Racing–Mopar Cleans up with Two Wins in Seattle; Sweeps Pro Stock NHRA Western Swing

Mopar Cleans up with Two Wins in Seattle; Sweeps Pro Stock NHRA Western Swing
 
·         Mopar earns wins in both Funny Car and Pro Stock at 26th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals
·         Hagan posts his fourth win of the 2013 season; clinches a playoff spot and maintains lead in championship standings
·         Last week’s Sonoma winner Nobile earns his second consecutive win, and the third of the year against Coughlin
·         Nobile’s win helps complete the sweep of the western swing by HEMI-powered J&J tuned engines
 

Kent, Wash. (Sunday, August 4, 2013) – Mopar capped-off the three race NHRA western swing with important wins by Matt Hagan aboard his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Funny Car and Vincent Nobile at the wheel of his HEMI®-powered Pro Stock at the 26th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways marking the fifth time this season that national titles were won by Dodge entries in both Mello Yello Drag Racing Series categories.

 

“On behalf of everyone at Mopar, we offer our congratulations to both Matt (Hagan) and Vincent (Nobile) for their wins at Seattle,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “We’ve celebrated victories in both classes on five different occasions this year and we’re very proud to have the hard work and quality teamwork on display in this way as we approach the playoffs and look to defend our two championships.”

 

Hagan’s fourth win of the season and sixth final round appearance helped the Don Schumacher Racing driver clinch a spot in the “Countdown to the Championship” and maintain the lead in the tightly contested Funny Car points standings with just two events remaining before the start of the six-race playoff series. After disposing of Todd Lesenko, Paul Lee and beating Courtney Force on a holeshot, Hagan secured his first win at Seattle by defeating Bob Tasca in the final elimination.

 

“The charisma and the chemistry I have with these guys is unbelievable,” said Hagan who rebounded from two first round losses in the last two events to win his ninth career title. “It’s showing on the racetrack. It trickles down from the top. Dickie [Venables, Crew Chief] is a great leader and it’s phenomenal to be able to strap into a race car that DSR puts underneath me and be able to know that you have an opportunity to win anytime I sit in the Magneti Marelli Rocky Boots machine. Right now we have one goal; pull on the helmet, get focused, get up on the wheel, and turn on four win lights.”

 

Hagan’s Mopar teammates saw their fair share of upsets in Seattle as last week’s title winner Ron Capps struggled in his two qualifying attempts, shorten by inclement weather on Friday, and was not able to qualify for the elimination rounds. No.1 qualifier, Jack Beckman saw his Mopar Dodge Charger R/T upset on a holeshot win by fellow DSR teammate Johnny Gray in the first round. Gray, who has four wins this season, then fell to Courtney Force in the next round.

 

The Pro Stock title win by Nobile at the Northwest Nationals was notable as it came on the heels of his trip to the winner’s circle last week at Sonoma, but also because it was the third time he had faced his Mopar teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. in a final elimination showdown this season and emerged the victor. Allen Johnson’s victory at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Denver combined with Nobile’s consecutive wins at Sonoma and Seattle gave the HEMI-powered entries tuned by Roy Johnson a clean sweep of the three-race western swing. All three national events featured a Mopar versus Mopar final elimination showdown as Johnson defeated V. Gaines at Denver, and Nobile beat Coughlin in their last two final round match-ups.

 

“It was a great sweep for Roy and Allen Johnson’s engines and to be able to put Mopar in the winner’s circle means a lot and it’s a real team effort,” said Nobile faced both of his teammates on his way to earning his eighth career win to jump up to fourth place in the points standing. “I think I try a little bit harder when I’m going up against my teammates in Jeg (Coughlin) and Allen (Johnson), and it definitely means a lot beating Jeg again in a final. He’s just unbelievable and to be able to beat a champion, it means a lot to me and my team. It’s a great time to turn it on for the Countdown.”

 

Coughlin’s fourth runner-up finish of the year came about with round wins against Steve Kent, Shane Gray and points leader Mike Edwards in the semifinals. The JEGS.com Mopar driver sits third in points with two wins so far this season.

 

Johnson saw his day cut short in the second round against Nobile who beat him by four thousandths of a second on a holeshot after second guessing himself.

 

“Lane choice played pretty big there as all the cars in front of us shook (their tires) a little bit in the left lane and so we changed lanes when we probably shouldn’t have,” said the driver of the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger who remains second in the points battle. “It was a close race and I lost to a teammate that went on to help us sweep the western swing so I am definitely happy for the team.”

 

After contesting seven races in eight weeks, Mopar teams and drivers will have two weeks to prepare for the 32nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 16th of 24 NHRA Mello Yello Series national events, held from Aug. 15-18 near Brainerd, Minnesota. Only two events remain before the “Countdown to the Championship” playoffs begin.

Mopar Racing–Shortened NHRA Qualifying Produces Mixed Results for Mopar in Seattle

Shortened NHRA Qualifying Produces Mixed Results for Mopar in Seattle;
Beckman Earns No.1 Qualifier
 
·         Friday qualifying sessions were rained out at the 26th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, the 15th of 24 NHRA events
·         Beckman is No.1 qualifier in Funny Car by setting a new track record
·         Last week’s Sonoma winner Capps was unable to qualify for Funny Car elimination rounds
·         This weekend marks Johnson’s participation in his 400th career NHRA national event
·         Johnson is top Mopar qualifier in third ; Gaines, Coughlin, Nobile all in top half of the Pro Stock field
 

Kent, Wash. (Saturday, August 3, 2013) – After rain washed out Friday’s two qualifying session at Pacific Raceways, the last two sessions took place under overcast skies and in cool temperatures to determine the field for Sunday’s eliminations at the 26th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle, Wash., the 15th of 24 NHRA events. Jack Beckman drove his Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T to the top of the order in Funny Car qualifying on his first run, setting the track record with an elapsed time of 4.049 seconds (303.64 mph), to earn his first No.1 qualifier of the season, the ninth of his career.

 

The defending NHRA world champion’s last win at Seattle came in 2007 and although he is sixth in the championship standings, Beckman is hoping to earn his first trip to victory lane this season on Sunday.

 

“We’ve got a lot of ground to make up in the points, but we just want a trophy right now,” said Beckman who will face his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Johnny Gray, who has a category leading four wins this year, in the first round. “It’s been a while and we want to win a race so bad right now. It’s just that tough out there. We just have to try to keep winning rounds and hopefully we can put four together (on Sunday).”

 

Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan qualified his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” machine fourth with a 4.067 second e.t. (303.78 mph) to race against Todd Lesenko as his first round match-up.

 

An unexpected victim of the weather-shortened qualifying was fellow Mopar teammate Ron Capps who won last week’s NHRA event at Sonoma and sits in second place in the points battle. Capps struggled with grip on both his passes and missed making the field for the first time since spring of 2012 at Las Vegas.

 

Mopar’s Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson marked his participation in the 400th NHRA national event of his career by posting back-to-back elapsed time passes of 6.53 seconds in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger to run second quickest in both sessions. Johnson was second to Ricky Jones’ who sat on the provisional pole until that spot was taken away in the final qualifying session by Mike Edwards, the current Pro Stock points leader, with a 6.526 second e.t. (212.29 mph) to break the Pacific Raceways speed and time record to grab a 12th No.1 qualifier position this year. Johnson ended up third of the timing sheets overall and will match up against J.R. Carr in the first round of eliminations.

 

“To be around as long as we’ve been around, I still feel 29 like when I started and I don’t feel like it’s been that long but I guess it has,” said Johnson who has participated in nearly half of the NHRA’s 801 national events and won his first World Championship in 2012. “We knew after the first run we were solidly in the field, so the second round we got after it but Mike (Edwards) got after it a little more. I think we’ve got a good tune up and Sunday is going to be hotter so it will likely be a crew chief’s race tomorrow.”

 

HEMI-powered driver V. Gaines was fourth quickest and faces Shane Gray as his first opponent.

 

Last weekend’s runner-up at the Sonoma Nationals, Jeg Coughlin Jr. was 11th after the first session but after some changes to the rear of his JEGS.com Mopar Dodge Avenger he improved to a fifth place qualifying spot with a run of 6.560 seconds (210.70 mph) and will see Steve Kent in the first round.

 

After a trip taking his Mopar to the winner’s circle at the Sonoma last week, Vincent Nobile clinched a playoff berth with his sixth place qualification effort at Pacific Raceways and will see Chris McGaha as his first round match-up.

 

Mopar Racing–Mopar Doubles-Up with Wins by Nobile and Capps at Sonoma Nationals

Mopar Doubles-Up with Wins by Nobile and Capps at Sonoma Nationals
 
·         Mopar earns two national titles with wins by Nobile and Capps at 26th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals
·         Nobile wins second national title of the season and moves to fifth in the Pro Stock championship standings
·         Capps scores his second win of the year on a hole shot to earn his 40th career Funny Car national title
·         Coughlin runs his 90th career final round appearance to finish runner-up
·         Hagan remains in the Funny Car championship points lead with Capps jumping into second spot
·         Johnson and Coughlin are second and third in Pro Stock standings

 

Sonoma, Calif. (Sunday, July 28, 2013) – Mopar added two more trophies to its mantle at the 26th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals with title wins by HEMI-powered Dodge Avenger driver Vincent Nobile and Ron Capps in his Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T, marking the fifth national event this season in which Mopar has won titles in both Pro Stock and Funny Car categories.

 

“It was great to see Vincent Nobile and Ron Capps add another pair of wins for Mopar at Sonoma Raceway,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “This is the fifth time Mopar has earned victories in both classes this year and that is a true testament to the hard work and quality teamwork that the Mopar HEMI-powered teams and drivers are putting in at every national event in pursuit of championships.”

 

In a repeat of a final elimination battle at the season opening event in Pomona, Calif., Nobile faced off against Jeg Coughlin Jr. for the fourth all-Mopar Pro Stock final of the year. Nobile emerged the victor for the second time this season, despite the knowledge that his engine was nearing the end of its ability to function.

 

“It was a great day and a long overdue win,” said Nobile who now has seven career victories to his credit. “I saw that Jeg [Coughlin] had a .005 reaction time in both his runs so I knew I had to be on my game in the final. Unfortunately our motor was broken in the water box and I really thought I was a sitting duck. It actually held off and blew right at the stripe but until then I was pushing my foot through the radiator until I saw the win light turned on.”

 

Nobile defeated Jason Line, No.1 qualifier and Pro Stock points leader Mike Edwards, and Greg Anderson to reach the final against his Mopar teammate and jump to fifth place in the points battle with the title win.

 

Coughlin, for his part, made his way to an admirable 90th career final elimination round appearance by posting two holeshot wins against Shane Gray and his Mopar teammate Allen Johnson. With the runner-up finish, the driver of the JEGS.com Mopar Dodge Avenger remains third in the points.

 

“For J&J Racing, Allen [Johnson], Roy [Johnson] and the entire team did one heck of a job,” Coughlin said. “We had three cars in the final four, and that’s pretty stout. We wanted to get the win for Team JEGS, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Now we’ll move to Seattle. Maybe it’ll be Allen at Denver, Vincent in Sonoma and Jeg in Seattle.”

Johnson echoed Coughlin’s sentiments about the team’s performance heading into the third and final race on the NHRA’s western swing.

 

“Anytime we can have three out of the four Mopar cars in the semis, it’s a good weekend,” Johnson said. “I’m a little disappointed I won’t get a shot at the [three race] western sweep but we’re going for a different kind of sweep. This year our team is going for the HEMI sweep.”

 

On his way to earning his fourth Funny Car national title at Sonoma Raceway, Capps defeated Del Worsham, Jeff Arend, and Courtney Force to face 15-time world champion John Force. The driver of the DSR Dodge Charger R/T won his final elimination battle on a holeshot against Force by taking the lead and posting a 4.085-second run (307.79 mph) to beat his opponent’s quicker run of 4.072-second (311.13 mph).

 

“A holeshot-win only comes with a great car,” Capps said. “That 4.04 we ran to beat Courtney [Force in the semifinals] was stout. I wanted to dedicate a win to John Cardinale [Sonoma Raceway PR director who lost his battle against cancer], his kids and his wife. He was just a great guy who was instrumental in a lot of things that happen around here at Sonoma Raceway. We’re just so used to seeing his smiling face around here so being able to do that for them was probably the best part of that win.”

 

The drive to the winner’s circle by Capps was his second of the season and the fortieth of his career, moving him up two spots in the championship standings into second place behind his Mopar teammate Matt Hagan.

 

The upset of the day came in the first round of Funny Car action as No.1 qualifier Hagan, who set the second quickest run in NHRA history on Friday night with a 3.986-second pass, saw his race day end prematurely against no.16 qualifier Alexis DeJoria. While the driver of the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T had a clean start, a loss of grip resulted in the hazing of the tires and loss of momentum against his competitor. The good news is that despite first round losses in the last two events, Hagan still maintains the lead in the Funny Car championship standings.

 

Also upset in the elimination rounds was Jack Beckman who, after also running a sub-four second run in his DSR Dodge Charger R/T to qualify second, was beaten on a holeshot by Courtney Force who posted an elapsed time of 4.089 seconds (315.34 mph) to Beckman’s quicker 4.067 second (313.51 mph) pass.

 

Johnny Gray, who has a category-leading four wins this season in his DSR Mopar machine, saw his day come to an unfortunate end in the second round when the car’s blower exploded. He emerged unscathed and of his own accord after a few tense moments when the energy of the blast was contained within the body that remained attached to the chassis with the new tethering system mandated by the sanctioning body in Denver last week. Gray drops to fifth in the closely contested points battle in the Funny Car standings.

 

Mopar Racing–Record Setting Qualifying Run Puts Hagan No.1 at Sonoma NHRA Nationals

Record Setting Qualifying Run Puts Hagan No.1 at Sonoma NHRA Nationals
 
·         Mopar is competing at 26th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend, the 13th of 24 national events
·         Hagan is No.1 qualifier by posting second quickest run in NHRA Funny Car history and tying national elapsed time record on Friday night
·         Hagan, Beckman and Capps top Funny Car qualifying
·         Johnson is top Mopar qualifier in Pro Stock with a third place effort
·         Pro Stock driver Johnson and Johnny Gray are defending winners at Sonoma
·         Hagan leads Funny Car Championship points; Johnson and Coughlin are 2nd and 3rd in Pro Stock

 

Sonoma, Calif. (Saturday, July 27, 2013) – Following four rounds of qualifying at the 26th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Matt Hagan earned the No.1 qualifier position in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T based on his best effort during cool Friday evening conditions at Sonoma Raceway to set the second quickest run in NHRA Funny Car history and tie a national elapsed time record. Hagan’s track record run of 3.986 seconds at 320.51 mph tied his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman’s NHRA national e.t. record set at Reading, Penn., in 2012 and was second to his other Mopar teammate Ron Capps’ 3.964-sec pass set at Englishtown in last year. Beckman and Capps also rounded out the top three spots at Sonoma Raceway in anticipation of Sunday’s Funny Car elimination rounds.

 

“Awesome,” said Hagan to describe his career best run. “We have such a great crew, such a great group of guys working on this car. [Crew Chief Dickie Venables] said ‘Hey kid, hold on.’ Dickie was swinging for the fence and it stuck. It was just a phenomenal run. I wish everyone could feel how it feels to go that fast. It’s one of the coolest things on Earth.”

 

While Hagan’s provisional pole time and speed withstood warmer track conditions on Saturday to earn his third No.1 qualifier position of the year and the 13th of his career, he also posted the second quickest time of the fourth qualifying session to add a little more confidence.

 

“We were pressing pretty hard in the first session today, and it felt good to back it up and lay down a 4.07 for the second-quickest run of the last session,” said Hagan who leads the championship points with four events remaining before the playoffs. “Those bonus points all add up, so we’ll take every one of them that we can get. It’s great to be up here in Sonoma and get a No. 1 qualifier under our belt. This team has a lot of confidence after starting the year being thrown together at the last-minute. I knew Dickie was good, but I had no idea that he was this good.”

 

Hagan finished runner-up last year at Sonoma and heads into Sunday’s first round against Alexis DeJoria.

 

While Hagan was the first to run below the four second threshold in the ideal conditions Friday evening presented, Beckman soon followed suit posting a 3.994-second pass (319 mph). It was the fourth time the 2012 NHRA Funny Car World Champion has be able to secure a run in the three second zone in his career. Beckman will line up against Todd Lesenko for his first round match-up.

 

Capps drove his Dodge Charger R/T to a third place spot on the eliminations ladder with his Friday night 4.012-second (312.50 mph) run to match up against Del Worsham.

 

Mopar teammate and defending winner at Sonoma, Johnny Gray, made the 16-car field on his final qualifying session with a time of 4.112 (306-46) for put him in 12th place on the ladder to match-up against Tim Wilkerson.

 

In his 399th career NHRA event, Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson qualified his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger in third spot by posting his best run on Friday night with an elapsed time of 6.536-Seconds (210.21 mph). Johnson was quickest in the third qualifying session on Saturday afternoon and is hoping to defend his 2012 win on Sunday. After earning his fifth career win at Mopar Mile-High Nationals last weekend, Johnson is hoping to repeat at Sonoma in order to put himself in a position to sweep the three race western swing with Seattle next on the schedule, something he fell just short of doing last year. Johnson will face Chris McGaha in the first round of eliminations.

 

His teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. had his best qualifying run in the third session with a 6.557 second e.t. (211.30 mph) to move his Jegs.com / Mopar Dodge Avenger into seventh spot where he’ll face Rodger Brogdon in the first round of eliminations. HEMI-powered teammates V. Gaines and Vincent Nobile both qualified fifth and eighth respectively.

 

The no.1 qualifier position went to Mike Edwards, current Pro Stock points leader, for an 11th time this season.

 

Mopar Racing–Long Live the King: Johnson Seizes Fifth Victory in Seven Years at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

Long Live the King: Johnson Seizes Fifth Victory in Seven Years at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

Allen Johnson drives his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger to a seventh consecutive final-round appearance at Bandimere Speedway
Johnson earns his second consecutive win and fifth of his career at Thunder Mountain, and 20th overall
Hometown favorite and Lakewood, Colo. native V. Gaines takes the runner-up spot for the second straight year at his home track
Team Mopar Pro Stock teammates Johnson and Jeg Coughlin Jr. clinch spots in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs
Mopar-powered NHRA Funny Car drivers exit early at Thunder Mountain
Morrison, Colo. (Sunday, July 21, 2013) –  Allen Johnson further cemented his reputation as the “King of Thunder Mountain,” defeating Lakewood, Colo. native V. Gaines in an all-Mopar final round at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals on the 25th anniversary of the Mopar brand’s title sponsorship of the event. In a repeat of the 2012 Mopar Mile-High final round, Johnson, the defending Pro Stock Series champion, claimed his second consecutive win at Bandimere Speedway, fifth in seven years, his fourth win of the season and 20th of his career. Johnson is also now tied for second all-time in Pro Stock wins at Denver with Warren Johnson.

No. 1 qualifier at Bandimere Speedway for the fourth consecutive year, Johnson’s day started out easy — with a bye run — but it didn’t stay that way for long. After a 6.981-second elapsed time (ET) at 197.10 mph in his single run, Johnson faced current points leader Mike Edwards without lane choice in a quarterfinals matchup of the top two drivers in the point standings. Johnson handled the pressure skillfully, leaving the starting line first with a .010 reaction time to Edwards’ .031 and never trailing, clocking in with a victorious 6.982/196.90 in his Mopar Express Lane/J&J Racing Dodge to Edwards’ 6.989/196.67.

In the semifinals, the Greeneville, Tenn. native faced off with young gun Rickie Jones. Johnson, an 18-year veteran, was first off the line with a .020 reaction time and quickest on the track with a 6.993/196.96 at the timing lights to advance to his seventh-consecutive final round appearance at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, as well as his seventh final of the year and 43rd of his career. In the money round at Mopar’s main event, Johnson used a 6.989/196.87 run to defeat fellow Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger driver Gaines, who posted a 7.015/196.67 effort.

“You know, the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger crew is the reason for this,” said Johnson, who also clinched a berth this weekend in the NHRA Countdown to the Championships playoffs, scheduled for the last six events of the season. “All the guys at the engine shop, all the guys at the chassis shop, all the things that they put into this event. They’re determined to win every year, and I have to give all the glory to them.

“We’re really thrilled to come out here with a win for Mopar on their 25th anniversary. For them and the Bandimere family, having that marriage for 25 years, we really wanted to win it for that marriage. We pulled it off, and we’re very happy.”

“Congratulations to Allen (Johnson) and the Mopar Express Lane Team for an incredible fifth career win at Bandimere Speedway,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “What a great way to celebrate Mopar’s 25th anniversary as title sponsor of this wonderful event. Four wins and seven final elimination appearances this season to date show how much work and determination Allen and his team have put in to battle in a tough Pro Stock class in defense of the Championship.”

Johnson will now try to sweep the last two events of the NHRA’s famed Western Swing, an accomplishment he came one win short of achieving last season.

“It would be an elite honor, to be in that group of (drivers),” said Johnson. “We go to every race trying to win every round and the race, and that’s what we’ll do heading to Sonoma (the next event).”

Last year’s Pro Stock runner-up Gaines was the crowd favorite. Starting out of the No. 2 spot, Gaines had a solo run to open the day after Steve Kalkowski had problems in the pits and was unable to make the call. In the second round, Gaines knocked out Jason Line with a 7.001/196.26 mark, and in the semis stunned Shane Gray with a .002 reaction time coupled with a 7.011/196.53 to score the holeshot win.

Jeg Coughlin Jr., who competes with Mopar HEMI-powered engines supplied by Allen Johnson’s J&J Racing team, qualified No. 9 and went against Edwards in the opening round. His 7.012/196.47 in his Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Avenger couldn’t defeat Edwards, but the four-time Pro Stock champ did secure his berth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Vincent Nobile, part of the J&J Racing squad, drove his Mountain View Dodge Avenger past former Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson and met Shane Gray in the quarterfinals. Always fast off the line, Nobile left first with a .014 reaction time to Gray’s .043, but was unable to hold the lead with a pass of 7.020/196.44 to Gray’s 6.981/196.96. Mopar-powered Colorado native and No. 5 qualifier Derik Kramer exited in the first round, as did Matt Hartford, who was able to walk away after crossing the center line and then hitting the left wall hard in a wild run in his Dodge.

Mopar-powered NHRA Funny Car teams experienced a more difficult outing during Sunday eliminations. Defending event winner Jack Beckman qualified No. 2 in his Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car and bested Terry Haddock in the opening stanza with a 4.245/295.46 run. “Fast Jack’s” bid for back-to-back Mopar Mile-High wins ended in the quarterfinals, where his 4.276/295.40 effort wasn’t enough to defeat Robert Hight, who also defeated Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge driver Johnny Gray in the opening round.

Two of Beckman’s DSR compatriots, Matt Hagan and Ron Capps, were forced to wage a round-one Mopar vs. Mopar duel. Capps was able to capture the win with a 3.922/299.60 pass to the slower 4.258/296.31 recorded by Hagan in his Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar Dodge Charger R/T. Capps was unable to reach the semis, losing to Cruz Pedregon in quarterfinals. Jeff Arend fell to Tim Wilkerson in the opening round.

Mopar Racing–Team Mopar Driver Johnson Powers to Fourth Consecutive Pole at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

Team Mopar Driver Johnson Powers to Fourth Consecutive Pole at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson will start No. 1 for the fifth time in his career at Bandimere Speedway
The top spot at Bandimere is the 30th career pole for Johnson
Johnson, the four-time and defending event winner, will have a bye run in the first round tomorrow as he shoots for the victory and his seventh consecutive final-round appearance at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals
2012 Denver runner-up and Lakewood, Colo. native V. Gaines will start second in his Mopar-fueled Dodge Avenger and face Steve Kalkowski in the opening stanza
Johnson’s J&J Racing stablemates Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Vincent Nobile are part of a six-car Dodge Avenger group that will fight for the Mopar Mile-High win
Jack Beckman was quickest of a five-strong Mopar HEMI-powered Funny Car contingent and will race out of the No. 2 spot on Sunday  
Morrison, Colo. (Saturday, July 20, 2013) –  For the fourth consecutive year and fifth time in his career, Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger driver Allen Johnson will lead the Pro Stock field into the elimination rounds at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. Johnson secured the No. 1 spot on Saturday at Bandimere Speedway, marking the 30th pole in his 18-year career. The Team Mopar veteran will have the chance to advance to his seventh straight final-round appearance at Bandimere Speedway on Sunday, as well as claim his second-straight victory and fifth overall at Thunder Mountain. In Funny Car, 2012 event winner Jack Beckman was best of the Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T bunch and will start second.

Johnson captured the top spot in his Mopar Express Lane race machine in the second session on Friday with a 6.949–second elapsed time at 198.23 mph, and in the two final attempts on Saturday no driver was able to knock the king of Thunder Mountain off his throne. The Greeneville, Tenn. native posted a 7.107/197.59 pass in his first Saturday qualifying attempt, and a session-quickest 6.982 run in his final qualifying effort. Johnson is now tied with Warren Johnson (no relation) for second all-time in Pro Stock No. 1 Qualifier spots at Bandimere Speedway.

“We were able to secure No. 1 qualifier last year during Mopar’s 75th anniversary, and win the race, and this year we’re No. 1 for their 25th anniversary as the title sponsor of the event, so we want to go out there tomorrow and secure that win again,” said Johnson. “Doing anything great here in front of Mopar is just awesome. Getting the pole is just the start — we have to have a long day tomorrow. We got a good car, got a good crew — we’re just on top of the ‘Mountain.’

“We felt a little better about Jeggy’s (teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr.) car that last pass; we got it to run good and do well. I think we’ve got a really good race day set up with that last fast run, with Jeg’s car and mine, and Vincent didn’t run too bad. We’ve got four or five fast Mopars in this crowd. Hopefully every one of them can do well and we can have two Mopars in the final.”

Crowd favorite, Lakewood, Colo. native and Mopar-powered Pro Stocker V. Gaines (6.970) will start second tomorrow and match up with Steve Kalkowski in the opening round. Deric Kramer (6.982), another Colorado son, will line up his Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger No. 5 versus Steve Kent to start off Sunday.

Johnson’s J&J Racing team will field three strong entries in the quest to bring Mopar home a victory on the brand’s 25th anniversary as title sponsor of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. Four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion and Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Avenger driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. (6.996) posted his best run of the weekend in the final qualifying session and will battle out of the No. 9 spot against current points leader Mike Edwards in a monster opening-round fight. The third member of the J&J Racing trio, Vincent Nobile (7.005), posted his Dodge Avenger 11th and will draw Greg Anderson in tomorrow’s first stanza. Matt Hartford (7.058) ended the day 13th in his Dodge and will go head-to-head with Rickie Jones in the first round.

Mopar-powered Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Funny Car driver Jack Beckman is in strong position to defend his 2012 win and capture a third career overall triumph at Bandimere. Beckman (4.097) will begin Sunday eliminations from the No. 2 spot and face Terry Haddock in round one. Beckman’s DSR Mopar-powered Dodge teammates Ron Capps (4.152), the No. 8 qualifier, and Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar DSR Dodge pilot Matt Hagan (4.158) , No. 9 and the current points leader, will see who has the quickest Mopar in a first-round showdown. Johnny Gray (4.168), a four-time winner thus far in 2013, will race from the No. 10 position in his Dodge against Robert Hight, and Jeff Arend (4.360), the No. 14 starter, will draw Tim Wilkerson.

Mopar Racing–Mopar Express Lane Driver Johnson Rockets to Top Spot in Friday Qualifying at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

Mopar Express Lane Driver Johnson Rockets to Top Spot in Friday Qualifying at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

 

Defending event winner and reigning Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson will seek to secure his fourth consecutive pole at Bandimere Speedway and fifth overall at the venue
Four-time Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals winner Johnson looks to add to his streak of six straight final-round appearances on Thunder Mountain in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger
Hometown favorite and Lakewood, Colo. native V. Gaines holds the Pro Stock provisional No. 2 spot in his Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger
With the provisional second spot, defending event winner and reigning Funny Car champion Jack Beckman leads the Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T contingent in Funny Car qualifying
Morrison, Colo. (Friday, July 19, 2013) – The reigning king of Thunder Mountain took a giant step — in the form of the provisional No. 1 spot — towards continuing his rule at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.

Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger driver Allen Johnson recorded a 6.949–elapsed time at 198.23 mph in the second qualifying session today at Bandimere Speedway to claim the top spot on the charts. If Johnson, the reigning Pro Stock series champion, can hold his position tomorrow, the Greeneville, Tenn. native will earn his fourth straight pole at sponsor Mopar’s headline event, and fifth overall at the Rocky Mountain venue.

Also on the line for Johnson this weekend, which marks the 25th anniversary of Mopar’s role as title sponsor of the event: his streak of six straight final-round appearances in Denver and a possible fifth career win at Bandimere Speedway.

“We’re right on with our program, now we just have to tune the other two up (the cars of teammates Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Vincent Nobile),” said Johnson, who was second after the first qualifying session with a 6.980/197.39. “After that first run I wasn’t sure we were going to have the Mopar execs smiling tonight, but we ended up giving them something to cheer about. That’s what we’re out here for, that’s what they pay us to do. And it’s always fulfilling for the J&J Racing team when we do it.

“We tuned up the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger. You know, it’s Mopar’s 25th anniversary (as title sponsor) and all the bosses are upstairs, except Pietro (Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar), who’s in Italy, and he’s wishing us on from afar. We need to make them smile on Friday night, and hopefully we made them do it. We’re very happy with the way things are going, and hopefully we can keep the Mopar out front tomorrow.”

A pair of hometown-favorite Mopar-powered Dodge Avenger drivers trailed closely behind Johnson in Friday Pro Stock qualifying. Lakewood, Colo., native V. Gaines (6.970) was just behind Johnson with the provisional No. 2 spot, while Deric Kramer (6.982), from Sterling, Colo., was fifth. Johnson’s J&J Racing teammates were also in the mix, with Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Avenger driver Coughlin (6.997) listed ninth and Mountain View Dodge Avenger racer Nobile (7.005) penciled in at 11th. Matt Hartford posted his Dodge Avenger 12th.

Defending Funny Car event champ Jack Beckman posted his Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T second in Friday qualifying with a 4.097-second pass at a track-record 309.91 mph. Fellow Mopar-fueled Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate Ron Capps (4.152) was ranked eighth, with Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar DSR Dodge pilot Matt Hagan (4.158) listed ninth. Johnny Gray (4.168) clocked in at No. 10 in his DSR Dodge, and Jeff Arend was 14th in his Dodge Charger R/T.

Mopar Racing–Mopar to Celebrate 25th Anniversary as Title Sponsor of Mile-High NHRA Nationals

Mopar to Celebrate 25th Anniversary as Title Sponsor of Mile-High NHRA Nationals
 
·         25th Anniversary of title sponsorship of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver
·         Mopar legends Scelzi and Schumacher will serve as Grand Marshal and Honorary Starter at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals
·         12th edition of the popular Mopar Block Party to be held once again in downtown Golden on Thursday, July 18
·         Mopar Block Party to feature driver autograph session, display of classic and race vehicles, and live concert
·         Fans invited to play a newly launched “Mopar Drag ‘N’ Brag” video game

Auburn Hills, Mich. (July 10, 2013) –Mopar and Bandimere Speedway will be celebrating their Silver Jubilee at the 34th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals held at the scenic Rocky Mountain drag strip on July 18-21. The brand’s 25-year relationship with the Bandimere’s family Thunder Mountain track and continuous support of the national event is the longest running title sponsorship in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, and among the longest in all of motorsports.

 

“We are very proud of our long-standing relationship with the Bandimere family, their wonderful facility and the passionate fans that attend the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals every year,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Since 1989, this historic track has become our home-away-from-home because of a common passion for this family-oriented sport, grassroots racing and commitment to sportsmen. Through thick and thin over the past 25 years, the Bandimere Family, their track and this annual national NHRA event have become an integral and valued part of our Mopar racing tradition.”

 

To help celebrate the quarter-century mark as title sponsor, Mopar has invited drag racing legend Gary Scelzi to take on the role of Grand Marshal, and Hall of Fame driver and owner Don Schumacher to serve as Honorary Starter at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.
A fan favorite, Gary Scelzi, nicknamed the “Wild Thing,” enjoyed a 12-year run as a professional NHRA racer earning enough wins, championships and milestones to cement his reputation as a legend in the sport after completing his racing career behind the wheel of a Mopar HEMI-powered Funny Car at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
 
“I’m humbled and excited to be asked by Mopar to serve as Grand Marshal and be part of such an amazing event once again,” said Scelzi who earned a win at Bandimere Speedway in a Don Schumacher Racing Mopar Funny Car in 2006. “There are only a few NHRA nationals that have prestige and meaning and where winning really means something extra special. I’d put the Mopar Mile High Nationals amongst the Gatornationals and Englishtown. It’s special not just because it has been around forever and is extremely difficult and challenging, but also because of the Bandimere family. They go out of their way to make everyone, from the fans to the competitors, feel at home. They think of everything and make you really feel like you are part their family and their home.”
 
Following a successful early start to his drag racing career in the sportsman ranks, Scelzi became a four-time NHRA world champion after winning his first title as a rookie pro racer in 1997, the first of three earned in the Top Fuel class. In 2002, Scelzi successfully transitioned to the Funny Car ranks and went on to drive his Mopar Dodge to the world championship title in 2005 with Don Schumacher Racing. He became just the second driver in NHRA history to capture overall titles in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes. With 37 NHRA wins and 44 No. 1 Qualifier spots, Scelzi ranks in the top-20 overall in both categories.
 
“My history at Bandimere was actually quite horrible,” Scelzi added. “I don’t think I made it out of the first round much but I just loved coming here regardless. It was a huge challenge on track but it was always about family and fun and was always an event, a party everyone looked forward to. When I did finally win with Mopar in 2006, it just had so much meaning and to be invited back to celebrate their 25 years with the Bandimere family is really exciting.”
 
A longtime ambassador for the Mopar will serve as Honorary Starter at brand’s signature event; Hall of Fame NHRA drag racer and team owner Don Schumacher’s legacy with the Mopar brand began with his first trip to the winner’s circle behind the wheel of a Plymouth ‘Cuda Funny Car at the 1970 U.S. Nationals. Nicknamed “The Shoe” when at the top of his game in the early and mid-1970s, Schumacher earned five NHRA national event wins and is remembered for an unequaled record in match races across the country.
 
Schumacher’s loyalty and passion for Mopar continues in his current role as team owner, where his track record is as equally impressive as that of his racing career. His racing team, one of the most successful and respected organizations in the NHRA, has won 209 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships. Amongst those, three of his drivers — Gary Scelzi (2005), Matt Hagan (2011), and Jack Beckman (2012) — have claimed NHRA Funny Car championships for Mopar aboard HEMI-powered Dodge vehicles. For his many contributions to the NHRA and motorsports, Schumacher was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame earlier this year.
 
“I’ve had a relationship with Mopar and Dodge since the early 1960s when I first started to drag race so to be recognised by them and asked to be the Honorary Starter for the MOPAR Mile-High Nationals at Denver is an incredible honor,” Schumacher said. “I’ve always either been inside a car driving it or behind watching my teams. Now for the first time I’ll be right next to them as the Honorary Starter. That will be a unique experience for me.”
 

Mopar Racing–Hole Shot Win by Gray in All-Mopar Final at Norwalk

Hole Shot Win by Gray in All-Mopar Final at Norwalk
 
·         Mopar advanced to final eliminations in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes at seventh annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
·         Gray scored a hole shot win in a Mopar versus Mopar final elimination against DSR teammate Capps
·         No.1 qualifier Johnson finished runner-up in his 42nd Pro Stock final elimination appearance
·         Hagan remains Funny Car points leader with Mopar teammate Gray moving into second spot
·         Johnson and Coughlin are second and third in Pro Stock points standings

Norwalk, Ohio (Sunday, July 7, 2013) –  In an all-Mopar final elimination showdown, Johnny Gray earned his fourth Funny Car national title of the season on a hole shot win against his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps at the seventh annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, the 13th of 24 national events on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit. Mopar Pro Stock pilot Allen Johnson also advanced to the final elimination at the Norwalk track finishing runner-up to current points leader Mike Edwards.

 

“Congratulations to Johnny (Gray) from all of us at Mopar on his title win at Summit Motorsports Park and his fourth victory of the year,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “It great to see the Mopar-powered Funny Car package competing so strongly, leading the standings, and back in the winner’s circle for the eighth time this year. It’s great to seeing all four Don Schumacher Racing teammates contending for wins in defense of the championship title nearly every week throughout what continues to be an exciting and incredibly competitive season.”

 

Gray’s fourth final round appearance and series-leading fourth win of the season followed three consecutive first round losses. After last weekend’s event in Chicago, the DSR Pitch Energy team returned to their Indianapolis based shop to rebuild the front end of chassis in less than a day. Not only did the driver appreciate the efforts but he took full advantage by defeating Alexis DeJoria, Chad Head and then his DSR teammate, defending Funny Car world champion, Jack Beckman, on his way to the final Mopar versus Mopar showdown against Capps.

 

Both Gray and Capps posted identical 4.103-second passes, but with a quicker 0.061 reaction time Gray’s Dodge Charger R/T beat his teammate by just 0.006 seconds.

“Everybody said it was back-and-forth all the way down the track, and it was just a great drag race,” said Gray who also posted wins at Gainesville, Atlanta, Topeka this season to bring his career total to seven national titles. “You just can’t say enough for what my crew does for me and this was my day. We came to Norwalk and the car never missed a step. When I get a race car like this, it’s really hard to screw it up.”

 

Capps’ runner-up finish came in his 80th career appearance in a final elimination at his 400th national event and puts him fourth in the standings.

 

Matt Hagan started off strong in his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” / Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T by making his best run of the weekend in his first round match up against Tony Pedregon only to lose the battle against his DSR teammate Capps. Hagan does however remain in the Funny Car championship points lead on the strength of three wins and two no.1 qualifier positions with just five races to go in the regular season.

 

In Pro Stock action, bolstered by his first No.1 qualifier position of the season, Johnson advanced to his 42nd career final elimination appearance to face off against Edwards. While the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger had the starting line advantage with a 0.015-second reaction time, not having the critical lane choice had its consequences. Loss of grip and violent tire shake early in the run ended Johnson’s chances of gaining some ground on the track and in the points battle against his opponent. Edwards scored his fourth win of the year and the 38th of his career and remains the leader in the Pro Stock standings.

 

“We had a great day but lost critical lane choice with our semifinal run and that ended up hurting us for the final,” said Johnson who has had six final round appearances this year and jumps into second place in the points with his runner-up finish. “We hurt a motor and had to swap out the engine before that semifinal but didn’t have a good enough run to maintain lane choice and that made the difference. We’re on a good run right now, feel like we’re doing things right and we have some momentum heading into Mopar Mile High Nationals. We have guarded optimism heading to Mopar’s signature event but it’s an event we love and have a lot of confidence going into.”

 

Ohio native Jeg Coughlin Jr. was upset on his home turf in the second round by fellow HEMI-powered teammate and defending Norwalk title winner Vincent Nobile. They had each won three times against one another in prior events but in this Mopar showdown, Nobile had the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. Coughlin remains third in the points chase close behind Johnson, while Nobile, who was unable to defeat Edwards in the semifinals, jumps into sixth spot.

 

V. Gaines drove his Dodge Avenger to the second round where he fell victim to the dreaded left lane and hazed the tires against Shane Gray but remains tenth in points.

Mopar Racing–Mopar’s Johnson Earns No.1 Qualifier for Second Consecutive Year at Norwalk

Mopar’s Johnson Earns No.1 Qualifier for Second Consecutive Year at Norwalk
 
·         Mopar is competing at seventh annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend in Norwalk, Ohio. the 13th of 24 national events
·         Johnson earns first No.1 qualifier honors of the season; second at Norwalk in consecutive years
·         Capps is third as top Mopar Funny Car qualifier in his 400th NHRA national event

Norwalk, Ohio (Saturday, July 6, 2013) – Mopar’s Pro Stock driver and defending NHRA world champion, Allen Johnson has earned his first No.1 qualifier honor of the 2013 season in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger at the seventh annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Johnson’s second top qualifier position at the Norwalk track in consecutive years was posted with an elapsed time pass of 6.592 seconds (209.75 mph) on his second qualifying run in Friday evening’s unseasonably cool track conditions, a time that held through two more qualifying sessions on Saturday in warmer and more humid conditions, to give him his 29th career pole position.

 

“Last year we ran really well here and our Mopar Express Lane Dodge just loves this track,” said Johnson who has three wins this season and who’s previous No.1 qualifying effort was last fall in Dallas during the Countdown to the Championship. “More importantly we’re gaining on [points leader] Mike Edwards a little bit and I think we made some progress performance-wise as well. The last few races we’ve pretty much matched him engine-wise and we’re figuring out some things on the car. We had one good run and one not so great today but I think you’ll see pretty close to the same conditions on Sunday.  We’ve got a pretty good set-up and we feel good about it.”

 

With only 15 entries qualified for eliminations at Summit Motorsports Park, Johnson will get a ‘bye’ in the first round but he knows that every single run is going to be important if he is going to defend his championship crown.

 

It’s going to be a knockdown, drag-out battle through to the end of this season,” Johnson added as this weekend’s event launches the second half of the season with just six more titles up for grabs before the start of the Countdown to the Championship. “This is what I call ‘getting after it’ time. Hopefully we can do well and keep pushing to try and secure that No. 1 position going into the playoffs.”

 

Johnson’s Mopar teammate and winner of last week’s national title in Chicago, Jeg Coughlin Jr. has never won at Norwalk, his home track, but is hoping to change that this weekend after qualifying third with a 6.614-second run (208.91mph).

 

“I feel great running here,” said Coughlin who had also qualified third on route to winning the “Wally” trophy last weekend. “I love racing at this track. The fans are great, and I have made a lot of runs here in my career. There’s nothing more I’d like to do than make four rounds here tomorrow and turn the win light on in the final to boot.”

 

Coughlin’s JEGS.com /Mopar Dodge Avenger, which is sporting a unique JEGS Racing for Cancer Research Foundation ribbon on the hood this weekend to mark their 10th anniversary and their recent $10 million gift to the Ohio State University Foundation’s Project One, will line up in the first round of eliminations against Steve Spiess.

 

V. Gaines was fourth overall with his Dodge entry on the qualifying scoring sheets after posting a 6.616 second e.t. (209.56 mph) to put him up against first round opponent Kenny Delco.

Last year’s Pro Stock title winner at Norwalk, Vincent Nobile, qualified his HEMI-powered Dodge in sixth spot with a 6.629 second pass (208.75 mph) and will face Steve Kent in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.

 

In Funny Car action, Don Schumacher Racing’s Ron Capps was the top Mopar qualifier with his third place effort in qualifying for his 400th career NHRA national event. The top position was held by John Force with track record run on Friday night of 4.021 seconds (317.72mph) while Capps set his best time of 4.040 seconds (316.82 mph) in the same session but held on to that third spot through Saturday qualifying to face Jeff Arend as his the first round opponent in eliminations.

 

DSR teammate Johnny Gray qualified his Dodge Charger R/T fourth with a 4.061-second, 312.64 mph run to face Alexis DeJoria in the opening round.

 

Last week’s national title winner in Chicago, Matt Hagan, continued to produce consistent runs in his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar”/ Rocky Boots machine to qualify sixth with an e.t. of 4.071 seconds (313.29 mph) and will battle Tony Pedregon in his first round match. Defending NHRA Funny Car world champion, Jack Beckman was ninth with a 4.100 second (308.92 mph) pass to set him up against Cruz Pedregon.

Mopar Racing–Mopar Doubles up on Wins at Route 66 NHRA Nationals with Hagan and Coughlin

Mopar Doubles up on Wins at Route 66 NHRA Nationals with Hagan and Coughlin
 
·         Mopar doubles up by earning both Funny Car and Pro Stock title wins at 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals
·         Hagan posts third title win in his sixth final round appearance of the year to extend his lead in Funny Car Championship standings with six races left in regular season.
·         Coughlin earns his fifth career Pro Stock win at Route 66 Raceway and his second of the season
·         Just two points separate Coughlin and Johnson in second and third spot in the Pro Stock standings as they chase down the leader

Joliet, Ill. (Sunday, June 30, 2013) – Mopar drivers Matt Hagan and Jeg Coughlin Jr took top honours at the 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals “doubling-up” at the Chicagoland area track with title wins in both Funny Car and Pro Stock classes for a third time in the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series season. Hagan extended his lead in the Funny Car championship standings by posting his third victory of the season in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T in his sixth final round appearance for Don Schumacher Racing. For his part, Coughlin earned his second win the year aboard the Jegs.com Mopar Dodge Avenger by taking his fifth career “Wally” trophy at Route 66 Raceway to jump into second place in the Pro Stock standings.

 

“It was great to have Matt Hagan and Jeg Coughlin Jr. add two more wins in their Dodge vehicles today with their efforts at the Route 66 Nationals and everyone at Mopar is very proud of the strong first half of the season we’ve had,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Earning wins in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes at the same event for the third time this year, is a great way to showcase all the hard work that Mopar HEMI-powered teams and drivers are putting in to defend both world titles this season.”

 

Drivers to previously double-up on National wins in both categories this year for Mopar were Johnny Gray and Allen Johnson at the GatorNationals, and then Gray again with Coughlin at the Kansas Nationals.

 

Hagan earned his Route 66 title win by defeating two of his Don Schumacher Racing teammates; After turning the win lights on in his first round match-up his against Gray, Hagan went on to run an incredible side-by-side, Mopar versus Mopar, showdown against defending world champion Jack Beckman, emerging the victor on a holeshot. His final round victory against John Force was earned by posting his best elapsed time of eliminations with a 4.605-second pass at 315.34 mph, to his competitor’s 4.113-seconds (304.80 mph) attempt.

 

“I don’t think you could put together a tougher line-up,” said Hagan in reference to having to battle two teammates, and veterans Bob Tasca III and Force to earn his eighth career victory. “We’re doing good things right now and we want to keep it up, but I want to stay humble. This is such a humbling sport. Things can change fast, so we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

 With six races left in the regular season, Hagan leads the championship over Cruz Pedregon and Force while his DSR teammates Gray, Ron Capps and Beckman are all right there in the closely contested battle in the top six spots.

 

In Pro Stock action, Coughlin took home his fifth win from the Route 66 venue for his second win of the 2013 season, bringing his victories total to 54 titles. He won this one in a final elimination match against opponent Greg Anderson after having to face his Mopar teammate Allen Johnson, winner of the previous event at the New England Nationals, in the semifinals.

 

“When I let out the clutch, the car didn’t feel the best that it had all day, and by the time I got into second and third gear I was just cracking the whip on the thing as hard as I could,” said Coughlin, who moved into second place in the standings just two points ahead of Johnson with the win and closing the gap on the leader Mike Edwards. “You look at the guys we had to race and there were certainly no easy rounds. To see that win light come on in my lane and to have such a huge win here feels amazing. I feel very fortunate to be standing here clutching this Wally (trophy).”

 

The next stop for Mopar teams and drivers is the fourth NHRA event in as many weeks taking place at this upcoming weekend at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, marking the halfway point of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series with the 7th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on July 4-7.

Mopar Racing–Record Setting Run by Capps Gives Mopar No.1 Qualifier Honors at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Record Setting Run by Capps Gives Mopar No.1 Qualifier Honors at Route 66 NHRA Nationals
 
·         Mopar is competing at 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals this weekend at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., the 12th of 24 national events
·         Capps sets both track e.t. and speed records with the third quickest pass in NHRA history to earn Funny Car No.1 qualifier position
·         DSR teammates Capps , Beckman are two of four drivers to run under the four second barrier
·         Johnson and Coughlin Jr. earn second and third qualifying spots in Pro Stock competition

Joliet, Ill. (Saturday, June 29, 2013) – A record setting run by Don Schumacher Racing’s Ron Capps in his Dodge Charger R/T earned him No.1 qualifier honors for the 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Saturday evening’s cool temperatures and perfect track conditions set the stage for Capps’ run of 3.988 seconds with a top speed of 320.28 mph, the third quickest pass in NHRA history, setting both the Funny Car elapsed time and speed records at the Chicagoland area track.

 

The Mopar driver posted the first three-second pass in the track’s history during the final qualifying session where three more entries, including his teammate Jack Beckman, would also run sub four-second elapsed times, but none were able to beat it.

 

“I really didn’t think it would hold since we ran so early in the session,” said Capps who’s record setting pass gave him his first top qualifier position of the season, his first at Route 66 Raceway, and the 15th of his career. “It was a great run. I thought [Matt] Hagan or [Jack] Beckman would go quicker than that, but we’ll take it. I’ve been hit or miss at this place, so maybe we can get one tomorrow. It’s great for the fans to have two night sessions. Funny Cars racing at night, it doesn’t get a lot better than that.”

 

Capps will face Bob Bode in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.

 

Jack Beckman’s elapsed time pass of 3.993-seconds (319.52 mph) was good enough to put his Mopar in third spot and will give him lane choice over Alexis DeJoria in the opening round.

 

After sitting second in the sole Friday session with a 4.040 seconds (317.19 mph) pass, Matt Hagan ended up sixth in his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” machine after a mechanical problem with the lighting tree delayed his final qualifying attempt against Robert Hight. Once they restaged their Funny Cars, neither were able to complete the run or take a shot a adding their names to the list of drivers breaking the four second barrier that evening.

 

For his first round showdown, Hagan, who has two wins this year and is the current Funny Car points leader, will face the Mopar of his teammate Johnny Gray, who is third in those championship rankings with three wins of his own so far and who qualified 11th with a 4.064-second (310.70 mph) effort.

 

The 70 degree track temperature for Saturday’s final Pro Stock qualifying session also helped Allen Johnson and his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger initially set a track record with a 6.556-second run to go to the top of the qualifying score sheets, but his efforts were short lived as current points leader Mike Edwards earned his tenth No.1 qualifier position of the season with his own record low e.t. of 6.542 seconds and 210.64mph. That put Johnson second overall in qualifying and matched him up with Steve Kent for the first round of eliminations.

 

Johnson’s Mopar teammate and driver of the Jegs.com entry, Jeg Coughlin Jr., ran his own impressive 6.565-second e.t. with a speed of 209.92 mph to put him third on the qualifying score sheets, pitting him against Roger Brogden in the opening elimination round.

 

Fellow HEMI-powered entry of Vincent Nobile qualified eighth and will start against Greg Stanfield, while V. Gaines will pit his own Mopar against Greg Anderson in the first elimination round battle.

 

Mopar Racing– Win for Mopar Express Lane Driver Johnson at Inaugural NHRA New England Nationals

 Win for Mopar Express Lane Driver Johnson at Inaugural NHRA New England Nationals
 
·         Mopar competed at Inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire this weekend, the 11th of 24 national events
·         Johnson wins final elimination on a holeshot to earn his third national title of the season
·         Johnson takes sole possession of second place in Pro Stock standings.
·         No.1 qualifier Coughlin celebrates birthday but falls in semis despite 0.001 reaction time
·         Hagan remains atop the Funny Car standings even after a first round loss

 

Epping, N.H. (Sunday June 23, 2013) – Allen Johnson drove the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger to the winner’s circle and a third national title this season after two key holeshot wins in the eliminations rounds of the Inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals giving him sole possession of second place in the Pro Stock championship points standings.  

 

In order to advance to his fifth final round eliminations appearance of the year, Johnson defeated points leader Mike Edwards in the semifinals on a holeshot with a 0.0270-second reaction time. The defending Pro Stock World Champion posted another outstanding 0.025 second reaction time against Shane Gray to earn another exciting hotshot win and his 19th career “Wally” with an elapsed time of 6.642 seconds (205.38 mph) to his opponent’s 6.633 second (210.34 mph) pass.

“Both those guys were tough but this Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger team is bad to the bone,” Johnson said. “We had a great day and we just kept adapting to the track. Our team really worked hard and that was a fantastic run we put together in the finals. We made a radical change after the semifinals to get ready for the finals, and it really worked. We found something that will help the rest of the year.”

 

“We’ve done a lot of testing and now the testing is over,” Johnson added. “We’re in race form for the rest of the regular season and heading into the Countdown. Working with Jeggy (Coughlin Jr.) and Vincent (Nobile) has made us all stronger. We’re all clicking and working together and we’re going to start our championship march here.”

 

“All of us at Mopar are excited to see Allen (Johnson) earn a third national title this season and to see him do it in that manner at the new venue at the New England Nationals is fantastic,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Allen and the Mopar Express Lane team are working hard and getting good results amongst some tough Pro Stock competition and we’re looking forward to seeing them contend for more wins in their quest to defend the Championship.”

 

Jeg Coughlin Jr. earned the No. 1 qualifier honors at New England Dragway and had a first round bye before defeating fellow HEMI®-powered teammate Vincent Nobile. The driver of the Jegs.com Mopar was hoping to make his 43rd birthday celebrations a little bigger with a trip to the final round in elimination. However, even with a near perfect 0.001-second reaction time in his semifinal match-up against eventual runner-up Gray, Coughlin shut down early with an e.t. of 6.927 seconds (198.38 mph) to his competitors clean 6.638-second run (210.24 mph).

 

“It’s not the way I dreamed of celebrating my birthday,” said Coughlin who now sits third in the standings. “But, we went some rounds and earned some points, so it wasn’t all bad. I’m just hungry for another win.”

 

In Funny Car action, Matt Hagan was upset in the first round after losing traction while in the lead and getting nipped at the finish by Blake Alexander. Despite the loss, the driver of the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T retains the championship points lead. Teammate Johnny Gray also lost in the first round to Tim Wilkerson but also remains third in the standings.

 

Defending world title holder Jack Beckman and his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps both drove their Mopars to the semifinal round to face the father and daughter duo from the Force Racing camp. Beckman had the lead on Courtney Force with the finish line in his sights before he saw his race and a shot a final round appearance go up in flames. Capps’ match up with John Force was their 68th and, for only the second time in the last ten meetings, he suffered a loss to the 15 time NHRA World Champ after hazing the tires off the start. Beckman and Capps both slide a little in the standings to the sixth and seventh place respectively in the tight Funny Car points chase.

 

Mopar Teammates Top Pro Stock Qualifying at Inaugural NHRA New England Nationals

Mopar Teammates Top Pro Stock Qualifying at Inaugural NHRA New England Nationals
 
·         Mopar competes at Inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire this weekend, the 11th of 24 national events
·         Coughlin Jr. earns Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier position for second time this season
·         Johnson second to Mopar teammate in qualifying
·         Hagan second on qualifying score sheets and posts top speed from Funny Car at new venue

 

Epping, N.H. (Saturday, June 22, 2013) – Mopar teammates topped the Pro Stock qualifying score sheets at the Inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals as Jeg Coughlin Jr. earned the No. 1 qualifier honors and Allen Johnson had the second quickest elapsed time in the factory hot rod category. Matt Hagan was the best of the Mopar Funny Car contingency posting the second lowest elapsed time and the top speed at New England Dragway to end up qualifying in second spot.

 

Coughlin’s Friday night run of 6.533 seconds at 212.43 mph in the JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger dislodged Mike Edwards, the current leader in the Pro Stock standings, from the top qualifying position for only the second time in 11 opportunities this season. His first pole of the year was earned in Houston and this weekend’s efforts give Coughlin his 19th career No.1 qualifier position.

 

“On our first run this (Saturday) morning we thought we had an outside chance of improving on that 6.53 from last night,” said Coughlin who is looking for a win this weekend to add to the Wally earned at Topeka and gain some ground on the points leader. “I owe a lot to the JEGS.com team and also to the Johnson & Johnson Mopar team. They’ve done a great job of providing horsepower, and I feel fortunate to have such a great group in my corner. We’ve had a great season so far. We’re second and third [Johnson] in the points and there is only one team [Edwards] that is doing better than we are. We just need to take this momentum and carry it through the summer and hopefully keep the world championship in the J&J camp.”

 

Johnson posted a 6.547-second pass at 212.26 mph in the cooler Friday night conditions aboard his Mopar Express Lane Dodge to secure the second spot behind his teammate. He also had the best e.t. of the final session and is pleased with the efforts and gains the Mopar team has made at New England Dragway, a new venue on the NHRA Mello Yello Series circuit, to find themselves first and second in final qualifying for the first time this year.

 

“Having the Mopar teammates go one-two is a good way to go into Sunday eliminations at a track we’ve never raced on,” said Johnson who has two wins this season to date and is looking to defend his 2012 NHRA World Championship. “We both had pretty good runs in each session and while the left lane seemed to be the best lane on Friday and the right lane seemed to be better on Saturday. Any time you can have two of the three cars on top of the sheets that’s a pretty good weekend. The challenge of racing at this new venue for us is adapting the cars to the lanes. When the sun is out the lanes get pretty bald. They have a heavy rock surface and no concrete surface so there’s no way to get rubber to stick to it. What we’ll be challenged with tomorrow is getting a lot of grip in the cars.”

 

With only 15 Pro Stock entries qualified this weekend, Coughlin gets a bye in the first round of eliminations while Johnson will face Josh Gaydosh Jr. The HEMI-powered entry of V. Gaines had the seventh quickest e.t. and will face Tom Martino for his first Sunday match up while the third Johnson & Johnson teammate, Vincent Nobile, qualified his Dodge Avenger eighth and will race against Rodger Brogden.

 

Lack of grip was also a factor on the all-concrete track surface for the Funny Car class but Hagan’s “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” crew found the right balance to take the Dodge Charger R/T to the top of the scoring sheets in the first session of qualifying on Friday with a 4.139 second (304.87 mph) run. Later that evening, the current points leader followed up that pass with a 4.057-second and 317.49 mph run that put him in the No. 2 and gave him the top speed of the category at the new venue.  That effort held up to stay second to No.1 qualifier John Force, giving Hagan a first round of elimination match-up against Blake Alexander.

 

Defending Funny Car world champion Jack Beckman had a rougher time on Friday but made his DSR crew made the necessary adjustments to his Mopar in order to post the third quickest elapsed time in Saturday’s first session and second quickest in the final qualifying session. Beckman ended up tenth in the final qualifying tabulation with an elapsed time of 4.131 seconds (308.85 mph) and will face Bob Tasca III in the first round.

 

With his best e.t. of 4.083 seconds at 309.91 mph, Ron Capps put his DSR Dodge Charger R/T fourth on the timing sheets to face-off against Tony Pedregon. Teammate Johnny Gray, who has three wins this season in his Mopar, qualified sixth overall with a 4.090-second (312.64 mph) run and will go up against Tim Wilkerson in the first round on Sunday.

Mopar Racing–Despite Difficult Day at Bristol Mopar Still on Top

Despite Difficult Day at Bristol Mopar Still on Top
 
·         Mopar contingency falls short without representation past the second round of eliminations in both Pro Stock and Funny Car at Bristol Dragway
·         Gorlier presents Johnsons with Mopar President’s Award for outstanding contributions as brand ambassadors in front of hometown fans on Father’s Day
·         Hagan remains in the Funny Car championship points lead; all four DSR entries ranked in the top-five
·         Mopar Pro Stock drivers Johnson and Coughlin tied for second in points

 

Bristol, Tenn. (Sunday, June 16, 2013) –  Eliminations on Father’s Day at the 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals did not quite go as planned for the Mopar contingency, but while none of the Dodge entries in either class were able to advance past the second round at Bristol Dragway, a few positives remained. Despite the shortened race day, Matt Hagan and the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Don Schumacher Racing machine remain atop the leaderboard in the Funny Car points race, while Allen Johnson and Mopar teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. are tied for the second spot in the Pro Stock standings.

 

Another top highlight  took place prior to first round action, as driver of the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger, Johnson along with his father and engine builder Roy Johnson, were presented with the “Mopar President’s Award” by Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand.  They were recognized in front of their hometown fans and family for their contributions as brand ambassadors, their five decades of loyalty, dedication and service to Mopar, and for bringing home a long sought after 2012 NHRA Pro Stock World Championship. Father and son are the first recipients of this special award.

 

On track the day started off well enough for the Greeneville, Tenn.-natives after qualifying the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger in second spot on the eliminations ladder. Johnson won his first match-up against Lewis Worden but was defeated on a holeshot by Greg Anderson in the next round. Teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. met the same fate with his own holeshot loss in round two against Erica-Enders Stevens.

 

The elder Johnson, who tunes the HEMI® engines for both Mopar team entries still felt that there are some positive to come away despite the losses.

 

“We had low e.t. of both rounds, so at least we didn’t get out run,” said Johnson. “We didn’t execute as well as we would have liked with the driving, but we still showed we have the power. You’ve got to remain positive in this class.”

 

The good news for the championship battle is that the points leader Mike Edwards also saw his day cut short after being upset in the second round by the eventual title winner Rodger Brogden, who in only his second NHRA final round appearance beat Erica Enders-Stevens by just 0.002 seconds to score his very first career Pro Stock victory.

 

The HEMI-powered entries of Vincent Nobile and V. Gaines both faltered in the first round and are now seventh and tenth in the rankings.

 

In Funny Car, after Don Schumacher Racing’s Jack Beckman qualified his Mopar second, setting a track-record speed in the interim, and teammate Hagan was seeded third in his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” entry, the elimination rounds held a few surprises. Beckman, along with Ron Capps and Johnny Gray all saw their Dodge Charger R/T eliminated in the first round of action with mechanical issues, while Hagan fell in the second. It was the first time in 31 events that a Mopar Funny Car entry did not reach the semifinals.

 

The good news is that despite the setbacks, the Funny Car points battle remains close and all four Mopars remain in the top-five.

 

Mopar teams now get set to take on the concrete challenge that awaits them at the inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals next weekend in Epping, New Hampshire, just north of Boston, on June 20-23.

Mopar Racing–Johnson Qualifies Second in Pro Stock at Home Track

Johnson Qualifies Second in Pro Stock at Home Track;
Beckman, Hagan Second and Third in Funny Car at Bristol
 
·         Johnson second in Pro Stock qualifying at Bristol Dragway in front of hometown fans at 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
·         Beckman and Hagan qualify second and third for Mopar in Funny Car
·         Beckman sets track record at Bristol with a speed of 317.05 mph and his best run of the year
·         Last year at Bristol, Johnson finished runner-up in the closest finish in NHRA history, decided by less than .0000-second
·         Johnson hoping to celebrate Father’s Day with the gift of a win for his father and engine builder Roy Johnson
·         Johnson and Coughlin Jr. tied for second in points heading into final eliminations on Sunday

 

Bristol, Tenn. (Saturday, June 15, 2013) – Following four rounds of qualifying, the field is set for the Father’s Day edition of the 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway on Sunday. Hometown favorite Allen Johnson qualified his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger second on the strength of his best elapsed time on Friday night of 6.645 seconds and a top speed of 207.85 mph while his nemesis Mike Edwards earned his ninth No.1 qualifier position of the season with a 6.632-second e.t. (208.23 mph). In Funny Car, Don Schumacher Racing teammates Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan were the top Mopar Funny Car qualifiers in second and third place respectively.

 

While Johnson would have liked to have posted a No.1 qualifying position for a fourth year in a row at his home track, he’s keeping things in perspective.

 

“We were trying to go for it that last run and sort of over powered the track but for the weekend we have to feel good about it as we closed the gap on Mike [Edwards] still a little more and I think we have a great car for race day,” said Johnson who will face Lewis Worden in the first round of eliminations.

 

A title win at Bristol has eluded Johnson and after finishing runner-up to Edwards last year by less than .0000 of a second in the closest finish in NHRA history, he would love a rematch. Gifting a national title to his dad and engine builder Roy Johnson on Father’s Day on the quarter-mile strip in front of hometown fans, family and friends is definitely the goal.

“It’s Father’s Day (on Sunday) and I’m going to have extra motivation because I have my dad here by my side, but I think we have a great hot rod, we know this track, and the team is doing such a great job so we have high hopes.”

While Johnson would like to put his competitor’s streak of four consecutive wins at Thunder Valley to an end himself, maximum points would also help the defending NHRA Pro Stock World Champion gain some ground in the points battle which is currently at the half way point of the regular season. Following qualifying, Johnson finds himself tied for second place with his Mopar teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr., trailing Edwards in the lead by 164 points.

Coughlin for his part qualified sixth with a best run of 6.661-seconds at 206.73 mph in the third round, putting him up against Rickie Jones for a first round match-up.  

 

“We had three great runs and one good run out of the four sessions,” said Coughlin, who showed consistency with consecutive runs of 6.664 seconds (206.67 mph), 6.670 (206.32 mph), 6.661 (206.73 mph) and 6.689 (206.92 mph) . “The fastest session last night, for some reason we were scratching our heads after that run. We couldn’t really put a finger on why we didn’t perform like we wanted to, but that’s the sport of drag racing. You’ve just got to analyze your data and get to work.”

 

The HEMI®-powered Dodge of Vincent Nobile was 12th on the qualifying sheets and will face Jason Line in the opening round of eliminations while V. Gaines qualified ninth and matches up with Rodger Brogdon.

 

In Funny Car, defending NHRA World Champ Beckman earned the No. 2 qualifier position for the Don Schumacher Racing team with a 4.012-second pass on Friday night to post his best run of the year in his Mopar and set a Bristol track record with a speed of 317.05 mph. He’ll face Blake Alexander as his first round opponent.

 

Hagan, who is coming off the his second title win of the season with a victory at the preceding event in Englishtown aboard the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T and is the current Funny Car championship points leader, secured the third spot in qualifying on Friday evening with a 4.049-second pass at 317 mph to face off against Tony Pedregon. His fellow DSR teammate Ron Capps was fifth quickest for a match-up against Chad Head, while Johnny Gray, second in points, qualified his Mopar tenth and will see Bob Tasca in the opening round of eliminations.

 

Mopar’s Father and Son Team Working Towards a Memorable Father’s Day at Bristol

Mopar’s Father and Son Team Working Towards a Memorable Father’s Day at Bristol
 
·         Mopar competes at 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the tenth of 24 national events
·         Johnson has earned three consecutive No. 1 qualifier honors at Bristol Dragway, his home track, but a Pro Stock win has eluded him
·         In 2012, Johnson finished runner-up in the closest finish in NHRA history, decided by less than .0000-second
·         Johnson hoping to celebrate Father’s Day with the gift of a win for his father
·         Ron Capps is defending Funny Car winner for Mopar at Bristol
·         Hagan leads Funny Car Championship points; All four DSR entries now in Top-5 in points

 

Bristol, Tenn. (Friday, June 14, 2013) – This Father’s Day weekend the Mopar contingency will compete in the 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, but for Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson it is anything but an ordinary race weekend.  While he and his Mopar team’s engine builder and father Roy Johnson, have a plethora of good memories at the Greenville, Tenn.-native’s home track, they are hoping to add one more special one this Sunday.

 

While both men have won sportsman races as drivers at Bristol Dragway and their Pro1 Mopar Dodge Avenger has earned three consecutive No. 1 qualifier honors, a Pro Stock win has eluded them. The father and son team came as close to their first professional win at their home track as is actually technically possible in last year’s final round of eliminations by finishing runner-up to Mike Edwards in the closest finish in NHRA history, a race that was decided by less than .0000 of a second.

 

“I wasn’t horribly disappointed losing last year in the closest side-by-side final round in NHRA history,” said Allen Johnson who will run for the first time in front of hometown fans as the defending NHRA Pro Stock World Champion. “It was certainly a little disappointing, but it was an exciting finish for the fans and teams alike and you can’t be disappointed about that. We were just on the wrong side of the bullet there. It was a great race and we knew it would be. We almost got it done and that fueled us for the rest of the year and we are hoping to do the same thing this year, but come away with a win and fuel us for the championship race.”

 

The elder Johnson has had two big wins in a Mopar as a driver at Bristol Dragway in the early 1970s in IHRA Stock and Super Stock classes. The younger Johnson’s sole victory at Bristol was earned in 1981 competing in the Super Stock class as a teenager aboard his father’s 1971 Dodge Challenger with a 340 cubic inch wedge engine (SS3FA).

 

“He did that motor all by himself,” Roy Johnson recounted proudly as he reminisced about how he made his son work on his own engine. “Allen ground and fit every bit of it. He worked hard on that car and earned that win but not without a little bit of luck. He actually red lighted in the first elimination round but his competitor failed technical inspection because the car was too light and Allen was back in and went on to win it all. It was his first major win right here at home in Bristol.”

 

For Christmas four years ago, Johnson bought his father a 2009 Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak which Roy took to Bristol Dragway the following May for his first runs behind the wheel in nearly 30 years posting a best elapsed time pass of 10.65-seconds at 125.95 mph.

 

After working 17 years alongside his father, Johnson believes celebrating Father’s day at their home track in front of their hometown friends and family is only fitting.

 

“It’s Father’s Day and racing with my father and being close to my father, and try to win this race is a special incentive,” said Johnson as he recalled some of his favorite highlights in racing together so far including their first pro win and their crowning achievement, the 2012 NHRA Pros Stock World Championship. “It would have to be the first one in Richmond together in ’99, and then the championship last year at the banquet when I brought him on stage and it was pretty emotional for both of us. That’s just something you’ll never forget. We almost lost him in 2009 [to a heart attack] and to come back and have the success we did last year was incredible and means the world to me. Winning with my father at Bristol is the next item on our bucket list.  We almost got it done for the family, friends, employees last year and there is no doubt it would be special for everyone including the hometown fans.”

 

Johnson is third in the championship points standings with 698 points, right on the heels of his Mopar teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. who is in second spot with 701 points on the strength of a win and three final round appearances. Coughlin has a Pro Stock win to his credit at the storied race track, earned after securing the No. 1 qualifier position in 2007. HEMI®-powered drivers Vincent Nobile and V. Gaines are sixth and ninth in the points respectively.

 

Don Schumacher Racing’s Mopar Funny Car driver Ron Capps is the defending winner with a total of three wins at Thunder Valley. His teammate and new points leader Matt Hagan is looking for his first victory at Bristol to add to his stats sheet after earning two No. 1 qualifier spots and two wins in four final round appearances this season in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T.  

 

Challenging Hagan in the second spot of the championship rankings is another Mopar teammate Johnny Gray, who has three wins in what has already been a highly-successful 2013 retirement tour. Gray has dedicated his final year behind the wheel to honoring his father, the late John R. Gray, and carries his father’s likeness on the quarter panel of his striking Pitch Energy Dodge. This Father’s Day weekend, the longtime drag racer sees no better way to honor his dad’s memory than to put the car in the winner’s circle on Sunday.

 

Also looking to score his first win at Bristol is defending Funny Car World Champion Jack Beckman who is fifth in the points, just one point behind teammate Capps, which puts all four Don Schumacher Racing Mopar entries in the top-five in the hunt for the 2013 NHRA championship.

 

Mopar Racing–Englishtown Post Race

No.1 Qualifier Hagan Wins All-Mopar Final; Johnson Runner-Up at NHRA Summernationals
 
·         Hagan earns No.1 qualifier position and second win of the year in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Funny Car at the 44th annual NHRA SummerNationals
·         Third all-Mopar Funny Car final elimination and Hagan’s fourth appearance in the championship round this season
·         Hagan takes over lead in Funny Car points standings from his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Gray

·         All four Funny Car Mopar entries in top-5 in tight points battle at halfway mark of the regular season

·         Johnson takes the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger to its fourth final elimination of the year and finishes runner-up to Edwards

 

Englishtown, N.J. (Sunday, June 2, 2013) – No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan took the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T to victory circle for the second time this season by beating his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the final elimination round at the 44th annual NHRA Summernationals at the historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. This was the third Mopar versus Mopar Funny Car showdown in the finals this season, all of which involved Hagan who now has a total of four championship round appearances in nine races thus far in the NHRA Mello Yello series season.

 

“That’s our fourth final of the year and it’s still a young season,” said Hagan who won the 2011 NHRA Funny Car Championship but then had a difficult 2012 season without a victory and narrowly missed the playoffs. “All of these guys didn’t know if they’d have jobs this year. They toughed it out. To come back and be this strong blows me away. It’s just an awesome feeling to see those win lights turn on every time. It’s something that you can’t buy out here.”

 

“Everyone at Mopar would like to congratulate Matt Hagan on earning his second Wally of the year with his Summernationals title win,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “It’s great to see all the hard work that Matt and the Don Schumacher Racing team have put in be rewarded with having the ‘Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar’ branded Dodge Charger R/T  in the winner’s circle again.”

 

Hagan began the weekend by earning the No. 1 qualifying position, his second of the year, on the strength of a 4.050-second pass at 315.64 mph in the Friday night session at the Englishtown facility, a run that ended up being the quickest Funny Car pass of this year’s edition of the Summernationals after no one was able to beat it in the heat of the day in the final two qualifying sessions.

 

Hagan went on to post his seventh career victory by beating two of his DSR teammates in the elimination rounds. He scored a second round holeshot win over Johnny Gray, who had won the previous two national events and has three wins on the season. Hagan then put in a final round performance of 4.112 seconds at 308.00 mph to beat Jack Beckman’s 4.182 second pass at 303.98 mph and earn his first title win at Englishtown.

 

With the victory Hagan retakes the points lead from his DSR teammate Gray, who slips to second in the championship standings. Hagan initially had the lead after his first win of season at the Four-Wide Nationals. In a very tight Funny Car championship points battle, all four Mopars are currently in the top-five at the half way point of the regular season with Ron Capps in fourth place and Beckman breaking into fifth spot with his runner-up finish this weekend.

 

In Pro Stock action, 2012 NHRA Champion Allen Johnson advanced to his fourth final round appearance of the year in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge to face his nemesis, No. 1 qualifier and current points leader, Mike Edwards. To get to the final elimination face-off, Johnson qualified sixth and disposed of Larry Morgan and Erica Enders-Stevens in the opening rounds. He then lined up beside HEMI-powered teammate Vincent Nobile, against whom he has 10 win – 4 loss record in prior events. Nobile had the starting line advantage with a 0.024-second reaction time to Johnson’s 0.060, but tire shake pitched the car sideways to give Johnson the round win and send him to do battle against Edwards.

 

Meanwhile, following a win at the previous national event in Kansas, Jeg Coughlin Jr. entered elimination rounds as the top Mopar qualifier with the fifth quickest pass, marking the ninth time this season in as many events that he has qualified in the top half of the field. Coughlin beat his first round opponent Steve Kent to advance and face Jason Line, whom he beat off the start line only to have his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger uncharacteristically shake the tires for the loss.

 

In the final elimination match-up, Johnson and Edwards had nearly identical 0.04-second reaction times on the start, with the Mopar Express Lane Dodge finishing runner-up for a second time this year with a 6.641-second (209.95 mph) run to his competitor’s 6.589 sec (210.21mph) pass. Edwards wins is his third title of the season and increases his points lead to 152 over Coughlin in second place, with Johnson just three points behind his Mopar teammate in third spot.

 

While the Mopar contingent gets ready to race again in two weeks, Johnson in particular will be looking forward to the next event at his home track of Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway on June 14-16 for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the tenth event of 24 on the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Mopar Looking to Repeat or Make New History at Summernationals

Mopar Looking to Repeat or Make New History at Summernationals
 
·         Mopar competes in the 44th annual NHRA SummerNationals in Englishtown, N.J., the 9th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Series season
·         Gray is defending Funny Car winner at Englishtown and has a two event win streak going into this weekend
·         Past Mopar winners at Englishtown: Coughlin (3) and Johnson (1) in Pro Stock, and Gray (1) and Capps (1) in Funny Car
·         DSR’s Capps set the track’s quickest Funny Car run in his Dodge Charger R/T with a 3.96 sec pass last year
·         Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is Nobile’s home track
 

Englishtown, N.J. (Friday, May 31, 2013) – This weekend the Mopar contingency competes at the 44th annual NHRA Summernationals taking place at the historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park affectionately known to drag racing aficionados as “Englishtown”.  It seems that each Dodge driver is either looking to either repeat past history of success at the track, extend a streak, start a new one, or replace a missed opportunity with a new memory.

 

The current Funny Car points leader, Johnny Gray of Don Schumacher Racing, is the defending winner of this event and is looking to continue a hot streak that saw him drive his Dodge Charger R/T to the winner’s circle in the last two NHRA National events in Atlanta and Topeka for a total of three victories so far this season that has doubled his career totals. Last year’s action at the New Jersey track also saw DSR teammate Ron Capps, won here in 2006, set a track record with a 3.96-second pass to set the quickest run in Funny Car history.

 

With his own strong start this season, and looking to add a second win to build up his points total at the Summernationals, Matt Hagan currently has his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” entry third in the standings.

 

“The points right now are so tight between me, Johnny (Gray) and Cruz (Pedregon), and Ron (Capps) isn’t that far back in fourth so it’s shaping up to be a great points battle,” Hagan said. “I think we are about a round and a half out of first and we need a really good race to remain there in the top three and I don’t want to let Capps get around us.”

 

Coming away from the previous event at the Kansas Nationals with his own win, Mopar’s Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. would love to start a win streak similar to Gray’s after advancing to three final round appearances so far this season and build on the efforts that have him second in the standings.

 

“We’re excited,” says Coughlin who has three Pro Stock wins at Englishtown earned in 1998, 2000, and 2009. “Coming off our best effort of the year, where we not only got the trophy but passed the 500 round-win mark at the same time, has us all feeling pretty good.”

 

His teammate Allen Johnson, defending 2012 NHRA champion, won at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in 2011 and sits third in the standings. Johnson faced Coughlin in the final elimination round at Topeka and is looking forward to a few more all-Mopar showdowns this season.

 

“Getting to that final round is what we’re trying to do at every event and it’s especially fun to battle against your own Mopar teammates because that makes you better,” said Johnson who has two wins to date this season and is just 45 points behind Coughlin.

 

As a resident of Melville, N.Y. just a few miles down the road from one of NHRA’s original seven national events, Vincent Nobile for his part is looking to do well in his HEMI-powered Dodge Avenger at the track he considers home. Nobile won his very first race here aboard a Junior Dragster and has also had class wins, including a King of the Hill victory when he was just eight years old. However, his first Pro Stock appearance at Englishtown in 2011 was certainly memorable as he worked his way to a final elimination round face off against Johnson only to set off the red-light on the start.  

 

“That would have meant the world to win that race in front of my whole family because that would be one pretty good winner’s circle picture to have my whole family in it,” said Nobile of the missed opportunity but quickly adds that he hopes to get the chance again this year. “To win here would mean a lot for me and my dad because we have always wanted to win Englishtown.”

 

ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will provide coverage of this weekend’s 44th annual NHRA Summernationals from Englishtown, N.J., the eighth of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, with one hour of qualifying highlights on Saturday, June 1 at 5 p.m. (ET) and rebroadcast on Sunday June 2 at 1 a.m. (ET).  Coverage of the elimination rounds will air on Sunday, June 2, starting at 4:30 p.m. (ET).

Mopar Racing–Two Title Wins for Mopar with Coughlin and Gray at NHRA Kansas Nationals

Two Title Wins for Mopar with Coughlin and Gray at NHRA Kansas Nationals
 
·         Coughlin and Gray earn title wins for Mopar and special-edition silver Wally trophies in honor of the 25th anniversary of NHRA Kansas Nationals
·         Coughlin reaches milestone 500th career Pro Stock round win on his way to his first win of the season and 53rd of his career
·         After a win at the previous event in Atlanta, Gray wins third title of the season, and first consecutive victories of his career to take Funny Car championship lead
·         Three Mopars reach semifinals in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes

 

Topeka, Kansas (Sunday, May 19, 2013) – For a second time this season, two Dodge entries doubled up to take title wins in both the Pro Stock and Funny Car classes at the NHRA Kansas Nationals with drivers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Johnny Gray taking home special-edition silver Wally trophies in honor of the event’s 25th anniversary. Each driver’s trip to the winner’s circle was notable for number of reasons.

 

Before the final elimination round came down to a Mopar versus Mopar face-off between Coughlin and his teammate Allen Johnson, his second round victory gave him a milestone 500 career round wins. He becomes the fifth Pro Stock driver to reach that plateau along with Greg Anderson, Bob Glidden, Kurt Johnson, and Warren Johnson.

 

Coughlin advanced to his 88th career final round appearance to earn a 53rd career win with a 6.680-second pass at 206.20 mph over Johnson’s elapsed time of 6.698 sec (206.57 mph) after both drivers recorded .013 second reaction times. It was the third time this season that Coughlin was involved in an all-Mopar final elimination. Previously, the driver of the Jegs.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger was defeated by Vincent Nobile for the win in the season opening event at Pomona, then finished runner-up to Johnson at the Gatornationals.

 

“Any day you are hoisting a Wally at the end of the day is a good thing and it’s what you work for and that final round ranks up there with some of the best races I’ve ever won,” said Coughlin who maintains his second place spot in the points battle but is closing the gap on the leader Mike Edwards. “Today was extra-special for several reasons. We hadn’t won in a couple of years. To finally get a Wally on Sunday is exactly what the doctor ordered. We have been working hard and trying to work smart, and today was our day and it felt fantastic.”

 

“All of us at Mopar are excited to see Jeg (Coughlin Jr.) back in the winner’s circle after a strong start to the season and be part of his 500th round win milestone,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “We began a great partnership with Jeg last year and it’s great to see him back on top with this win at the Kansas Nationals. We look forward to seeing him contending for many more wins this year with the powerful Mopar HEMI engine under the hood of his Dodge. “

 

“We do take trips down memory lane occasionally and this is one of those times,” added Coughlin in speaking about the 500 round wins that have helped him earn 52 class wins and four championships. “We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of great races and win a lot of great championships. It’s a testament to everyone who has been behind us all those years. It’s been a product of 15 years of dedication from a lot of great teams I have worked with. It’s a testament to them from our family teams in the beginning to the Cagnazzi group, Schumacher and now with Allen Johnson.”

 

The defending winner at Heartland Park, Johnson won his match ups against Deric Kramer, Greg Anderson, and Roger Brogdon in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge to make his 39th final round appearance and finish runner-up to Coughlin. Johnson remains third in the Pro Stock standings.

 

Nobile beat fellow HEMI-powered Dodge of V. Gaines before upsetting no.1 qualifier and points leader Edwards in round two. That put Nobile among the three Mopars to make the semifinals where he was defeated by Coughlin, but earned enough points to move up a spot into sixth place in the championship.

 

While three Mopars made the semifinals in Pro Stock, the same transpired in Funny Car with Dodge Charger R/T contingent of Johnny Gray, Jack Beckman and Ron Capps all advancing. Matt Hagan’s ‘Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar’ wasn’t quite as lucky falling in the first round to Bob Tasca.

 

In the semifinals, Beckman, who was the defending event winner, fell to Gray who would meet up for a final round elimination against Robert Hight after he defeated Capps. Gray earned his first victory at the Heartland Park Topeka track in the Pitch Energy Dodge Charger with a final run of 4.067 seconds (314.90 mph) after Hight lost traction early in the run.

 

Gray is having a banner year for Mopar and his Don Schumacher Racing team.  With a victory at the previous event in Atlanta, not only does he have wins in back-to-back races for the first time in his career, bringing his career total to six, but he now also has sole possession of the points lead in the Funny Car championship for another career first. Highlights for Gray this season also include wins in all three of his final round appearances with his Dodge Charger R/T, a no.1 qualifier position at Phoenix and a semifinal appearance in the season opener at Pomona.

 

“My crew chief Rob (Wendland) gave me a great race car that ran real hard all day,” said Gray. “Sometimes you can win races on an intimidation factor and Rob had her tuned up to where she was a little intimidating today. My guys are giving me a car I can’t screw up in right now.”

 

“It was great to see Don Schumacher Racing’s Johnny Gray add a third win today to the strong start to the year he’s had in the Dodge Charger R/T,” Gorlier said. “Earning wins in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes for the second time this year after first doing it at the Gatornationals, is a great way to reinforce all the hard work that Mopar HEMI-powered teams and drivers are putting in early in the season to defend both World titles.”

 

Mopar teams and drivers will return to competition in two weeks for the 44th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park near Englishtown, New Jersey, for the ninth event on the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.