Mopar Back on Track at NHRA Southern Nationals
Mopar teams and drivers compete this weekend at the 35th annual NHRA Southern Nationals
Mopar entries to carry a memorial decal in remembrance of Tom Hoover at Atlanta Dragway
Don Schumacher Racing looking to add more wins to the current tally of six by the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger Funny Car
DSR driver Ron Capps leads Funny Car standings with teammate Matt Hagan in second
Commerce, Georgia (Friday, May 15, 2015) – It’s been nearly three weeks since the last National Hot Rod Association Mello Yello Drag Racing series national event and Mopar teams are revving to go for this weekend’s 35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals near Atlanta, Georgia.
As Mopar teams take to the track for qualifying and final eliminations at Atlanta Dragway this weekend, they will do so with a memorial decal on their HEMI-powered race cars in remembrance of the man regarded as the “father” of the 426 Race HEMI® engine, Tom Hoover, who passed away on April 30th and will be laid to rest in his hometown of Huntington, Pennsylvania, on Friday. As an engineer and a racer, Hoover spent 25 years working at Chrysler Corp., leaving his mark with the 426 Race HEMI, the Max Wedge big-block racing V-8 and the Ramchargers, along with some of the most-storied performance milestones in Fiat Chrysler’s history. A drag racer at heart, Tom Hoover’s contributions helped develop the Pro Stock and Funny Car racing classes.
“Tom Hoover was an exceptional human being and an engineering genius that always wanted to go faster. Today, at Mopar, we continue to live and honor Tom’s vision. He’ll be missed,” says Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care.
A video news feature on Tom Hoover can be viewed online at https://youtu.be/hvN3ZM6FcuY and Mopar fans can read more about Tom Hoover on the FCA US corporate blog: http://blog.fcanorthamerica.com/2015/05/01/we-mourn-the-passing-of-the-father-of-the-426-hemi/
Among the racers that can’t wait to get back on track after two weekends away from competition is Don Schumacher Racing’s quad of drivers and for a good reason. They have combined to put the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T in the winner’s circle at six of the seven national events this season to date.
Title winner at Atlanta Dragway in 2012, Ron Capps currently sits atop the Funny Car points standings after a win at the previous NHRA event in Houston and at the prestigious Gatornationals. Just six points behind in second place is teammate Matt Hagan who also has two wins in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T this year and is itching for more in order to defend his 2014 NHRA Funny Car world championship.
While Tommy Johnson Jr. is the only DSR driver that has not yet driven his way to the winner’s circle this year in the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T, he has had consistent results with two trips to the semifinals and four quarterfinals finishes to find himself and his Make-A Wish HEMI-powered machine fifth in the standings.
Another previous victor at Atlanta with title wins earned in 2009 and 2011, Jack Beckman finds himself sixth in points with 18 events left after snapping a two and a half year drought with a win at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, and adding a No.1 qualifier position in Houston along with two final round appearances.
The Mopar Pro Stock entries are also anxious to get back on track after the two week break, but for a somewhat different reason. 2012 champ Allen Johnson and his Johnson & Johnson Racing team are hoping to rebound from a challenging start to the season. The “Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart has been battling tuning issues as a result of the newly mandated fuel for the class since the start of the 2015 season, hampering the HEMI-powered vehicles from competing at the level to which they are accustomed. Johnson, who earned a win in Atlanta in 2002, would love to see this season’s dry spell come to a quick end so that he can work to move back up in the points standings from his current tenth place spot. V. Gaines and his HEMI-powered Dodge Dart are in a similar situation in 13th place.