Auburn Hills, MI – The 21st edition of the longest-running, continuous, specialty race in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) history, the Dodge HEMI® Challenge, will take center stage at the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals September 1-2 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The fan-favorite event features heads-up, wheel /*-standing, side-by-side racing of vintage HEMI-powered 1968 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda “package cars” that dominated the NHRA Super Stock (SS/AH) class for more than five decades.

Paul Rossi, renowned Mopar drag racer, engine builder, development engineer, team owner and innovator, has been named grand marshal as acknowledgement of his contributions in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s to the development of high-performance products in the Dodge family, which includes building and driving a 1970 Challenger R/T powered by a 440 Six Pack, backed by Direct Connection when the performance brand first launched in 1974, that dominated the Super Stock class for years. Rossi is excited to be called up to lead the parade of iconic HEMI muscle cars along Indianapolis’ fabled return road for this year’s event.

“I’m so honored to be called upon as grand marshal,” said Rossi, who campaigned one of the original Hurst-built ’68 HEMI (B029) Barracuda Super Stock cars. “I completely understand the appeal of the Dodge HEMI Challenge. There’s nostalgia there and fans like to see them going fast. It’s just fantastic to have a category that calls these classic muscle cars back out of the garage. I really love that.

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Brainerd, MN — Carrying the Mopar 85th anniversary livery on his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car at the 40th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan captured the No. 1 Qualifier position for the fifth time this season then drove to a quarterfinal finish in the penultimate event of the regular season at Brainerd International Raceway.

The defending winner of the event earned his 48th career No. 1 Qualifier honor, the fifth most in the Funny Car category, with his final qualifying pass in the lane next to points leader and provisional pole sitter Robert Hight as the last pairing of the session. Hagan powered his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a 3.843-second elapsed time run at 331.36 mph, one quickest runs of the season, to steal away the pole position, collect a total of six bonus points and a bye-run for the opening round of eliminations. The Q4 run had some added drama when the body of Hagan’s racecar that sported the Mopar 85th Anniversary paint scheme honoring the legendary brand was damaged by a fiery explosion in the final feet of the qualifying run, necessitating a change to the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat body for Sunday’s elimination rounds. Continue reading →

Topeka, KS — To celebrate Mopar’s 85th anniversary, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Top Fuel and Funny Car HEMI®-powered racecars donned new paint schemes to honor the legendary performance brand at this weekend’s 33rd edition of the Menards National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park near Topeka, Kansas.

Matt Hagan took his Mopar 85th Anniversary Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for a best qualifying run of 3.943 seconds at 320.58 mph at the track known as the “House of Speed,” where he holds both ends of the track record for time (3.802 seconds) and speed (338.85 mph) set in May 2017. While this year’s August heat kept the track temperatures between 110 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the weekend and his career best speed safe from any challenge, Hagan’s qualifying effort was good enough to put him fourth on the eliminations ladder. He also clinched his spot in the NHRA’s “Countdown to the Championship” with two more regular season events left after this weekend’s contest, including the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Hagan, who took home the Wally trophy from Heartland Motorsports Park in 2017, began his race day against No. 11 seed Chad Green with a quicker start and 3.944-second elapsed time run at 316.52 mph to turn on the win light and advance to the next round, ending a drought that occurred on a difficult three-event NHRA Western Swing.

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Kent, WA — Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) pilot Leah Pruett closed out the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) three-event Western Swing by taking her Sparkling Ice +Caffeine Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster from the No. 12 seeded position to a semifinal appearance at the Northwest Nationals near Seattle, Washington.

Pruett drove to a 3.897-second elapsed time pass in the final qualifying session to secure the spot on the eliminations ladder that paired her with No. 5 qualifier Antron Brown for the opening round. She kicked off eliminations by beating Brown on the tree by 0.003 seconds, then battling it out the entire length of the track before the Dodge//SRT dragster turned on the win lights with Pruett’s quickest run of the weekend, a 3.781-second pass at 325.69 mph to defeat her opponent’s 3.796 sec./320.81 mph effort.

In the quarterfinals, Pruett had another close battle with No. 4 qualifier Doug Kalitta whom she chased down with a (0.080-second reaction time) 3.818 sec./322.42 mph run to better his (0.075-second RT) 3.827 sec./316.67 mph pass and take the round win with a 0.0041-second margin of victory. That set up a semifinal match-up with Brittany Force against whom a loss of traction at the start of the lap sent Pruett’s chances to challenge the current Top Fuel points leader up in smoke and ended what has been a solid three week campaign for her TSR team.

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Sonoma, CA — Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett followed up last weekend’s win at the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals near Denver by rolling into the 34th annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sonoma Nationals and immediately taking the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster to her first No. 1 qualifier position of the season and then driving to a quarterfinal appearance in eliminations.

Pruett took the top spot on the eliminations ladder by recording a 3.689-second elapsed time pass at 327.59 mph on the first of three qualifying laps to earn TSR’s first Top Fuel pole position and the 12th of her career. After advancing to the final round at Sonoma Raceway last year, Pruett was looking to repeat that journey and kicked off eliminations with a great 0.047-second reaction time and strong 3.729 sec./328.86 mph pass against No. 16 seed Jim Maroney.

In the quarterfinals against No. 9 seed Shawn Langdon, Pruett had another solid 3.758 sec./323.97 mph run, but it wasn’t quite enough to defeat her opponent’s 3.734 sec./330.96 mph pass. Despite the shortened day, Pruett remains sixth in the Top Fuel championship standings, tied with Langdon at 601 points.

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Morrison, CO — The Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat of Tony Stewart Racing Funny Car driver Matt Hagan took the top spot on Thunder Mountain in three of four sessions and earned the No. 1 qualifier position at Bandimere Speedway ahead of the 42nd annual Dodge Power Brokers National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mile-High Nationals.

The defending event winner, picked up where he left off last year by taking his 11,000 horsepower HEMI-powered machine to top of the qualifying sheets with a 3.968 second elapsed time first pass, then improved on it with a solid 3.927-second run to close out Friday qualifying as the provisional polesitter.

Hagan ran his quickest pass of the weekend on Saturday in Q3 at 3.908 mph at 323.12 mph, a time that kept him in the top spot through the fourth session when he had an issue with his burnout and lost traction at the hit of the throttle. That third run by the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was strong enough to secure Hagan’s second consecutive No. 1 qualifier position at Bandimere Speedway. It is also his fourth pole position of the season and the 47th of his career.

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Auburn Hills, MI – Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection take center stage this weekend as the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series brings the thunderous sound and feel of 11,000 horsepower back to the Rocky Mountains for the high-altitude challenge presented by the 42nd edition of the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway on July 15-18.

Dodge//SRT and Mopar continue the decades-long relationship that began in 1989 with the Denver-area Bandimere family-owned track by spotlighting Dodge Power Brokers within this year’s event title sponsorship and on the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) HEMI®-powered nitro cars of Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett.

“The Dodge brand is excited to bring the horsepower back to Bandimere Speedway with one of the premier events in all of racing, the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “We take a lot of pride in being part of the longest standing event sponsorship in motorsports history — 33 years and counting — and a big reason for that is the amazing race fans in the Denver area who turnout each year and pack Thunder Mountain. We’re excited to interact with enthusiasts and share some details about our new Dodge Power Brokers program, which serves as the exclusive source for Dodge Direct Connection performance parts.”

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Norwalk, OH — Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett recorded her strongest performance of the season to date aboard her Dodge Power Brokers dragster with a semifinal appearance at the 15th annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Summit Racing Equipment Nationals near Norwalk, Ohio, the tenth of 22 Camping World Drag Racing Series events this season.

After four qualifying runs put her 15th on the ladder, Pruett kicked off eliminations by upsetting No. 2 qualifier Justin Ashley with her quickest pass of the weekend. She lined up her Dodge Power Brokers dragster against Steve Torrence in the quarterfinals, was quicker on the launch, and put in another solid run to stay ahead of her competitor at the finish line with a 0.0172-second margin of victory to advance.

Pruett’s opponent for her first semifinal appearance of the season was No. 3 qualifier Mike Salinas who had the slight advantage off the start as she lost traction right at the hit of the throttle. While disappointed by the loss, her performance this weekend put her back into the top-ten in the Top Fuel standings and has her looking forward to getting her 11,000 horsepower Dodge//SRT HEMI®-powered machine back on track in July for the first of three western swing events that begin with the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

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