Johnson Qualifies No. 2 at Chicago, Leads Seven Mopar-powered Dodge Charger NHRA Funny Car Drivers into Elimination Rounds

Joliet IL – Mopar-powered Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. raced to the No. 2 starting spot at the 22nd Annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals near Chicago, leading a large field of seven HEMI®-fueled Dodge drivers into the elimination rounds at Route 66 Raceway on Sunday.

Johnson and his three Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge//SRT Mopar teammates earned berths in the top half of the field, as well as Dodge driver Cruz Pedregon, putting Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers in five of the top eight positions.

An extended rain delay pushed the final qualifying session to an evening start, and Johnson took full advantage of the cooler temperatures and prime track conditions. After clocking a 3.933-second elapsed time (ET) to open Saturday as the only Funny Car to break into three seconds and earn the No. 3 spot, the Ottumwa, Iowa, native saved his best for last, unleashing a 3.882 ET at 326.84 mph to lock in the second position and end qualifying with a total of six bonus points.

Back-to-back NHRA event winner Ron Capps looks in strong position to keep the momentum going in his Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat after earning the No. 3 spot for Sunday eliminations. Capps claimed the provisional pole on Friday with a sizzling 3.893-second elapsed time (ET) at 326.00 mph, the quickest and fastest run of the first session. He bettered that mark in his final qualifying hit with a 3.882, but it was only good enough for third in the ultra-quick final session. Capps also earned six bonus points during qualifying.

Jack Beckman banked two bonus points to open qualifying, part of a DSR Mopar Dodge 1-2-3 sweep in Q1 (Capps was No. 1, with Johnson No. 3.) The Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver and 2012 Funny Car World Champion wrapped up qualifying in fifth. Two-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan was ranked 12th after the first three qualifying rounds, but he cranked up his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the final session and uncorked a 3.936/323.97 pass to move up to No. 7.

Joining the DSR foursome in the race for the Route 66 Funny Car win tomorrow are a trio of Mopar-powered Dodge Charger pilots: Pedregon (No. 8), Paul Lee (No. 15) and Jim Campbell (No. 16).

Leah Pritchett, runner-up last year at Route 66 Raceway, placed her Okuma Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster in the top half of the field in the eighth position. The DSR star notched her spot with a 3.776/327.82 in the opening qualifying session.

Dodge//SRT Mopar NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series: Notes & Quotes

Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Paul Lee

Friday: (3.951 seconds at 323.04 mph – Q1); (7.265/85.34 – Q2)

Saturday: (3.933/323.81 – Q3); (3.882/326.84 – Q4)

“I’m super excited about Q3. Those were conditions where nobody was getting down the track, and we set low E.T., but I’m almost more excited about tonight’s run. We’ve struggled with night qualifying and to come out here in conditions like that and go No. 2 with similar conditions to what we’ll see tomorrow was awesome. We’ve been to the final here a few times so tomorrow if we can continue to run like that, we should maybe get another one.”

Ron Capps, NAPA Brakes Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 3, will face No. 14 Bob Bode

Friday: (3.893 seconds at 326.00 mph – Q1); (3.933/324.05 – Q2)

Saturday: (4.110/250.18 – Q3); (3.882/325.33 – Q4)

“Obviously, conditions change a lot. We saw (Austin) Prock, (Robert) Hight and my teammate Tommy Johnson and John Collins make big runs. I mean, everybody’s throwing these shots out there. To sit in the car and know that you have a chance to go up there and battle for the No. 1 spot – a horse to ride to get that No. 1 spot – and to end up third, we did a great job. We’re just trying to carry on these NAPA Brakes colors; the fans are enjoying it, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 12 Blake Alexander

Friday: (3.940 seconds at 325.92 mph – Q1); (4.013/316.75 – Q2)

Saturday: (4.714/172.81 – Q3); (3.899/331.28 – Q4)

“We came off the trailer with the second-low E.T. run after testing in Richmond, and then we ended qualifying with a 3.89 which keeps us in the top-half of the field and I think that’s most important because tomorrow’s conditions are going to be unbelievable. It should be a cool, fast race track. We actually were going to face better conditions in Sunday than on any of our qualifying runs until we got this late Saturday rain-delayed run. I love the fact that we got test data. I feel really confident about our car. We’re getting a better handle on our car, I feel like I’m driving better, we’re getting close to that first win of the year.”

Matt Hagan, Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 7, will face No. 10 Bob Tasca III

Friday: (4.004 seconds at 318.24 mph – Q1); (7.540/87.38 – Q2)

Saturday: (6.708/101.48 – Q3); (3.936/323.97 – Q4)

“We finally got our race car back that last lap. We were struggling with some power issues a little bit earlier, but we got that problem figured out. Anytime you have some issues come up, it kind of puts you a little behind the eight-ball, but honestly, the confidence I have in (crew chief) Dickie (Venables) and Mike (Knudsen), I know we’re going to have a great racecar on Sunday. It’ll be a good race against Bob Tasca. He’s got a good car over there. But, at the end of the day, I feel like we can turn the win lights on.”

Leah Pritchett, Okuma Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 8, will face No. 9 T.J Zizzo

Friday: (3.776 seconds at 327.82 mph – Q1); (6.358/104.47 – Q2)

Saturday: (6.110/114.63 – Q3); (3.785/327.82 – Q4)

“Of course, this is a hometown race for Don Schumacher, but for what everyone at DSM is doing back home in Brownsburg is just phenomenal. We’re running it loud and proud, we made it down in two out of four hits and we’re looking forward to eliminations tomorrow.”

Tune-in Info
Action from the Route 66 NHRA Nationals will air on FS1 on Sunday, June 2, with coverage scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET and the NHRA Sunday Finals broadcast kicking off at 5:30 p.m. ET. For complete information, visit www.nhra.com