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Mopar Dodge//SRT Funny Cars Seeded 1-2 for First Race Day of 2020 NHRA Season

Pomona, CA – It was a strong and fast start for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) veteran pilots Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman as they drove their Mopar Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Cars to the No.1 and No.2 qualifier positions, respectively, in anticipation of Sunday’s first race day of the 2020 National Hot Rod Association Mello Yello Drag Racing season at the 60th annual Winternationals.

Hagan kept his Mopar Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Funny Car atop the timesheets at the historic Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., through four qualifying sessions to earn his first No.1 qualifier position of the new year after running low E.T. on his first and last runs.

“This Mopar Funny Car is just flying out there,” said Hagan who improved on Friday’s provisional top spot pass of 3.867 second /331.20 mph with a 3.841 second elapsed time qualifying run a top speed of 333.25 mph. on his final run. “When your team puts a hot rod underneath you like that, it’s always fun.”

“Going into race day tomorrow, my lights are good, the car is running great, the guys are doing a phenomenal job, and we came off of a really strong season last year, so we’re just focused on keeping the ball rolling,” added Hagan who collected eight qualifying points for his efforts and will face off against Alex Miladinovich in the first round of eliminations.

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Fast Start for Mopar Dodge//SRT with Provisional No.1 Qualifier Position to Launch 2020 NHRA season

Pomona, CA – This weekend’s 60th annual Winternationals at the historic Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, kicks off the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series 24-event season and Mopar Dodge//SRT wasted no time getting right back to work and to the top of the timesheets. Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Matt Hagan drove his Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car straight to the provisional No.1 qualifier position with his official first run of the season.

Hagan and his DSR HEMI®-powered machine, which sports a new blue and white Mopar scheme that will be seen at ten events throughout the year, wasted no time taking his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the top of the timesheets with a 3.867 second / 331.20 mph pass. While his second qualifying run didn’t go quite as planned, Hagan is pleased with the quick start to the weekend and season.

“There’s a lot of confidence unloading off the trailer like that and being able to run a good number,” said the 2011 and 2014 NHRA Funny Car World Champion. “We had a great test session in Vegas and laid down some good numbers. I was up there just pressing this last run. I was trying to run a 0.081 or 82 and it just didn’t stick. All in all, I think we have a really good car, everybody is confident. I think there are still some low numbers to be had tomorrow.”

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Mopar Dodge//SRT in the Staging Lanes for 2020 NHRA Season

Auburn Hills, MI – Mopar and Dodge//SRT are just days away from kicking off another competitive season in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Commencing with the 60th annual NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, on February 6-9, the 2020 season’s 24-race calendar will see Mopar and Dodge//SRT once again divide title sponsorship duties at four NHRA national race events:

April 16-19 – Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals near Houston
July 17-19 – Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver
Sept. 17-20 – Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pennsylvania
Oct. 29-Nov. 1 – Dodge NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas
This year’s spotlight will be on the full-time HEMI®-powered entries from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) in both Funny Car and Top Fuel classes, continued Mopar and Dodge//SRT brand support in the NHRA’s Sportsman classes, as well as on the debut of a fourth-generation Challenger Drag Pak.

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Jack Beckman Drives Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat to Funny Car Triumph at Auto Club NHRA Finals

Pomona, CA – Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Jack Beckman closed the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season by racing the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) to his second victory of the season at the 55th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif.

The win for Beckman, his 30th career Funny Car class victory, concluded a season where four drivers raced Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars to 11 wins in the 24-race NHRA campaign.

Beckman and fellow Dodge//SRT Mopar and DSR driver Matt Hagan made strong championship bids, but both came up short in the end. Beckman finished second and Hagan, winner of the two previous NHRA events, finished third in the final season standings.

“I’ve never won in Funny Car at Pomona,” said Beckman. “If you win at the Winternationals (in February), the rest of the year is going to be okay because you’ve already won something, but if you do it in the finals (at the end of the year), your off-season is fantastic. My Infinite Hero Foundation guys have given me such a great race car lately. I stumbled a couple of times, and I don’t want to ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda’ myself in the off-season. We finished solidly in second, capped off the year with a win. We have a phenomenal Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, and things are awesome right now. I’m feeling on top of the world.”

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Matt Hagan Keeps Building Momentum, Grabs Funny Car No. 1 Qualifying Position for Dodge//SRT Mopar in 2019 NHRA Season Finale

Pomona, CA – Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Matt Hagan continues to make his presence known loud and clear as the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series 2019 season nears conclusion. The two-time Funny Car champion earned his second No. 1 qualifying position driving the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) for the 55th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California and closed the points gap on the championship leaders heading into Sunday’s elimination rounds.

Hagan surged his way to Pomona coming off consecutive Funny Car wins in Dallas and Las Vegas. The 2011 and 2014 champion continued his late-season push topping qualifying in both sessions Friday behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody, with quickest pass of 3.872 seconds that held up through Saturday qualifying. He collected a total of 10 qualifying points and an additional two points for final position to close the gap from 56 points behind the leader to trailing by only 44 when eliminations commence Sunday. The three-time Auto Club NHRA Finals winner will face Jonnie Lindberg in the opening round.

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Hagan Wins Vegas; Scores Back-to-Back Countdown Victories

LAS VEGAS – Don’t count Matt Hagan out. He proved that by making a major championship statement on Sunday at the Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil when he captured his second consecutive Funny Car triumph behind the wheel of the MOPAR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody.

By clinching the back-to-back victory, Hagan moved into third in the Funny Car standings, and with the points-and-a-half format at the upcoming season-finale, he now sits within two rounds of the current point leader, cementing himself as a viable threat to win the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car world championship.

“I’m fired up right now,” said Hagan, who, with two Funny Car world titles on his racing resume, knows what it takes to get the job done. “When you have that opportunity to go into Pomona and still be in the championship hunt, that’s what gets my adrenaline pumped, gets me motivated, makes me want to dig. I love winning races, but it’s about this hunt; this is why we do this. I’m so proud of my guys; they know how to step up and rise to the occasion. I wish Pomona was tomorrow, let’s do this, let’s get it done.”

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Matt Hagan Drives Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Widebody to Funny Car Trophy at Dodge NHRA Nationals

Hagan scores second consecutive win; Mopar Dodge//SRT drivers have a shot at Funny Car title as NHRA season heads to final event

Las Vegas –  Mopar Dodge//SRT driver Matt Hagan made his 2019 NHRA championship statement, capturing his second consecutive Funny Car Wally in his Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Widebody at the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil on Sunday, Nov. 3.

Hagan, who started the day in the seventh qualifying spot, beat Jonnie Lindberg in the final round with a run of 3.876 seconds at 331.36 and closed to within 56 points of the top position in the Countdown to the Championship. The victory also marked the 10th time in 23 events where a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat came out victorious.

“This was an incredible effort by my Dodge Mopar guys here this weekend,” said Hagan, following his fourth win of 2019. “This is the Dodge NHRA Nationals. The second to last race of the season. And you have everyone from the president of Mopar here to all the people beyond us that are out here for SEMA. It’s one you need to win. We had some lady luck on our side this weekend and it all worked out. I can’t thank everyone that makes this possible enough. It was just a phenomenal job by (crew chief) Dickie Venables and my guys. We just won the Dodge NHRA Nationals and we can’t wait to get to Pomona.”

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Pritchett, Beckman Sweep Top Fuel, Funny Car No. 1 Qualifying Positions for Dodge//SRT Mopar in Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil

Las Vegas, NV – Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers swept the No. 1 qualifying positions in the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes in the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil. It sets the stage for Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel) and Jack Beckman (Funny Car) to close on the leaders in the NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series’ Countdown to the Championship before the final event of the 2019 season.

The other Mopar-powered Funny Car members of the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) team – Matt Hagan, Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson, Jr. – can improve their standings with winning performances in the eliminations rounds on Sunday, Nov. 3.

Pritchett entered the weekend knowing she had to make a big move to have a shot at the championship. The first step came Saturday afternoon as she drove her Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster from DSR quicker than any other driver with a pass of 3.654 seconds to claim her first No. 1 qualifying position of the season and 12th of her career. She faces Cameron Ferre in the opening round.

“To be No. 1 at the Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil is phenomenal,” said Pritchett, the 2018 Dodge NHRA Nationals runner-up. “We have all of the support here. Our pit is full and we have all of the energy. We just got our first No. 1 of the season with a phenomenal pass. I knew when I hit 330-feet that we were going to be on a run. We were trying to be the quickest of every round, and we made three consistent runs out of four. We knew what this Mopar car was capable of and we put everything on the line to get those bonus points”

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Dodge//SRT Mopar Drivers and Teams Fueled For Championship Push at Dodge NHRA Nationals

Auburn Hills, MI – The 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship is going to come down to the outcome of the final two events of the season. Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman and Ron Capps, all former Funny Car world champions, can enhance their chances of lifting the championship hardware again by hitting the jackpot in the Dodge NHRA Nationals Powered by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, Nov. 1-3, 2019.

The Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) trio ranks fourth, second and sixth, respectively, in the standings and each has a previous championship run in the past six seasons. A victory in the Dodge NHRA Nationals bodes well from a historical perspective also, with two of the previous three Funny Car champions clocking wins at the fall stop in Las Vegas. The success of the HEMI®-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars in 2019, nine wins and 18 total final appearances, as well as in the Countdown, two wins and a runner-up, enhances their odds of tightening the points chase.

DSR’s Leah Pritchett remains alive in her quest for her first Top Fuel world championship. She ranks fifth in the standings and is 104 points out of first. A first Las Vegas triumph, along with early exits by the point leaders, would likely cut that margin in half and increase her shot at the title.

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Leah Pritchett Leads Dodge//SRT Mopar Teams Qualifying No. 2 in AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals

Ennis, TX – Top Fuel standout Leah Pritchett led the Dodge//SRT Mopar driver contingent in the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals near Dallas. She qualified the HEMI®-powered Pennzoil Dodge Top Fuel Dragster of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) No. 2 for the third time in the first four NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship events.

Ron Capps led seven Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers into Sunday’s Funny Car field, capturing the fourth position in qualifying and will face fellow Dodge//SRT and DSR teammate Jack Beckman in the first round. Matt Hagan drove the Western Technical College Mopar CAP Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car to the sixth spot.

Pritchett grabbed her sixth No. 2 qualifying slot of 2019 with Friday evening’s run of 3.681 seconds at 332.10 mph. That was one of four full passes Pritchett made in preparation for her final push to make a claim for the 2019 Top Fuel world championship. History shows she will need to reach Sunday’s final, and likely win, to have a realistic shot with two events remaining. Pritchett has a round win-loss record of 4-3 during the first three 2019 Countdown events and has lost in the second round of the previous three Dallas events.

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