Dodge
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”
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.
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.
Jack Beckman Continues NHRA Countdown Momentum, Takes Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to Final of NHRA Carolina Nationals
Auburn Hills, MI – Jack Beckman led the brigade of Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers into Monday’s rain-delayed 
elimination rounds of the 13th annual NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, driving the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the final round. His weekend run moved Beckman up to second place in the point standings halfway through the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Beckman opened the weekend earning his 26th career No. 1 qualifier and led five other HEMI®-powered Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers into the Funny Car field. He was joined in the semifinals Monday by fellow Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammates Matt Hagan and Ron Capps.
Sunday’s rain delay didn’t seem to faze Beckman, who was fast out of the gate Monday, putting up the best run in the class of the weekend, 3.864 seconds, in his opening-round victory over Dale Creasy. In the second round, he and DSR teammate Tommy Johnson, Jr. squared off. Beckman was smooth again, turning on the win light with a pass of 3.932 seconds at 323.27 mph over a tire-smoking Johnson. Beckman faced another Dodge//SRT and DSR teammate in the semifinals. This time it was Capps and Beckman was able to avenge an earlier loss to reach his sixth final of the season and second in three Countdown races.
Jack Beckman Earns No. 1 Qualifier in NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals Aboard Mopar-powered Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Funny Car
Concord, NC – Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Jack Beckman drove the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT 
Hellcat Funny Car of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) to the top spot in Sunday’s elimination ladder for the 12th annual NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals with his qualifying run Friday night at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.
Beckman earned his 26th career No. 1 qualifier position and first at zMAX Dragway with his run of 3.873 seconds at a track-record speed of 334.07 mph, marking the second time in the last four races the 2012 Funny Car champion has set the pace in qualifying. Beckman looks to become the first two-time 2019 Countdown winner after scoring the victory at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals to open the six-race championship playoffs last month. He begins his chase for career win number 30 facing off against No. 16 Dale Creasy.
In the third of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship races, five other Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers qualified for Sunday’s 16-car field: Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Tommy Johnson, Jr., Cruz Pedregon and Jim Campbell.
Ron Capps Earns No. 1 Qualifier in Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals with Record-setting run in Mopar-powered Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Funny Car
Mohnton, PA – Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Ron Capps launched his run to the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing 
Series Funny Car world championship with a record-setting performance in qualifying for the 35th annual Mopar Express Lane at Maple Grove Raceway.
Capps captured his 24th career No. 1 qualifier on the strength of his track record-setting and career-best run of 3.837 seconds at 339.28 mph in Friday night’s second qualifying session behind the wheel of the NAPA Filters Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). The 2016 Funny Car world champion will take on Mike McIntire, Jr. in the opening round of Capps’ 550th professional event.
In the first of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship races, six other Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers qualified for Sunday’s 16-car field including Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson, Jr., Jack Beckman, Cruz Pedregon, Jim Campbell and John Smith.
Ron Capps Muscles Mopar-powered Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Funny Car to Track Record Speed and ET in Opening Round Qualifying of Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals
Mohnton, PA – Ron Capps opened the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a bang, 
powering the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NAPA Filters Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the provisional pole with his track record-setting run of 3.837 seconds at 339.28 mph in Friday night’s second provisional qualifying session.
With the run, Capps raised the bar for Funny Car class elapsed time and speed records at Maple Grove making the fastest run of his career and establishing the top speed by a Funny Car driver in 2019. The 2017 Reading champion opened qualifying with the fastest pass of the first session as well. Capps will lead the field back on track Saturday with two more qualifying sessions that will set the field for Sunday’s eliminations.
“I was just hoping to get the Countdown started on the right foot,” said Capps, a three-time Funny Car winner in 2019. “I didn’t expect it to be a 3.83 (elapsed time/seconds). To go 3.84 in that first lap, I knew (Rahn) Tobler was pretty apprehensive about what he was doing with the car. I felt like I almost had to pedal it that first lap, but it made it through there and put a cylinder out about 800 feet.
Daniels Races to Record-setting Fourth Straight NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge Triumph at U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis – Making history in the NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge isn’t something new for Jimmy Daniels, and 
Friday night, the 23-year-old Pennsylvania native continued his undefeated streak at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis by driving his Super Stock 1968 Dodge Dart to a record fourth consecutive event victory.
Daniels, the event’s No. 1 qualifier, defeated Ohio’s Rich Locker in his 1968 Plymouth Barracuda with a run 8.576 seconds at 156.01 mph in the final round of the 19th running of the special event, annually part of the U.S. Nationals. The victory was the sixth time a driver piloted the 1968 Dodge Dart to victory in the event. Daniel’s father, Jimmy Daniels, Sr., won the event in 2010 and David Barton won driving the same machine in 2000.
“We had some tough battles to get this fourth win, including that semifinal,” admitted Daniels. “This HEMI Challenge is everything. We work all year for this. It means a lot for us. Special thanks to Dodge for continuing to support these cars and to the NHRA for allowing them to have the HEMI Challenge here in Indy.
Daniels Powers to first NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge Pole at U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis – After making the fifth-best quarter-mile pass in Wednesday’s opening qualifying session for the 19th 
annual NHRA Dodge HEMI Challenge, three-time consecutive and reigning champion Jimmy Daniels couldn’t wait to make his second and final qualifying run Thursday afternoon. The 23-year-old driver delivered the best run of the day powering his Super Stock 1968 Dodge Dart to earn his first career No. 1 qualifier position at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
“I didn’t really think getting that No. 1 position was really possible with the warmer weather today,” said the Yardley, Penn. native, who will vie for his record-setting fourth straight triumph Friday. “We really worked on it coming into today. For us to come back tomorrow and win another Dodge HEMI Challenge, it’s going to take a lot of consistency, a lot of fine tuning by Ray and Dave Barton and I have to do a good job on the tree.”
Now in its 19th year, the HEMI Challenge contested during the NHRA U.S. Nationals continues to showcase Mopar-powered 1968 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda Super Stock cars. Drivers compete for the iconic 42.6-pound NHRA Dodge HEMI Challenge trophy and $15,000 winner’s purse awarded after Friday’s elimination rounds.
Mopar-powered Drivers Chasing History in NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge Title Fight at U.S. Nationals
Auburn Hills, MI – Three-time and defending NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge champion James Daniels leads a 
group of 20 drivers at the popular NHRA Sportsman event during the iconic U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis Aug. 28 – Sept. 2. The balance of the field of competitors piloting Mopar-powered 1968 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda Super Stock cars will look to end Daniels juggernaut of the event, now in its 19th consecutive year of sponsorship by FCA US LLC.
Daniels’ run of three straight NHRA Dodge HEMI Challenge victories in his Dodge Dart are the most consecutive wins by any driver, and the 23-year-old Pennsylvania native is looking to continue his quest to catch six-time event winner Charlie Westcott, Jr. Daniels and Westcott are also part of the only father-son combinations to win the event. Charlie Westcott, Sr. and Jim Daniels, James’ father, won the HEMI Challenge race in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
“It’s just incredible for Dodge and Mopar to put on such a cool event during the biggest drag race of the year,” said Daniels, who will be one of seven competitors attempting to qualify for the field of 16, wheeling a 1968 Dodge Dart. “It means a lot to my father and myself. We came out to watch the race in 2003 before he started racing it in 2007. This will be my fourth year competing in it, and our goals haven’t changed. We’re really happy to be part of it and excited to be competing for another trophy.”
