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Johnson Thunders to First-ever Denver Victory at Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil

Morrison, CO – Tommy Johnson Jr. ended his 35-year quest for a victory in Denver, driving his Mopar-powered Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the win at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil on July 21, 2019, at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado.

Johnson’s win on Sunday, his 19th career NHRA victory and second of 2019, was also the sixth triumph by a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat pilot in 2019, and fifth in the last eight events for a Mopar-powered competitor. It’s also the second consecutive win by a Dodge driver at the brand’s headline event, following Leah Pritchett’s 2018 Top Fuel win.

The run to victory in the event sponsored by Dodge and presented by Pennzoil, both partners of Johnson’s car owner Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), came in his 51st career final. His first final appearance came at Bandimere back in 1984, when at age 15 he raced to a runner-up finish while competing in Super Gas. Two years ago, Johnson lost in the Funny Car final, but Sunday he was not going to be denied.

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Pedregon Powers Dodge//SRT Mopar to Provisional No. 1 Spot in Funny Car at Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil

Morrison, CO – Cruz Pedregon raced his Mopar-powered Snap-On Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position Friday evening at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at Bandimere Speedway near Denver.

Pedregon and Ron Capps posted the fastest two runs of the second session to lead six Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers in the preliminary ladder for Sunday’s elimination rounds. Pedregon’s pass of 4.002 seconds at 317.42 mph narrowly edged out Capps’ lap of 4.005/316.97.

“It feels great to go out and be No. 1 in our Snap-On Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat,” said Pedregon, the 1993 and 2013 Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Funny Car winner. “I’m really happy for Dodge and Mopar. What they do for the sport is tremendous. I was part of the Mopar Block party last night for the first time and it was an incredible event. I really want to pay them back for their investment in me throughout the year. We’ve had some ups and downs, but I think that the needle is pointing up for us. The Snap-On Dodge is coming around. Bandimere Speedway has been really good to me through the years. It’s good to be No. 1 after Friday night.”

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Hagan to Debut 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car at Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil

Morrison, CO  – Matt Hagan’s 11,000-horsepower NHRA Funny Car already goes big, but it’s getting an even more aggressive makeover just in time for the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil. Hagan will debut a new 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody graphics package with a flared-out feel at the Denver area event, scheduled to take place July 19-21, 2019.

Dodge//SRT and Mopar took the wraps off Hagan’s new Mopar-powered 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody NHRA Funny Car today during a pre-race press conference at iconic Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado. His special Funny Car graphics uniquely recreate the look of the production Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody vehicle’s new, wider integrated fender flares, which add 3.5 inches of body width to the production vehicle, creating an even more aggressive, planted stance. Hagan will carry the Widebody Package “flare” graphics on his Funny Car for the remainder of the 2019 season.

The Widebody Package, first announced by Dodge//SRT in late June, is standard on the Charger SRT Hellcat and also available on the Dodge Charger Scat Pack. Powered by the 6.2-liter HEMI® Hellcat V-8 engine, the production version of the 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody boasts a best-in-class 707 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque and delivers a top speed of 196 miles per hour (mph), maintaining its reign as the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world.

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Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil Thunders into Denver, Extends Longest Running Sponsorship in Series

Auburn Hills, MI – The Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, the longest continuous running sponsorship in NHRA and one of the longest in all of motorsports, is rumbling back to Bandimere Speedway near Denver on July 19-21. The 2019 edition marks the 31st year of FCA US event sponsorship, a partnership that spans four decades.

“NHRA offers the perfect stage to connect with the performance and race enthusiasts who power our brand,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “Together with our friends at Mopar and Pennzoil, we continue to deepen our commitment to the sport because there’s no better arena to showcase what Dodge//SRT represents on both the street and strip.”

Later this year, Dodge//SRT will also return as title sponsor of the NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge at the historic NHRA U.S. Nationals. The brand will also take over title sponsorship duties at the Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, the penultimate event of the NHRA season, scheduled for October 31 – November 3, 2019, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Hagan Powers to Third Straight NHRA New England Nationals Triumph in Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

Auburn Hills, MI – Matt Hagan continued his dominance at the NHRA New England Nationals, driving the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to his third consecutive Funny Car triumph at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.

While Hagan became the third driver to score multiple wins this season in the Funny Car class, his DSR teammates Tommy Johnson, Jr., Ron Capps, and Jack Beckman placed Dodge//SRT Mopar in three of the top five positions in the Funny Car standings following the New England event.

To score his 31st career Funny Car victory, Hagan was forced to take down the hottest competitors in the class. His run to victory started with a match-up versus fellow DSR and Charger SRT Hellcat pilot Beckman, who defeated Hagan in recent first round battles at Richmond and Topeka and would have again if the two-time Funny Car world champion wasn’t on his game. Hagan posted the quickest run of the weekend, a 3.958-second elapsed time (ET), to defeat a stout 4.016 run by Beckman.

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Beckman Runner-Up in Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat at Norwalk

Norwalk, OH – Jack Beckman advanced to his third final round of the season and 59th of his career, finishing runner-up in his Dodge//SRT Mopar machine in the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

At the halfway point of the 2019 season, Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers own three of the top five positions in the Funny Car standings.

“Fast Jack” and his Infinite Hero Foundation team closed out an impressive four-race stretch, reaching the semifinals all four races, making two final rounds and climbing from seventh to fourth in the standings. Beckman wasn’t the only Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver to make a deep run Sunday. Tommy Johnson, Jr. powered his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the semifinals for the sixth time this season and Leah Pritchett turned on a pair of win lights in her HEMI-powered Top Fuel dragster.

Beckman’s quest for a fourth Norwalk triumph opened with a pass of 3.950 seconds, the second-fastest run of the first round, to defeat Jonnie Lindberg. After dispatching Shawn Langdon with a solid run in round two, it was an all-DSR/Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat battle in the semifinals with Beckman and Johnson. The 2012 Funny Car world champion did lose traction about halftrack, but he kept his machine going down the track to defeat Johnson, who lost traction immediately, and reach his fourth career final at Summit Motorsports Park.

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Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car Racer Capps Powers to No. 1 Qualifying Position at Norwalk

Norwalk, OH – Ron Capps captured Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) its first No. 1 qualifying position of the season with four consistent runs behind the wheel of his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car at the 13th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

Capps and his DSR Dodge//SRT Mopar teammate, Jack Beckman, who qualified his DSR Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car fourth, lead seven Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers that qualified for Sunday’s elimination rounds.

Unseasonably cool temperatures Friday provided Capps, the 2016 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals winner, and the rest of the field excellent conditions during the weekend’s first two qualifying sessions. After posting the third-best run in session one, Capps closed the second qualifying session with a blazing 3.879-second elapsed time (ET) at 329.18 mph pass. His speed continued Saturday earning a pair of qualifying points in the third session and topping the final session giving the two-time 2019 Funny Car winner a total of 10 bonus points during qualifying en route to his 23rd career No. 1 qualifying position and first in Norwalk.

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Dodge//SRT Mopar Drivers Beckman and Capps Power to NHRA Thunder Valley Semifinal Finishes

Auburn Hills, MI –  Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammates Jack Beckman and Ron Capps led the brigade of Dodge//SRT Mopar machines to semifinal finishes in the 19th Annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tennessee on Sunday, June 16.

Mopar-powered Dodge//SRT drivers Capps and Beckman now sit fourth and fifth respectively in the standings just behind DSR teammate Tommy Johnson, Jr. who currently holds the third position.

“Fast Jack” Beckman and his Infinite Hero Foundation team followed last week’s run to the final in the NHRA Heartland Nationals with another consistent weekend in Bristol. Beckman piloted the Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the fourth position in qualifying and envisioned capturing his first Thunder Valley triumph with his strong run in the opening round of eliminations of 3.912 seconds at 326.24 mph to defeat Tim Wilkerson.

In round two, Beckman posted another stout run, a triumphant 4.076 ET over reigning Funny Car champion J.R. Todd. His third consecutive semifinal appearance pitted him against John Force where Beckman’s day ended approximately 60 feet after his launch when he lost traction. He tried to recover, but Force was gone.

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Beckman Drives Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car to NHRA Heartland Nationals Finals in Topeka

Auburn Hills, MI –  Jack Beckman finished runner-up Sunday in the 31st annual Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kansas, after becoming the fourth consecutive Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver to reach the final round in Funny Car competition.

Beckman’s run to his 59th career final round appearance followed a semifinal run last weekend in Chicago. The road to the final for the driver of the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Infinite Hero Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat included encounters with a pair of former champions, including fellow DSR and Hellcat Funny car racer Matt Hagan, before Beckman lost in the final to current championship leader Robert Hight.

Tommy Johnson, Jr. reached the semifinals for the fourth consecutive race after knocking out DSR teammate Ron Capps. Cruz Pedregon and Jim Campbell also made Sunday’s field in Hellcat Funny Cars. Leah Pritchett qualified her DSR HEMI-powered Mopar Top Fuel dragster 10th, but was narrowly defeated by Doug Kalitta in the first round.

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Johnson Captures First NHRA Funny Car Win of Season at Chicago, Third Consecutive for Dodge//SRT Mopar

Joliet IL – Tommy Johnson Jr. raced to his first win of the season at the 22nd Annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals near Chicago on Sunday, June 2, moving up to second in the Funny Car point standings and bringing home the third consecutive win this year for a Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat NHRA Funny Car driver.

The win was the 18th of Johnson’s career in his 50th overall final and second this season, and marked his first victory since the NHRA Finals in November 2017, ending a 32-race drought. The triumph was also the second for the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver in five career final-round appearances at Route 66 Raceway.

The Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot led a field of seven Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car drivers into eliminations, with five advancing out of the opening round and two into the semifinals. Johnson’s Chicago win marks the third in a row for Dodge//SRT Mopar following victories at Atlanta and Richmond by DSR teammate Ron Capps, and is the fourth in nine races this year for the Charger SRT Hellcat.

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