Dodge
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.
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.
Capps Races Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car to Back-to-Back Winswith Virginia NHRA Nationals Triumph
Auburn Hills, MI – Ron Capps became the first 2019 repeat winner in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny
Car competition Sunday, taking his Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to victory in the second annual Virginia NHRA Nationals near Richmond.
Capps followed his Atlanta triumph two weeks ago with a run through the Funny Car field on an extremely warm day in Virginia to score his 63rd career victory and his 30th win with crew chief Rahn Tobler and his first Wally at Virginia Motorsports Park. The victory was also the third this season for a DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car pilot.
En route to the historic win Capps knocked out fellow DSR and Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson, Jr. in the semifinals while Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, Cruz Pedregon and Jim Campbell also competed Sunday in Mopar-powered Funny Cars. Leah Pritchett qualified her DSR HEMI-powered Mopar Top Fuel dragster sixth, but wasn’t able to advance past the first round.
Ron Capps Races Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car to NHRA Southern Nationals Victory
Commerce, GA – Ron Capps became the second driver to put a Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny
Car in the winner’s circle by racing the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) machine to victory in the 39th annual Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, on Sunday, May 5.
Capps, one of six Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers in Sunday’s field, earned his 62nd career win, first of 2019 and third career triumph at the track. Tommy Johnson, Jr. reached the semifinal while Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, Cruz Pedregon, and Jim Campbell were unable to advance past round one. Leah Pritchett raced her HEMI-powered DSR Top Fuel dragster into the second round.
The victory for Capps was well earned for the 2016 Funny Car world champion. He started the day from the No. 11 position and opened eliminations by taking down last weekend’s Charlotte winner, Shawn Langdon, in the first round with a run of 4.076 seconds. Next in his path was 16-time champion John Force and their 101st career match-up. For the fourth straight year, Capps defeated Force in the Southern Nationals by making his best run of the day at 4.022 to Force’s pass of 4.312. In the semifinals, it was an all Mopar/DSR match-up with Capps out-dueling Johnson, Jr. with a run of 4.071 to reach his seventh career final at the facility.
The final pitted Capps versus Tim Wilkerson and it marked the third time in the past five years the duo would race for the Atlanta victory. Wilkerson won in 2015 and Capps was victorious in 2017. On Sunday, Capps was quicker off the starting line and he earned the holeshot victory with his run of 4.068 seconds compared to Wilkerson’s pass 4.052. The margin of victory was 0.0102 seconds (approximately 5 feet).
Hagan, Pritchett Take Dodge//SRT, Mopar to Semifinal Finishes at Charlotte
Concord, NC – Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammates Matt Hagan and Leah Pritchett powered their Pennzoil
Dodge//SRT Mopar machines to semifinal finishes in Funny Car and Top Fuel, respectively, at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte on Sunday, April 28.
Starting from the No. 6 position, Pennzoil Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver Hagan finished second out of four drivers in the opening round of the unique “four-wide” racing format to advance deeper in eliminations on the strength of a 3.953 second elapsed time (ET) at 325.14 mph, his quickest pass of the weekend. In the next four-driver pairing, Hagan posted the quickest pass to continue on to the final quad.
Hagan, the 2013 winner at Charlotte, matched up with Force, Robert Hight and Shawn Langdon in the final foursome of the day. Chasing his second win of the season, the two-time Funny Car World Champion smoked the tires early and was forced to settle for a semifinals finish, with Langdon taking the event win. Hagan remains second in the Funny Car point standings.
Licensed to Drag: 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 “Angry Bee” Approved for NHRA Stock and Super Stock Competition
Auburn Hills, MI – The drag-oriented, street-legal 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is now National Hot
Rod Association (NHRA) approved. The Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 was recently given the green light to be modified for competition in NHRA Stock and Super Stock Sportsman class competition for the 2019 season.
Named for the quarter-mile distance (1,320 feet), the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is powered by the 392 HEMI® V-8 engine that delivers 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque. With a quarter-mile elapsed time (E.T.) of 11.70 seconds at 115 miles per hour (mph), the showroom-stock Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is the fastest naturally aspirated, street-legal muscle car available.
The Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 can be modified for competition in NHRA according to Stock and Super Stock class rules. The vehicle will feature a class weight break of 8.72 and carry a minimum weight of 3,400 lbs. Contestants intending to compete at an NHRA event must meet any and all rules and regulations for the category they intend to enter.
Hagan Races Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car to Runner-up Finish at Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals
Baytown, TX – Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver Matt Hagan was shooting for the
perfect outcome during this weekend’s 32nd Annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil. The two-time Funny Car world champion raced his Pennzoil/Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat into Sunday’s final at Houston Raceway Park Powered by Pennzoil, but came up just short of scoring the victory.
Hagan was the highest finisher among six Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars in Sunday’s field. Ron Capps reached the semifinal while Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson, Jr., Cruz Pedregon, and Jim Campbell were unable to advance past round one. Leah Pritchett drove the HEMI-powered Pennzoil/Mopar Dodge Top Fuel dragster into the second round.
Hagan and his Pennzoil team, led by crew chief Dickie Venables, had a solid beginning to the weekend with four consistent qualifying runs Friday and Saturday, earning the No. 6 spot in Sunday’s elimination ladder.
Capps powers Dodge//SRT Mopar to No. 2 Spot in Funny Car Qualifying at Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals
Baytown, TX – Ron Capps is the fastest of six Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers that
qualified for Sunday’s elimination rounds at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park Powered by Pennzoil.
Capps, the 2016 NHRA Funny Car champion and four-time Houston SpringNationals winner, was one of only two drivers to post a 3.8-second run during qualifying Friday and Saturday, making his best qualifying pass behind the wheel of the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NAPA Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car in Saturday’s final session with his lap of 3.893 seconds at 319.29 mph.
Capps is one of six drivers aboard Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars in Sunday’s first round of eliminations. Fellow DSR racer and Hellcat Funny Car driver Matt Hagan, who made his best pass during Friday’s second qualifying session with a run of 3.916 seconds at 318.47 mph, holds the No. 6 position. Cruz Pedregon, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson, Jr. and Jim Campbell will try to become the second driver to win a Wally driving a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car.
Johnson Races Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car to Runner-up Finish at Four-Wide Nationals
Las Vegas, NV – Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson, Jr. raced to a
runner-up finish Sunday in the Four-Wide NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and ranks third in the NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car championship standings after the fourth of 24 2019 national events.
Johnson, who was competing in the 450th professional event of his career, charged to his first final of the season behind the wheel of the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, but his final run of 3.975 seconds at 313.29 mph wasn’t enough to defeat reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd. Fellow DSR and Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver Jack Beckman also advanced to the final elimination quad and finished third behind Todd and Johnson. Matt Hagan and Ron Capps were also Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat drivers that raced past the first round. Leah Pritchett qualified the Mopar Dodge Top Fuel dragster fourth, but she was unable to advance past the opening round.
The run to his sixth career final appearance began with Johnson turning the fastest pass in his first round quad to advance to a loaded second-round quad where he was joined by DSR teammates Beckman and Capps as well as 16-time world champion John Force. In the second round, Johnson was first off the line with his .058 reaction time and he never trailed posting a pass of 3.994 to reach the 49th final of his career and second consecutive Vegas Four-Wide Nationals final.
Capps Drives Dodge//SRT Mopar to No. 2 Spot in Funny Car Qualifying at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas
Las Vegas – Ron Capps is the fastest of six Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers qualified
for Sunday’s elimination rounds at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Capps, the 2016 NHRA Funny Car champion, was one of only two drivers to post a 3.8-second run during qualifying Friday and Saturday, making his best qualifying pass behind the wheel of the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NAPA Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car in Friday’s second session with his lap of 3.897 seconds at 325.92 mph. The pass was just two thousandths slower than Tim Wilkerson’s No. 1 run.
Capps will be joined in his first round quad Sunday by fellow DSR racer and Hellcat Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson, Jr., who made his best pass in Saturday’s final qualifying session with a run of 3.952 seconds at 319.45 mph. Matt Hagan qualified No. 5 with his run of 3.924/327.03 Friday afternoon and will be joined in his first round quad by fellow Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver, No. 12 qualifier Jim Campbell. Jack Beckman, No. 11, and Cruz Pedregon, No. 3 are the final two Mopar-powered Hellcat drivers in the field and make up half of the final first round quad.

