Bristol, TN – This Father’s Day weekend the Mopar contingency will compete in the 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, but for Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson it is anything but an ordinary race weekend.  While he and his Mopar team’s engine builder and father Roy Johnson, have a plethora of good memories at the Greenville, Tenn.-native’s home track, they are hoping to add one more special one this Sunday.

While both men have won sportsman races as drivers at Bristol Dragway and their Pro1 Mopar Dodge Avenger has earned three consecutive No. 1 qualifier honors, a Pro Stock win has eluded them. The father and son team came as close to their first professional win at their home track as is actually technically possible in last year’s final round of eliminations by finishing runner-up to Mike Edwards in the closest finish in NHRA history, a race that was decided by less than .0000 of a second.

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Englishtown, NJ – No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan took the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T to victory circle for the second time this season by beating his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the final elimination round at the 44th annual NHRA Summernationals at the historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. This was the third Mopar versus Mopar Funny Car showdown in the finals this season, all of which involved Hagan who now has a total of four championship round appearances in nine races thus far in the NHRA Mello Yello series season.

“That’s our fourth final of the year and it’s still a young season,” said Hagan who won the 2011 NHRA Funny Car Championship but then had a difficult 2012 season without a victory and narrowly missed the playoffs. “All of these guys didn’t know if they’d have jobs this year. They toughed it out. To come back and be this strong blows me away. It’s just an awesome feeling to see those win lights turn on every time. It’s something that you can’t buy out here.”

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Englishtown, NJ – This weekend the Mopar contingency competes at the 44th annual NHRA Summernationals taking place at the historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park affectionately known to drag racing aficionados as “Englishtown”. It seems that each Dodge driver is either looking to either repeat past history of success at the track, extend a streak, start a new one, or replace a missed opportunity with a new memory.

The current Funny Car points leader, Johnny Gray of Don Schumacher Racing, is the defending winner of this event and is looking to continue a hot streak that saw him drive his Dodge Charger R/T to the winner’s circle in the last two NHRA National events in Atlanta and Topeka for a total of three victories so far this season that has doubled his career totals. Last year’s action at the New Jersey track also saw DSR teammate Ron Capps, won here in 2006, set a track record with a 3.96-second pass to set the quickest run in Funny Car history.

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Auburn Hills, MI – Mopar fans get your rides ready. The Mopar “Top Eliminator” program is back and is bringing new elements to the competition. The program, which is in its seventh season, recognizes the best of the best — the most skilled Mopar enthusiasts and their restyled, accessorized and performance enhanced Chrysler Group LLC vehicles.

The long-running program shines a light on passionate and dedicated Mopar enthusiasts who display unmatched skill in modifying or preserving a classic or modern-day Mopar vehicle. Two winners will be chosen from Mopar “Top Eliminator” competitions being held at “Mopars in the Park” and the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals. These two victors will be honored by having their vehicles showcased in the Mopar display area at renowned Woodward Dream Cruise in suburban Detroit on Aug. 17 rather than the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas as it was in previous years.

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Topeka, KS – For a second time this season, two Dodge entries doubled up to take title wins in both the Pro Stock and Funny Car classes at the NHRA Kansas Nationals with drivers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Johnny Gray taking home special-edition silver Wally trophies in honor of the event’s 25th anniversary. Each driver’s trip to the winner’s circle was notable for number of reasons.

Before the final elimination round came down to a Mopar versus Mopar face-off between Coughlin and his teammate Allen Johnson, his second round victory gave him a milestone 500 career round wins. He becomes the fifth Pro Stock driver to reach that plateau along with Greg Anderson, Bob Glidden, Kurt Johnson, and Warren Johnson.

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Topeka, KS – Under grey skies and humid conditions at Heartland Park near Topeka, Mopar drivers wrapped up two days of qualifying in preparation for Sunday’s 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals.  Defending Pro Stock winner of the event, Allen Johnson was the top Mopar entry with a third place qualifying spot, while Johnny Gray was fourth quickest to lead the Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car contingency.

Johnson quickest run was made in Friday’s second qualifying session when both he and teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. not only posted the exact same elapsed time of 6.633 seconds, but matched incremental times as well at 60 ft (0.997 sec), 330 ft (2.784), 660 ft (4.272) and 1,000 ft (5.553) marks.  Only a 0.16 mph difference put the Johnson’s Mopar Express Lane Dodge in third spot ahead of the Jegs.com Mopar with the quicker speed of 208.62 mph.

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Topeka, KS – Not only will Mopar take on the 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals as the defending winner in both Pro Stock and Funny Car categories, but last year’s two title victors also went on to earn their first career NHRA Championships, so you’ll have to forgive Allen Johnson and Jack Beckman for hoping that their defense of those victories might have a similar ending this season as well.

“Every single title the J&J racing team won last year was very important in our chances to become number one at the start of the Countdown and take a run at the championship but Topeka win gave us the confidence that we were headed down the right path,” said Johnson who had a near perfect weekend at the 2012 edition of the Kansas Nationals by securing the top qualifier position, taking almost every bonus point and working his way through the elimination rounds to post his second win of the season on his way to his first world championship title with a total of seven wins and 11 final-round appearances.

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All-Mopar Funny Car Final at Atlanta;

Commerce, GA – Following last weekend’s postponement of 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, Mopar was back on track earning the No.1 qualifier position in Funny Car with Matt Hagan in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T, and then the title win by his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Johnny Gray, in an all-Mopar final.

After breaking a long winless streak last month at the Four-wide Nationals in Charlotte, Hagan earned his first no.1 qualifier position since his 2011 NHRA Championship winning season. He did it by setting Atlanta Dragway’s Funny Car elapsed-time record with 4.067-second run (305.29 mph) in the second qualifying session on Friday for his 11^th career pole position.  On Saturday, Hagan proceeded to win rounds and reach his third final elimination of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello series season for a Mopar versus Mopar showdown against his teammate Gray.

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Auburn Hills, MI –  After inclement weather forced the postponement of last weekend’s 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, the Mopar contingent is back on track at  Atlanta Dragway on May 10–11 for a shortened version featuring two qualifying sessions set for Friday and eliminations scheduled for Saturday.

Mopar drivers and teams are looking to not just only get back on a dry track but also back on a winning track. After earning six titles in the first five events of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing, the win streak came to an end at the SpringNationals in Houston, marking the only time this year that a Mopar did not make the final elimination round in either Funny Car or Pro Stock. The win streak actually dated back to the September 2012 at Charlotte and spanned 13 win in 11 events.

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Auburn Hills, MI – Winning the 2012 NHRA Pro Stock World Championship was a goal and a dream that Mopar’s Allen Johnson was able to achieve in grand style with years of hard work, dedication and determination. While the defense of his world title is already underway, with two national title wins already posted in the first quarter of the 2013 NHRA season, the impact of the championship combined with both his on and off-track accomplishments have garnered Johnson recognition outside of the world of drag racing and motorsports.

Johnson’s Greeneville, Tenn., based Pro Stock category drag race team will be presented “Team of the Year” honors by the Tennessee Hall of Fame for representing their state with excellence and a distinct Tennessee flavor in winning a career best seven national titles and the NHRA World Championship title. Johnson’s team will be recognized as honorees during the Hall of Fame’s annual banquet on May 4 at the Renaissance Hotel Nashville. Part of an ceremony also will be celebrate the induction of a great class that includes basketball coach Rick Byrd, basketball player Penny Hardaway, and country music’s Vince Gill.

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