Mopar Ready to Stage at the Prestigious U.S. Nationals

The final National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national event of the regular season may have Mopar teams and drivers jostling for final positions in the points standings in anticipation of the six-race “Countdown to the Championship” playoffs, but the 59^th annual U.S. Nationals is anything but “regular” as competitors in both professional and sportsman classes vie for the most historic and prestigious titles on the circuit this Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis.

 

For a 13th consecutive season, the weekend starts off with the Mopar® HEMI® Challenge for Sportsman SS/AH (Super Stock/Automatic-HEMI) class competitors with qualifying and eliminations of Thursday and Friday at Lucas Oil Raceway. It features 1968 HEMI Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas, the classic muscle cars that contributed to the brand’s legendary reputation and success at the drag strip, engaged in a quarter-mile battle. This year’s edition will see competitors vie for a $15,000 first place award, the iconic HEMI Challenge trophy and newly added prize, a custom Mopar winner’s jacket. Also a new feature to the Mopar HEMI Challenge is an added cash prize payout to the full 16-car field competing in the elimination rounds scheduled for Friday, Aug. 30.

 

Also on the weekend schedule is the second annual NHRA Factory Stock Showdown, featuring Mopar’s Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, in a showdown against Ford and Chevrolet factory-built race cars. Of note for this event is Mopar’s introduction of a Third Generation 426 (Gen3) Race HEMI engine to the race package.

 

The NHRA Mello Yello Series Pro classes will take to the track Friday evening for the first of five qualifying sessions throughout the weekend in preparation for Monday’s final elimination rounds. Matt Hagan and “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T continues to lead the charge and the standings with four wins in the Funny Car Class while his Don Schumacher Racing teammates Ron Capps and Johnny Gray right on his heals rounding out the top three spots.

 

“It's been magical, you know," Hagan said. "It's been pretty amazing. With all of the hard work that everyone has done, we're sitting No. 1. It shows that if you put a great group of guys together and have one common goal you can accomplish just about anything you want to. We've had a little bit of luck along the way but, you know, we've also made our own luck. I know we're going to reset these points after Indy and it's going to be a dogfight.”

 

The same three DSR Mopar-powered drivers have combined to post three straight wins, and five in the last six races; with Capps winning the national title at last event at Brainerd to jump into second place. Defending NHRA Funny Car World Champion Jack Beckman is hoping to improve on his current seventh place position before final spots are locked-in for the playoffs beginning in Charlotte, N.C. in September.

 

In Pro Stock competition, 2012 World Champion Allen Johnson and his Mopar teammates Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Vincent Nobile are all trying to close the gap on points leader Mike Edwards from their second through fourth place positions respectively. The Mopar –powered drivers, including fellow Dodge Avenger driver V. Gaines have combined to advance to the final round of eliminations in seven consecutive events.

For Johnson, who has four wins this season to date, making it to the final round at Indianapolis is what he has his sights set on.

 

“I’ve earned No.1 qualifier honors at Indy a few times and that holds its own prestige to brag about, but I have never made it to the finals there.” Johnson said, “That’ll be our goal. Of course a win at Indianapolis is on my bucket list but heading into the playoffs on a winning note in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger would also be a nice way to set the tone for the Countdown.”

 

After testing with Johnson at St. Louis earlier this week, Coughlin is looks forward to finishing the regular season off strongly at the U.S. Nationals where he has three career Pro Stock wins (2000, 2002 and 2009) in 13 appearances.

 

“We've turned in several very, very strong performances this year and the guys have this JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger tuned-up and ready to get after it in Indy," Coughlin said who will head into the playoffs no worse than third no matter what happens this weekend after earning two wins, four runner-up finishes and four semifinals so far this season.

 

"We went to two finals out there on the Western Swing, and although we had a slight misstep at the last race in Brainerd (Minn.), I feel as though that was an anomaly and not the norm for this team this season," Coughlin added. "Of course, you're always looking to improve. We definitely want to be as prepared as possible because this is the granddaddy of them all. Everyone wants to win Indy. That's why you put in the extra work."

 

So far in 2013, Mopar entries in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes have won a combined total of 20 national titles of a possible 34 during 17 events.

 

ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will provide five hours of televised qualifying coverage from the 59th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, commencing at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Sept. 1, while six hours of elimination rounds coverage will be televised starting at noon (ET) on Monday, Sept. 2.

 

 

PRO STOCK (season wins in parentheses)

1. Mike Edwards (5) – 1540 *

5. Shane Gray – 1031*

6. Jason Line (1) – 1008*

7. Greg Anderson – 977*

9. Erica Enders-Stevens (1) – 779*

10. Rodger Brogdon (1) – 724*

 

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

3. Cruz Pedregon (3) – 1066*

5. John Force (1) – 1054*

6. Courtney Force (2) – 1039*

8. Tim Wilkerson – 952

9. Bob Tasca III – 906

10. Robert Hight – 902

 

About Mopar Motorsports
Mopar’s commitment to professional motorsports competition was established in the 1950s when a partnership ignited with drag racing pioneer Don Garlits, resulting in the breaking of numerous speed and performance barriers in HEMI®-powered vehicles over the next several decades. In 2013, Mopar looks to defend its two NHRA 2012 World Championship titles in Pro Stock and Funny Car categories, and celebrates 25 consecutive years as title sponsor of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Colorado. While Mopar remains involved in a various professional motorsports series, it continues to honor its roots by being a proud supporter of amateur racing within the NHRA with its sponsorship of the HEMI Challenge and Mopar Sportsman Cup.

Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes 280,000 parts and accessories. With the creation of the industrial alliance between Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A., Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar’s global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories that are distributed in more than 130 markets. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group brands as well as Fiat brands.

Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler Group and Fiat vehicles – a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com.

 

Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

 

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked for antifreeze product in 1937. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle-car era. The former Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “special parts” for super-stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use. The brand has expanded to include technical service and customer support.

Based in Italy (Corbetta, Milan), Magneti Marelli was established in 1919. The company is a subsidiary of Fiat Group and has a presence and reputation in racing, including Formula 1 and World Rally Championship (WRC) and now the NHRA. With 2012 revenues of $7,5 billion and approximately 36,900 employees, Magneti Marelli designs and produces advanced automotive systems and components. The company has 83 production facilities, 12 research and development centers and 26 application centers in 19 countries. The group supplies leading automakers in Europe, North America, South America and the Far East. Magneti Marelli USA coordinates the activities of all Magneti Marelli divisions in the NAFTA region from its North American headquarters, located in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

 

Magneti Marelli has established a significant presence in the world of aftermarket and service networks in the US, thanks to the partnership with MOPAR

 

Mopar Express Lane Service
Mopar Express Lane service, offered at participating Chrysler Group dealerships, provides a dedicated service lane for fast oil changes, and much more, in order to maximize customer convenience for all make and model vehicles. Available services include oil and filter changes, multi-point vehicle checkup, tire rotation with brake inspection, air and cabin filter replacement, wiper blade replacement, headlight and light bulb replacement and battery testing. Mopar Express Lane service is a consumer’s best choice for vehicle maintenance, with highly-skilled Chrysler Group dealership technicians ready to get to work and get you back on the road in no time. No appointments. No waiting. No worries.