Joshua Brack Named First Ever Online Mopar ‘Top Eliminator’ Winner

November 14, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  Joshua Brack of Ozark, Mo., was named the first ever Online Mopar “Top Eliminator” winner for his 2000 Dodge Dakota R/T, during the inaugural online competition which drew nearly 80 entries. After the field was narrowed down to 10 finalists by Mopar team members, fans and enthusiasts voted via the Mopar Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mopar, with Brack taking top honors.

“Congratulations to Joshua Brack for being named the final Mopar ‘Top Eliminator’ winner of 2012,” said Tricia Hecker, Director – Mopar Service & Parts Marketing, Chrysler Group LLC. “Joshua had a great vision for his Dakota and his passion for the Mopar brand certainly was exemplified in the countless hours he spent modifying his truck. The first online ‘Top Eliminator’ competition was a great success and we thank all of the participants as well as everyone who visited the Mopar Facebook page and voted.”

Brack, who served a tour of duty in Iraq and now works as a law enforcement officer, spent around 3,400 hours over the course of two years modifying his Dakota. The first project that Brack completed on the truck was the installation of a custom 18-speaker sound/video system. He also spent countless hours meticulously modifying and detailing the engine and engine bay, as well as installing a custom front air ride suspension and a Viper brake package, featuring 6-piston front and rear calipers.

“I want to thank Mopar for opening the ‘Top Eliminator’ competition up to those who couldn’t make it to one of the shows this year,” said Brack. “I am overwhelmed with the love my Dakota receives and that in great part comes from people I don’t even know. To me that says I did something right and it’s a great feeling to have.”

The modification of the Dakota, which Brack purchased in 2003, took place in his garage at his house, as he often spent 12-14 hours at a time on the project. The native of Ozark, Mo., used a number of Mopar parts and accessories during his modification process including: Mopar cam, crank, push rods, Mopar double-roller timing chain, Mopar M-1 intake manifold, Mopar mid-length headers, and Mopar cast valve covers.

“I love looking at my Dakota and saying to myself, ‘Wow,’ I did that,” Brack said. “I’m not a professional builder, although many would look at my truck and disagree. I just take a lot of pride and passion in what I do. I took the right amount of time to build it right the first time. There is no greater feeling than seeing the astonished looks on people’s faces when they see it.”

The long-running Mopar “Top Eliminator” 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. A total of four Mopar “Top Eliminator” winners were chosen this year, with three at Mopar event-based car shows, along with Brack in the online competition.

Tom Ledoux of Pearland, Texas, was chosen as the first 2012 Mopar “Top Eliminator” winner for his modified 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8® during the Seventh Annual Spring Festival of LXs in Irvine, Calif. Neil Wedeking of Marble Rock, Iowa, was named the second Mopar “Top Eliminator” winner of the year for his 1970 Plymouth AAR ‘Cuda during the 28th Annual Midwest Mopars in the Park car show in Farmington, Minn. Rich Gengo of Piscataway, N.J., was named the third Mopar “Top Eliminator” winner of 2012 for his 1951 Dodge pickup truck at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, Pa.

Mopar “Top Eliminator” candidates are judged on a number of criteria, including Mopar content, overall appearance, along with the story behind the build and additional benchmarks. For winning the online Mopar “Top Eliminator” competition, Brack will receive the exclusive Mopar “Top Eliminator” trophy.

Mopar-First Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features, including:

• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• Wireless charging: first to introduce in-vehicle wireless charging for portable devices
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car
• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network

About the Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes 280,000 parts and accessories. With the creation of the Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA partnership, Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Combined with Fiat SpA, Mopar’s global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories which are distributed in more than 120 countries. Mopar is the source for all genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA 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 SpAvehicles — a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at http://www.mopar.com.

75 Years of Mopar
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 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.