Johnson and Beckman Lead Mopar Efforts in Provisional Friday Night Qualifying at NHRA Sonoma Nationals

July 25, 2014 , Sonoma, California -  Following the mile-high challenge of altitude racing in the Rocky Mountains last week near Denver, the Mopar contingent is now back to running at sea-level amidst the vineyards of Northern California and ready to make a return to the winners circle at Sonoma Raceway for the 27^th annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sonoma Nationals, the second stop on the three race NHRA western swing.
 
Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson picked up right where he left off last weekend after conquering Thunder Mountain for a sixth time at the Mopar Mile High Nationals, by setting the quickest pass in the first round of qualifying with a 6.606-second run at 209.69 mph.  The “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart was then was provisionally No. 3 after posting a 6.558 second / 210.97 mph pass on his second qualifying run as competitor Jason Line took the provisional pole position with a 6.550 second / 210.93 mph lap.
 
The HEMI-powered factory hot rod entries, tuned by Roy Johnson, swept the western swing last season with wins by his son at Denver and then Johnson & Johnson teammate Vincent Nobile with wins in Sonoma and Seattle. After Johnson’s victory at Bandimere Speedway last weekend, the Mopar driver would like nothing more than to repeat that feat along with his teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. at the next two events. The pair is battling one another for the second and third place spots respectively in the Pro Stock standings behind points leader Erica Enders-Stevens who is not competing this weekend.
 
Winner at Sonoma in 2003 and 2010 as well as runner-up in 2008 and last year, reigning NHRA Pro Stock World Champ Coughlin Jr. took his JEGS.com Mopar Dodge Dart for a 6.574 sec /210.64 mph lap to post the sixth quickest run in Friday qualifying.
 
Fellow HEMI-powered Dodge Dart driver V. Gaines was eighth quickest with a 6.602 /209.98 pass. The Dodge Avenger of Deric Kramer was 10^th on the score sheets with a 6.621 /209.49 pass and Matt Hartford, also aboard a Dodge Avenger, was right behind him in 11^th place with a 6.621/ 209.49 elapsed time run.
 
In Funny Car action, Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Jack Beckman drove his Dodge Charger R/T to the No. 4 spot in the provisional qualifying to lead his Mopar teammates with a 4.075 second / 314.83 mph effort. The provisional No.1 position is currently being held by competitor Courtney Force with a 4.045/319.22 pass. Beckman and his crew are making every effort to break back into the top-ten in the category standings with only four events left before the NHRA Countdown to the Championship begins and only those within that range will advance to a playoff berth.
 
In the fifth qualified position is Mopar Express Lane driver Matt Hagan who is looking for a second win this season and hoping to do it with the 50th anniversary of the 426 Race HEMI tribute paint scheme that his Dodge Charger R/T will don for the balance of the NHRA western swing. Hagan, who ran a 4.075 / 307.30 on his second pass, was No.1 qualifier at this event last season with a track record 3.986-second run and finished runner-up in 2012.
 
Defending title winner at his home event, Ron Capps, who currently sits third in the Funny Car standings, is looking to repeat last year’s performance after coming off a semifinal appearance at last weekend’s Mopar Mile High Nationals. Capps is provisionally seventh after his two qualifying passes, posting a 4.093/ 314.61 with his second run.
 
Right behind his DSR teammate in fourth place in the points standings is Tommy Johnson Jr. and his Make-A-Wish Mopar which was third quick in the first session with a 4.214-second elapsed time pass at 270.48 mph and ended up 12^th based on his first run after losing traction on his second attempt.
 
Racing action from the Sonoma NHRA Nationals will be broadcast on ESPN with a one hour qualifying show Saturday, July 26 starting at 7 p.m. (ET) and three hours of elimination round coverage will air on Sunday, July 27, starting at 9 p.m. (ET).
 
 
2014 NHRA Points Standings
(Following the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Race Final)
 
PRO STOCK (season wins in parentheses)
1.         Erica Enders-Stevens – 1229 (4)
2.         Allen Johnson – Dodge Dart – 1045 (4)
3.         Jeg Coughlin Jr.  – Dodge Dart – 998 (2)
4.         Jason Line – 951 (1)
5.         Dave Connolly – 948 (1)
6.         Vincent Nobile – 893 (1)
7.         Shane Gray – 865
8.         Chris McGaha – 653
9.         V. Gaines – Dodge Dart – 596
10.        Jonathan Gray – 516   
 
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1.         Robert Hight – 1179 (5)
2.         John Force – 998 (2)
3.         Ron Capps – Dodge Charger R/T – 921 (1)
4.         Tommy Johnson Jr. – Dodge Charger R/T – 882 (1)
5.         Courtney Force – 817 (1)
6.         Alexis DeJoria – 811 (2)
7.         Matt Hagan – Dodge Charger R/T – 794 (1)
8.         Cruz Pedregon – 781 (1)
9.         Del Worsham – 780
10.        Tim Wilkerson – 711
11.        Jack Beckman – Dodge Charger R/T – 708
 
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 2014, Mopar celebrates the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the GEN III 426 Race HEMI® and looks to defend back-to-back NHRA World Championship titles (2012-2013) in the Pro Stock class and battle for another Funny Car World Championship after wins in 2011-2012. While Mopar remains involved in a various professional motorsports series, it continues to honour 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 Brand
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked in 1937 with the launch of an antifreeze product but truly made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era. From Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, the brand soon expanded to include technical service and customer support.
 
Today, Mopar is FCA’s service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in more than 130 markets, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for FCA brands.

Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for FCA 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-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 customers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format. First to offer complete vehicle-information kits in Spanish
• 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 interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• wiAdvisor: first to provide factory-connected tablet technology in the service lane for instant vehicle diagnosis
• wiTech: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car