Charlie Westcott Jr. Races to Sixth Career Mopar HEMI Challenge U.S Nationals Victory

August 29, 2014 , Brownsburg, Indiana -  After a one-year hiatus, Charlie Westcott Jr. returned to a place that has become his second home — the Mopar HEMI Challenge winner’s circle at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Westcott Jr. raced his 1968 “War Fish” Plymouth Barracuda to the final-round win at the 14th Annual Mopar HEMI Challenge on Friday, defeating Wendell Howes to claim his third victory in four years and sixth in the last 10 at Indy.
 
Westcott Jr. took out Fred Henson, Stephen Comella, Joe Teuton and Steve Kent before meeting Howes, who trailered Russ Campbell, Larry Perkins, Bucky Hess and Charlie Westcott Sr. on his way to the final. Howes was lightning-quick off the starting tree with a .005 reaction time, but Westcott Jr. had enough power in his Mopar 426 HEMI to reel in his opponent. His 8.557-elapsed time at 157.28 mph edged out Howes’ 8.669/154.05 for a narrow triumph.
 
“This win in a way was bigger than the others because we didn’t come in with the performance advantage we typically have,” said Westcott Jr., whose father Charlie Westcott Sr. also won the Mopar HEMI Challenge event at Indy in 2009. “I had been fighting some kind of gremlin all weekend in my car. I never could get it right, but the final round was a little better. We got the job done, and that’s all that matters. We’ve won this thing six times, and seven if you count my dad. It’s always a good event for us.”
 
The Mopar HEMI Challenge, which debuted at the 2001 U.S. Nationals, 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. For this year’s edition, competitors battled for a $15,000 first place award, the special 50th anniversary 426 HEMI Challenge trophy weighing in at 42.6 pounds, and newly added prize, a custom Mopar winner’s jacket. This year the Mopar HEMI Challenge featured an added cash prize payout to the full 16-car field competing in the elimination rounds.
 
“It’s great that Mopar supports this class,” said Westcott Jr. “People really appreciate Mopar putting up the money and also coming out here to support the event. This is one of the biggest fields (26 cars) we have had in years.”
 
The 42.6-pound Mopar HEMI Challenge trophy served as added incentive for the Parma, Michigan, native. “I like that trophy a lot,” said Westcott Jr. “I told my wife, ‘We need to get that.’ And we did.”
 
Three-time NHRA World Champ Kevin Helms also added to the Mopar victory total, driving his 2010 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak powered by a 426 Gen III Mopar Race HEMI to victory in the FS/B class in the prestigious Factory Stock Showdown. Matched up against a 2014 Camaro with NHRA Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly behind the wheel, turning double duty in the Sportsman ranks, Helms used a .013 reaction time and 9.031/147.39 run to defeat Connolly, who posted a .041 reaction time and 9.068/148.05 pass.
 
In the final matchup between FS/B and FS/A class winners, Helms was stellar with a .008 reaction time but was unable to best opponent Chris Holbrook.
 
“This ranks right up there with the best of the best, and we did it in front of the big crowd,” said Helms, who pilots the Drag Pak for car owner Jeff Teuton, of his Factory Stock Showdown class win. “It’s heads up racing. You work all year dyno’ing motors, testing stuff, just for this moment. Dave Connolly is one of the best racers in the world. We knew he would be tough. To actually win it is really neat.”
 
“We came here and nobody gave us a chance to win,” said Teuton, who also owns Southland Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Houma, Louisiana. “We out drove ‘em, we made plenty of power and went round after round.”

 
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