Dodge//SRT and Mopar Announce Multiyear Partnership Extension With Don Schumacher Racing

January 24, 2019 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  Dodge//SRT and Mopar are continuing their partnership with Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) with the announcement of a new multiyear sponsorship agreement to kick off the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

The high-powered relationship began during the 2003 season and ranks as one of the longest running partnerships in motorsports. DSR Mopar-powered Dodge//SRT teams have claimed 12 championships in Funny Car, Top Fuel and Factory Stock Showdown, beginning with Tony Schumacher’s 2004 Top Fuel title and the latest with Leah Pritchett’s 2018 Factory Stock Showdown crown. The first triumph for the partnership came in Englishtown, New Jersey, when Whit Bazemore turned on the win light, and the most recent victory was captured in October 2018 when Ron Capps scored the 252nd for a DSR Mopar-powered driver. 

“Don Schumacher Racing is one the most successful and respected organizations not just in NHRA, but in all of motorsports, and Dodge//SRT and Mopar are proud to extend our long-running partnership with Don Schumacher, his drivers and teams,” said Steve Beahm, Head of Parts and Service (Mopar) and Passenger Car Brands, FCA - North America. “In addition to our long list of accomplishments on the strip, our brands have worked with DSR off the track in developing and debuting the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car body and elevating our Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak program to the 2018 Factory Stock Showdown championship. We look forward to continuing to win with DSR in 2019 and beyond.”

“DSR is pleased to continue this partnership with Dodge//SRT and Mopar,” said DSR owner Don Schumacher, a former Mopar-powered Dodge Funny Car driver himself in the 1960s and 1970s. “We take a lot of pride in the relationships we have built with our NHRA program and this one has been truly unique. From the early years, Mopar and Dodge have played a major role in our climb to prominence in the Funny Car class and that carried over in our efforts in Top Fuel and the winning continued in another class last year when we secured the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown championship. It’s been a tremendous partnership and we are thrilled to continue it for seasons to come.” 

DSR drivers Matt Hagan and Leah Pritchett will carry the torch in the brand’s quest for championships in Funny Car, Top Fuel and Factory Stock Showdown, while Ron Capps, Tommy Johnson, Jr., Jack Beckman and Tony Schumacher will also look to add to Dodge//SRT and Mopar’s rich NHRA heritage.

Heading into the 2019 NHRA campaign, Hagan and Pritchett headline a star-studded stable of drivers that have combined to earn more than 200 of the DSR organization’s 333 overall victories and have reset countless track and national records.
 
The bar is set high with the goal of increasing those numbers starting in Pomona, California, where Hagan returns as the two-time defending event winner of the season-opening NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway, February 7-10, the first of 24 national events. Pritchett, who won the final three Factory Stock Showdown races in 2018, will begin her title defense in that class at the 50th annual NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, March 14-17, 2019.
 
To follow Dodge//SRT and Mopar during the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, visit Dodge Garage, a digital content hub for muscle car and race enthusiasts.

About Dodge
Dodge//SRT offers a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out in their own segments. Dodge is America’s mainstream performance brand and SRT is positioned as the ultimate performance halo of the Dodge brand, together creating a complete and balanced performance brand with one vision and one voice.
 
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge, who founded the brand in 1914. Their influence continues today. New for 2019, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye is possessed by the Demon. Its 797-horsepower supercharged HEMI® high-output engine makes it the most powerful, quickest and fastest muscle car reaching 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in 3.4 seconds and the fastest GT production car with a ¼-mile elapsed time (ET) of 10.8 seconds at 131 mph. It also reaches a new top speed of 203 mph. Joining the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye is the 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with its more powerful 717-horsepower engine, the Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody, which features fender flares from the SRT Hellcat Widebody and adds 3.5 inches of width to Scat Pack’s footprint, as well as and the new Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320. Infused with exclusive drag strip technology from the iconic Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is a drag-oriented, street-legal muscle car and a blank canvas for the serious grassroots drag racer.  The 2019 Dodge Durango SRT, America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV with a best-in-class tow rating of 8,700 lbs. fills out the brands’ performance lineup. These visceral performance models join a 2019 brand lineup that includes the Durango, Grand Caravan, Journey, Charger and Challenger — a showroom that offers performance at every price point.
 
Mopar
Mopar is the global name for Stellantis genuine parts and authentic accessories.

A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over more than 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar  expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the Mopar blog at blog.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

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