Dodge//SRT Mopar Funny Car Racer Capps Powers to No. 1 Qualifying Position at Norwalk

June 22, 2019 , Norwalk, Ohio -  Ron Capps captured Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) its first No. 1 qualifying position of the season with four consistent runs behind the wheel of his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car at the 13th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

Capps and his DSR Dodge//SRT Mopar teammate, Jack Beckman, who qualified his DSR Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car fourth, lead seven Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers that qualified for Sunday’s elimination rounds.

Unseasonably cool temperatures Friday provided Capps, the 2016 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals winner, and the rest of the field excellent conditions during the weekend’s first two qualifying sessions. After posting the third-best run in session one, Capps closed the second qualifying session with a blazing 3.879-second elapsed time (ET) at 329.18 mph pass. His speed continued Saturday earning a pair of qualifying points in the third session and topping the final session giving the two-time 2019 Funny Car winner a total of 10 bonus points during qualifying en route to his 23rd career No. 1 qualifying position and first in Norwalk.

Beckman continued his mission of becoming the fourth driver to capture an NHRA Wally behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car. The three-time Norwalk winner was the pacesetter in the opening round of qualifying at the northern Ohio speedplant with a 3.955/322.65 run and followed with a faster run of 3.915/329.26. Beckman earned four bonus points and landed in the top-half of the ladder for the seventh time this season.

Tommy Johnson, Jr. is chasing his second 2019 Funny Car triumph and first victory at Norwalk this weekend. The pilot of the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car made his best run during Friday’s second session to earn the eighth position. Matt Hagan, the 2018 Norwalk winner, stopped the clock at 3.975 racing his Sandvik Coromant Dodge SRT Charger Hellcat to claim the 11th position. Johnson will meet Tim Wilkerson in the first round while Hagan begins his run toward a second consecutive Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals victory racing Bob Tasca III.

In addition to the DSR foursome in the race for the Norwalk Funny Car win tomorrow, Paul Lee qualified third with his final qualifying session run of 3.914 while Mopar-powered Dodge Charger pilots Dale Creasey and Cruz Pedregon rank 14th and 15th, respectively.

Leah Pritchett is pulling double duty for the fifth time this season and put both her machines in elimination ladders on Sunday. Pritchett qualified the DSR Mopar-powered Top Fuel Dragster second with her run of 3.714/325.45 in Friday’s second qualifying session. With an impressive pass of 8.017/170.11 early Saturday afternoon driving her Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, Pritchett grabbed the 13th slot as she continues defending her 2018 Factory Stock Showdown championship.

Mopar Dodge//SRT Notes & Quotes
(best elapsed times below)

Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 1, will face No. 16 Bob Bode  
Friday: (3.965 seconds at 322.65 mph – Q1); (3.879/329.18 – Q2) Saturday: (3.955/323.19 – Q3); (3.912/325.06– Q4)

“Everyone went up there to throw down and take the No. 1 spot from us in that last session. There’s nothing better than putting our Hellcat No. 1 and picking the pocket of (John) Force’s and his Chevy. I know that was an extra fist pump for (team owner) Don (Schumacher) last night in Q2. And then today in Q4, we knew Force went 91 right in front of us and then when I turned the corner after making the Q4 pass and the NHRA on FOX crew told me we had run a 3.912 and had snatched the three (bonus) points from Force, that was pretty cool. It’s just so much fun right now. I don’t want to get cocky or overconfident, but (crew chief Rahn) Tobler has had an extra pep in his step. He’s confident in the car.”

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 4, will face No. 13 Jonnie Lindberg
Friday: (3.955 seconds at 322.65 mph – Q1); (3.915/329.26 – Q2) Saturday: (4.405/202.85 – Q3); (3.965/318.69 – Q4)

“We were three out of four in qualifying, got some bonus points and maybe more important, we ran well enough on Friday that we got to play with some stuff on Saturday. This is the stuff that’s going to make a difference in the Countdown to the Championship. But first, we’ve got to get our first trophy out of the way, and I want to do that tomorrow.”

Tommy Johnson, Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 8, will face No. 9 Tim Wilkerson
Friday: (5.345 seconds at 134.69 mph – Q1); (3.928/326.40 – Q2) Saturday: (6.994/95.85 – Q3); (3.953/322.65 – Q4)

“I know (crew chief) John (Collins) and the Make-A-Wish guys were looking for a little more in that final qualifying run. They were trying to step it up. We are doing a little testing. We have been running really well, but you don’t stay running well if you don’t try some things. The guys have been trying some things this weekend and we are learning some stuff. I’m sure we’ll put the car back the way it normally runs tomorrow and we’ll go out there and win some rounds.”

Matt Hagan, Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 11, will face No. 6 Bob Tasca III
Friday: (4.056 seconds at 322.50 mph – Q1); (3.975/325.22 – Q2) Saturday: (5.893/116.91 – Q3); (3.943/325.85 – Q4)

“We needed to bump up in that final qualifying session. If we didn’t we would have been racing Tommy (Johnson, Jr.) again in the first round. I’m tired of race my teammates. I think we’ve had that scenario the last four or five races. It was nice to change that.  We’ll take that run for sure. It was important that we got down the track in that run and the results were all we could ask for.”

Leah Pritchett, Don Schumacher Racing/Mopar/Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Luigi Novelli
Friday: (3.805 seconds at 324.44 mph – Q1); (3.714/325.45 – Q2) Saturday: (3.802/321.04 – Q3); (3.795/321.50 – Q4)

“We are very impressed with the moment this team has built through making four solid qualifying passes. Starting from the two spot is advantageous to having a good solid day. As a good friend once said, better done than said, so now it’s up to us to make four good hits tomorrow. I can’t think of a better way to end this four-race swing than by getting started with a first round win. Overall, the vibe is amazing. The attitudes are high. The support of John who is here. I can’t wait to get race day underway.” 

Leah Pritchett, Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
Qualified No. 13, will face No. 4 Bill Skillman
Friday: (8.133 seconds at 167.59 mph – Q1); (8.220/152.01 – Q2)
Saturday: (8.017/170.11– Q3);

“That 8.01 puts us in the field and this Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak gets to race on Sunday. That was some nerve-wracking stuff right there. The decision was between do you push hard to get in the show or do you try and make it down with a number that may or may not get you in the show. I’m super proud Kevin Helms and this team. We said we are going to give it everything we’ve got. It stuck on the starting line. Everything was good going down. All the points on target. 170 miles per hour at 8.01 and we get to race tomorrow.” 

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.

Follow Mopar and company news and video on:
Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Mopar brand: www.mopar.com/
Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com/ 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mopar
Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialmopar
Twitter: twitter.com/OfficialMOPAR
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/mopar or www.youtube.com/StellantisNA