Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil Thunders Into Denver, Extends Longest Running Sponsorship in Series

July 10, 2019 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  The Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, the longest continuous running sponsorship in NHRA and one of the longest in all of motorsports, is rumbling back to Bandimere Speedway near Denver on July 19-21. The 2019 edition marks the 31st year of FCA US event sponsorship, a partnership that spans four decades.
 
“NHRA offers the perfect stage to connect with the performance and race enthusiasts who power our brand,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “Together with our friends at Mopar and Pennzoil, we continue to deepen our commitment to the sport because there’s no better arena to showcase what Dodge//SRT represents on both the street and strip.”
 
Later this year, Dodge//SRT will also return as title sponsor of the NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge at the historic NHRA U.S. Nationals. The brand will also take over title sponsorship duties at the Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, the penultimate event of the NHRA season, scheduled for October 31 - November 3, 2019, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
The action-packed weekend at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado, will commence with the reveal of special new graphics on Matt Hagan’s Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car during the NHRA pre-race press conference on Thursday, July 18. The 18th annual Mopar Big Block Party Presented by Pennzoil, scheduled for Thursday night in downtown Golden, Colorado, will kick enthusiasts into high gear at the free-admission fan event.
 
At the track, fans will also have the chance to visit the Dodge//SRT and Mopar displays on Manufacturers Midway and to test their skills on Dodge Challenger SRT Demon race simulators. Education will also be the focus during the weekend, with more than 30 students from the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) participating in the “Assemble Your Future” initiative.
 
18th Annual Mopar Big Block Party Presented by Pennzoil
The 18th annual Mopar Big Block Party Presented by Pennzoil will return to help rev up the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Powered by Pennzoil. Scheduled for Thursday, July 18 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in downtown Golden, Colorado, the event will include an autograph signing with Dodge//SRT Mopar NHRA stars, including Matt Hagan, Leah Pritchett, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson Jr., Cruz Pedregon and Jim Campbell.

The free-admission fan event will also feature Dodge//SRT Mopar drag cars on display. Renowned gearhead and TV/radio personality Willie B. will serve as the MC for the evening along with his co-host, automotive celebrity and podcast star Jeff Allen, and tunes will be provided all night courtesy of the Steve Thomas Band. Attendees can grab seat time in Demon race simulators and Pennzoil virtual simulators, purchase merchandise, including the commemorative Block Party T-shirt, and choose from a variety of food and drink stations. FCA US vehicles will be on display in the Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep® Dodge Ram area and fans can also sign-up for the chance to win $70,000 toward the purchase of any new FCA vehicle.

Enthusiasts can share their Block Party love on social media by using #MoparBP19 or #MoParty. For more information, visit www.Mopar.com and scroll to the blog section of the site.

Higher Education at 300 mph: Mopar CAP Students to Visit Bandimere Speedway
For the second time in 2019, the Mopar CAP program will host students at an NHRA event as part of the “Assemble Your Future” initiative. Through a partnership with Pennzoil, students from Arapahoe Community College, Lincoln Tech and WyoTech colleges will have the opportunity to visit with Hagan and Pritchett, tour the DSR pit areas and interact with Denver and Wyoming-area FCA US dealership representatives.

The Denver stop will be the second of four visits by the Mopar CAP “Assemble Your Future” initiative at NHRA national events in 2019, with the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil near Reading, Pennsylvania, in September up next.

For more information on the Mopar CAP program, visit  www.MoparCap.com. 

Hagan and Pritchett Power Up Dodge//SRT Mopar Teams in Denver
Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat NHRA Funny Car driver Matt Hagan and Mopar Dodge Top Fuel pilot Leah Pritchett will spearhead a formidable squad of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) drivers battling for wins at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil.

Hagan debuted the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car body last year in Denver. Earlier this year, he became the first driver to claim victory in the new body with a win at the NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix. The 2011 and 2014 Funny Car world champion, coming off a recent victory at the NHRA New England Nationals, is chasing his first triumph on “Thunder Mountain.”

Pritchett returns looking to continue her Mile-High magic. Last July, she topped the field in qualifying before rocketing her Mopar Dodge 1320 “Angry Bee” Top Fuel dragster to her first Denver victory. Pritchett carried the 1320 colors on her dragster after helping to reveal the drag-oriented, street-legal 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 production vehicle, and she will again carry the “Angry Bee” logo this year.

Hagan and Pritchett’s DSR teammates Jack Beckman and Ron Capps also return as previous winners of the event. Beckman will chase his fourth career triumph at Bandimere racing the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, while Capps eyes a second Denver win in his Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Tommy Johnson Jr. will also chase the Funny Car Wally trophy out of the DSR camp.

Event Info: Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil
The Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil is scheduled for July 19-21 at Bandimere Speedway, with qualifying Friday and Saturday, and elimination rounds on Sunday. Qualifying coverage will air live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET and during a special one-hour qualifying recap show on Saturday, July 20 from 10 – 11 p.m. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air live on the national FOX Network starting at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 21.

About Dodge//SRT
Dodge//SRT offers a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out in their own segments. Dodge is America’s 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 quarter-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, and the Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody, featuring fender flares from the SRT Hellcat Widebody, which add 3.5 inches of width to the 485-horsepower Scat Pack’s standard body. Also new for 2019 is the Challenger R/T Scat Pak 1320 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., completes the brand's 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