Pritchett Takes “Angry Bee” 1320 Top Fuel Dragster to No. 2 Starting Spot at Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil

July 20, 2019 , Morrison, Colorado -  Leah Pritchett buzzed her “Angry Bee” Mopar Dodge 1320 Top Fuel dragster all the way to the No. 2 starting position heading into elimination rounds on Sunday at the 2019 Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at Bandimere Speedway near Denver.
 
Pritchett, No. 1 qualifier last year at Denver, came oh-so-close to repeating that feat during an impressive qualifying outing in which steadily improved her performance in each session. Pritchett collected two bonus points on Friday and added another pair for being second-quickest in Q3 on Saturday with a 3.816-second elapsed time at 318.77 mph.
 
An hours-long rain delay pushed the final qualifying session to late Saturday evening, with 72-degree track temps providing prime conditions for posting low numbers. The Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver took full advantage, uncorking a 3.761-second elapsed time at 315.19 mph, which briefly earned Pritchett the pole before she was knocked down a spot.
 
The defending Top Fuel champ at Denver, Pritchett banked six bonus points in qualifying and will draw Terry Totten in round one as she attempts to take her “Angry Bee” to a second consecutive win on “Thunder Mountain.”
 
Tommy Johnson Jr. was quickest of a pack of six Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat drivers to make the Sunday field at Bandimere Speedway. The event is marking the 31st year with FCA US title-rights support, the longest continuous running sponsorship in NHRA and one of the longest in all of motorsports.
 
Johnson moved his DSR Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car up seven spots in his first qualifying shot on Saturday, rising from No. 13 to the sixth spot. In the final qualifying session, Johnson recorded his quickest run of the weekend at 3.978/317.72 to lock down the No. 2 position and earn two bonus points. A two-time runner-up at Bandimere Speedway, Johnson will look to capture his first Denver win starting with an opening-round date with Jeff Diehl.
 
Two-time Funny Car World Champion Cruz Pedregon soared to the provisional No. 1 spot in his Mopar-powered Snap-On Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car on Friday evening thanks to a pass of 4.002 seconds at 317.42 mph. Pedregon maintained his spot after the first qualifying session on Saturday, but was shuffled down the ladder during the final session and denied his shot to reclaim the pole after more rain showers prevented Cruz and three other drivers from making their final qualifying passes. He will start third on Sunday.
 
That same fate befell NAPA Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver Ron Capps. Second quickest in Funny Car on Friday on the strength of a 4.005/316.97 pass, Capps struggled in Q3 and was hoping to move back up the ladder in Q4 until rain washed away any chances of a No. 1 spot. He settled for the No. 4 spot and will meet Todd Simpson in round one
 
Sporting brand-new graphics with his 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car, Matt Hagan jumped from No. 8 after the first day of qualifying up to the fifth position with a run of 4.054/283.07 in Saturday’s first session. Hagan struggled in Q4 and wrapped up qualifying in the seventh slot. Winner at the most recent NHRA event in New Hampshire, Hagan will face DSR teammate Jack Beckman in the opening round as he seeks back-to-back wins, and his first ever on “Thunder Mountain.”
 
No. 14 after Friday’s two sessions, Beckman climbed the qualifying charts to put his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the tenth spot. Jim Campbell will race his Charger SRT Hellcat from the No. 12 spot and meet Bob Tasca III in round one.
 
Exclusive Denver coverage at DodgeGarage.com
DodgeGarage.com, the digital content hub for muscle car and race enthusiasts, will feature exclusive photo journals throughout the weekend with behind-the-scenes action from the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil. Visitors can catch race weekend updates, meet NHRA sportsman racers, go inside team trailers and get up close and personal with Dodge//SRT Mopar NHRA drivers and teams.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
Hagan’s Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car is carrying the @DodgeMoparMotorsports logo on its hood as part of the channel’s formal launch during race weekend. The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel will share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers in action in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series such as the Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Concept’s recent run in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
 
Tune-in Info
Sunday Live coverage from the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil will air on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 21. Three hours of eliminations coverage will be broadcast live on the national FOX Network starting at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
 
Dodge//SRT Mopar Notes & Quotes: NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

Leah Pritchett, Mopar Dodge 1320 Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Terry Totten
Friday: (4.213 seconds at 213.87 mph – Q1); (3.839/321.35 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.816/318.77 – Q3); (3.761/315.19 – Q4)

“We’re feeling awesome going into race day. The Dodge Mopar mountain magic is definitely showing its face. It’s awesome to have three solid runs out of four. We’ve been chipping away at it. We were a little light on the front end, which made it exciting to drive on that final round. We went into Q4 either smoking the tires or going for low E.T., and we were just a couple thousandths behind (No. 1 qualifier) Steve Torrence at half-track, and we feel good. Things are coming together. The fans have been out of this world, and the team has done a phenomenal job. We can’t wait for Sunday, race day. These moments of running quick passes in challenging conditions are what we live for. We're looking forward to running well on the mountain and going rounds on Sunday like we know how to do.”
 
Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Jeff Diehl
Friday: (7.235 seconds at 89.20 mph – Q1); (6.619/97.96 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.091/300.86 – Q3); (3.978/317.72 – Q4)

“It’s tough to run up here and Friday proved that. Everybody struggled to try and get a handle on the tune-up. Luckily, we were able to get four qualifying runs in with the rain showers and refine the tune-up and get a handle on it. Tonight’s Q4 run was probably in a little bit better conditions than we’ll see tomorrow but it’s going to be close. It’s supposed to be nice and cool tomorrow. I was a little worried about running (E1) at 11:00 a.m. because we don’t have any data from 11:00 a.m., but this will be close. I’m excited. We hit the tune-up pretty good on that last run and we should have a solid car for tomorrow.”
 
Ron Capps, NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 4, will face No. 13 Todd Simpson
Friday: (5.245 seconds at 141.71 mph – Q1); (4.005/316.97 – Q2)
Saturday: (6.925/91.27 – Q3); (No Run – Q4)

“I always feel good going into race day, no matter the conditions. But, this has been an adverse weekend as far as crew chiefs and having to adapt. We saw super-hot temperatures Friday, and then Saturday, we had a storm come in, the temperature dropped and then the rain came in again and it just got pushed back to where the last two pairs of cars didn’t get to run in Funny Car. We were hoping to get a shot at the track after watching a couple of cars go 3.97, and we didn’t get that chance and ended up finishing fourth. But, no matter what, (crew chief Rahn) Tobler will be on it, and I just have to do my job, and hopefully, we’ll have another good weekend.”
 
Matt Hagan, Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Funny Car
Qualified No. 7, will face No. 10 Jack Beckman
Friday: (4.324 seconds at 232.43 mph – Q1); (9.089/80.22 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.054/283.07 – Q3); (13.239/76.54 – Q4)

“We’ll take it; top-half of the field, lane choice. It’s always tough up here on the mountain but we’ve got a new look and a new feel to the car and we’ll get after it tomorrow on race day.”
 
Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 10, will face No. 7 Matt Hagan
Friday: (7.389 seconds at 93.95 mph – Q1); (7.299/101.90 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.151/296.96 – Q3); (4.099/308.92 – Q4)

We’ve been racing each other early far too much this year, and that’s just a by-product of one of us qualifying in the bottom half. I wish I could say ‘we’ve got lots of data to comb over tonight to figure this out for tomorrow,’ but we don’t have hardly any Denver data to comb over. And, conditions tomorrow will be radically different than they were at 10:00 p.m. tonight. We have data from last year. We ran well in different conditions. We’re going to have to go back and lean on some of that stuff. But I’ll tell you what I’m proud of. Friday night, this thing went out there and broke the x-member out of the chassis and could’ve really affected our race car chassis. The guys did some welding, did some parts replacement, rescaled the car, and we came out here Saturday and went out down the track two times.”
 
 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.
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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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