Ron Capps Muscles Mopar-powered Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Funny Car to Track Record Speed and ET in Opening Round Qualifying of Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals

September 13, 2019 , Mohnton, Pennslyvania -  Ron Capps opened the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a bang, powering the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NAPA Filters Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the provisional pole with his track record-setting run of 3.837 seconds at 339.28 mph in Friday night’s second provisional qualifying session.

With the run, Capps raised the bar for Funny Car class elapsed time and speed records at Maple Grove making the fastest run of his career and establishing the top speed by a Funny Car driver in 2019. The 2017 Reading champion opened qualifying with the fastest pass of the first session as well.  Capps will lead the field back on track Saturday with two more qualifying sessions that will set the field for Sunday’s eliminations.

“I was just hoping to get the Countdown started on the right foot,” said Capps, a three-time Funny Car winner in 2019. “I didn’t expect it to be a 3.83 (elapsed time/seconds). To go 3.84 in that first lap, I knew (Rahn) Tobler was pretty apprehensive about what he was doing with the car. I felt like I almost had to pedal it that first lap, but it made it through there and put a cylinder out about 800 feet.  We knew there was a lot there. And after seeing a couple high 3.80s and 3.90s early in that session, it paid off being at the back of the pack. This run, we have our new Hellcat body really trimmed out and Tobler went outside of his comfort zone since we had such a good first run. I knew it was going to be a handful. I knew we were on a good run and was hoping we could repeat our first session run. When they told me after the run we went 3.83 at 339 (mph), that was pretty neat. Any record you set now in this new track prep era is special. It means more now to go 3.83 and to go 339, because we just don’t have the track prep and grip we used to have.”

Leah Pritchett made the best of the track conditions Friday evening racing the DSR Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster to a lap of 3.673 seconds at 332.92 mph to capture the No. 2 provisional qualifying position.

Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers Tommy Johnson, Jr. and Matt Hagan hold the third and fifth positions, respectively. Jim Campbell, Jack Beckman, Cruz Pedregon and John Smith also have their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars in the provisional field of 16.
 
Education takes lead, Mopar CAP and YES events kick off Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals weekend
Before the professional drivers and teams began their first-round qualifying sessions today, education took center stage with the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) “Assemble Your Future” initiative and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Youth & Education Services (YES) program.

Mopar CAP, through a partnership with Pennzoil, hosted 45 students from five area schools. At the track, students visited with Hagan, toured the DSR pit areas and networked with representatives from 15 area FCA US LLC dealerships. Established in 1984, the program prepares students to begin their automotive technician careers upon graduation from a certified, two-year training institution, such as a university, college, community college or technical center. Currently, FCA has more than 9,000 active students enrolled in its Mopar CAP program, with students completing more than 100,000 class courses.

The program is the third of four Mopar CAP “Assemble Your Future” initiative programs at NHRA national events in 2019, with the Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in late October, being the final event. For more information on the Mopar CAP program, visit www.MoparCAP.com.

As part of the NHRA YES initiative, more than 2,000 local high school students heard testimonials from Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Leah Pritchett and other industry spokespeople focusing on the importance of math, science and other skills that can lead to new career opportunities.
 
Hagan finished second in Home Run Derby at Mopar Mega Block Party
Thousands of Dodge//SRT Mopar and NHRA fans kicked off the race weekend at FirstEnergy Stadium, in Reading on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the fourth annual Mopar Mega Block Party. The free event included a full slate of family activities and concluded with a Mega Fireworks display. Two-time world champion Hagan provided plenty of hitting fireworks of his own during the home run derby, but the 2014 Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals winner came up just short of winning the event, which was eventually won by Julian Haynes from Pennzoil. Proceeds raised from this event benefited the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero Foundations.
 
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. For 2020, Dodge literally expands its high-performance Charger model lineup, adding a Widebody exterior to America’s only four-door muscle car. Powered by the 707-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® Hellcat V-8 engine, the 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat maintains its reign as the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world.
 
The 2019 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, 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.
 
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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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