Ron Capps, Allen Johnson Power Mopar in Rain-Shortened NHRA Kansas Nationals Qualifying

May 22, 2015 , Topeka, Kansas -  Ron Capps used a sub-four-second run to claim the No. 4 spot and will lead a quartet of Mopar-powered 2015 Dodge Charger R/T NHRA Funny Car drivers into eliminations after rain washed out the final qualifying session on Saturday at the NHRA Kansas Nationals. In Pro Stock, defending event champ Allen Johnson was the quickest Mopar qualifier at No. 6 and will chase his first win of the season during Sunday eliminations at Heartland Park Topeka.

Ranked 10th after his first two qualifying attempts, Capps made the most of his only shot on Saturday, uncorking his quickest pass of the year, a 3.989-second elapsed time at a near-record 324.12 mph. Capps, the current points leader and runner-up at the previous NHRA event in Atlanta, will open Sunday eliminations against Brian Stewart.

“We were trying to go 4-flat on Friday night's run but it started to move around a little bit and spun (the tires),” said Capps, who has two wins this year. "It was nice to get that run in. These are conditions you dream about and the crew chief especially does. It's so much fun to watch (crew chief Rahn) Tobler prepare himself to run the next day knowing it could be our quickest run of the weekend.”

Capps’ fellow Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate Matt Hagan experienced a much less eventful — and much more effective — outing on the second day of qualifying at Topeka. Forced to swap bodies after a fire during his second attempt on Friday, the defending 2014 Funny Car champ moved his Rocky Boots/Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T from No. 12 to No. 8 with a 4.000 pass on Saturday.

“We had a blow-up out there and it's just unfortunate,” said Hagan, who will match up again Robert Hight in round one. “It hurts your feelings, but even worse it hurts your race car. We had to put away a beautiful Rocky Boots body and that's unfortunate. I guess the ironic thing is that we did this (swapped bodies) at Pomona at the first race with the Mopar body and we had to put the Rocky body on the car and we won both Pomona and Phoenix. It all equals out at the end of the day and hopefully we keep our partners happy.”

All four DSR drivers will seek to maintain the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T NHRA Funny Car’s recent string of success, which includes five wins and at least one DSR car in the final elimination round at six of seven NHRA events thus far. In addition to Capps and Hagan, DSR drivers Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr. will chase victory at Topeka. Beckman (No. 6, 3.991) will line up against Courtney Force, while Johnson (No. 12, 4.025) will face Courtney’s father, John Force. Mopar-powered Dodge driver John Hale (No. 14, 4.157) will meet Cruz Pedregon.

“Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart NHRA Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson is feeling good heading into eliminations from the No. 6 spot, with a best pass of 6.537. The 20-year Team Mopar veteran’s optimism is well-founded — Johnson is the defending event champion at Topeka, with two wins and three final-round appearances at the venue in the last three years.

“We’re becoming more and more satisfied with the Magneti Marelli Mopar Dodge after each run,” said Johnson, who is paired against former teammate Vincent Nobile in the opening round. “We were fourth quick in Q2. We’re gaining ground quick and improving each run.”

Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge Dart Pro Stock pilot V. Gaines (No. 12, 6.574) will battle Jason Line, while Dodge Avenger driver Deric Kramer (No. 14, 6.618) draws Chris McGaha.

Three hours of television coverage for eliminations at the NHRA Kansas Nationals, the eighth of 24 events in the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Sunday, May 24, starting at 10 p.m. ET.
About Mopar Brand
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked in 1937 with the launch of an antifreeze product, but it truly made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era. From Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, the brand soon expanded to include technical service and customer support.

Today, Mopar is FCA’s service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 27 customer contact hubs globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for FCA brands.

Mopar parts are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for FCA vehicles. This offers a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at: www.mopar.com.

Mopar-first Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with customers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format. First to offer complete vehicle-information kits in Spanish
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• Wireless charging: first to introduce in-vehicle wireless charging for portable devices
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• wiADVISOR: first to provide factory-connected tablet technology in the service lane for instant vehicle diagnosis
• wiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car