Pair of DSR 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars Qualify in Top-Five for NHRA SummerNationals 

June 6, 2015 , Englishtown, New Jersey -  Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) drivers Matt Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr. qualified their 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars in the top-five for Sunday’s eliminations at the National Hot Rod Associations (NHRA) Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
 
Hagan took the fourth spot on the eliminations ladder on the strength of his 3.999-second run at 315.05 miles per hour (mph) on Friday evening, while Johnson Jr.’s fifth place position was also secured in the second of four qualifying sessions with a 4.004-second pass and the top speed of the weekend at 315.27 mph.
 
The top DSR lap of the day was driven by seventh seed Jack Beckman (4.004/313.73) by posting the quickest run of Q2 with a 4.037/ 305.91 for three valuable bonus points.
 
Hagan earned two extra points on Saturday for posting the third quickest runs of the last two sessions with 4.059/306.53 and 4.052/307.16 passes, bringing him within one point of the points leader and DSR teammate Ron Capps, who posted four solid passes of his own with a best effort of 4.015/313.58 for a ninth place seeding.
 
Hagan and the 2015 Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car will see a familiar foe in the opposite lane for a first round showdown on Sunday. Hagan defeated John Force in the opening round at Englishtown in both 2014 and 2011 and is looking to make it a three-peat.
 
"We're going to have to go out there and run hard, work hard,” said Hagan who will meet up with Force for the 27^th time in his career but has an 0 and 2 record against his rival this season. “I understand that John has the ability to put us on the trailer tomorrow but we're going to do our best not to let that happen. We have to race our race. You can think about John and who else we could race tomorrow but when it comes down to it we have to go down the racetrack and turn the win light on and do it in our own way."
 
We've had a solid car all weekend," Hagan added. "(Crew Chief) Dickie (Venables) is just doing a phenomenal job out here. He's focused. He's determined. He's got that look in his eyes this weekend. I know when I strap in the car that I've got a great hot rod underneath me and I can't wait for race day."
 
Johnson Jr. will see Force’s teammate Robert Hight as his first match-up on Sunday, while Beckman will face off against Alexis DeJoria and Capps will battle Tim Wilkerson.
 
Last year’s Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier at Englishtown, Allen Johnson, didn’t see the gains he was hoping for after four qualifying laps aboard the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart produced a best run of 6.534/12.46 to put him 11^th on the eliminations ladder, but the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart made two clean runs, and with a few more adjustments, the team expects to see better results on Sunday.
 
“We’re not quite showing the same improvements that we made over the last two events but we did make some big changes throughout the weekend,” said Johnson who will see Larry Morgan as his first round opponent. “We just have to keep adapting to this new formula and that takes some time.  We fell behind because it affected our HEMIs differently than our competitors, but we’ve got to keep trying to make gains until we get back to where we should be. We made a good run today and we should have a good setup for race day.”
 
In the 12^th spot is V. Gaines who ran a clean lap in his Dodge Dart to a best effort of 6.554/212.23 and will line up next to Jason Line in the opening round. The third HEMI-powered entry on the eliminations ladder will be Alan Prusiensky’s Dodge Avenger in the 14^th spot. He’ll be matched up with Erica Enders Stevens.
 
Three hours of eliminations coverage at the 46th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals, the ninth of 24 events in the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, will be broadcast on ESPN2 this Sunday, June 6, starting at 11 p.m. ET.
 
2015 NHRA Championship Points Standings
(following the NHRA Summernationals qualifying)
 
PRO STOCK (season wins in parentheses)
1.         Erica Enders-Stevens – 759 (3)
2.         Greg Anderson – 701 (1)
3.         Jason Line – 698 (2)
4.         Chris McGaha – 578
5.         Rodger Brodgon – 493 (1)
6.         Larry Morgan – 486 (1)
7.         Drew Skillman – 468
8.         Vincent Nobile – 453
9.         Shane Gray – 434
10.        Allen Johnson – Dodge Dart – 401
12.         V. Gaines – Dodge Dart – 326
 
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1.         Ron Capps – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 613 (2)
2.         Matt Hagan – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 612 (2)
3.         Jack Beckman – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 567 (2)
4.         Del Worsham – 547
5.         John Force – 533 (1)
6.         Tommy Johnson Jr. – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 493
7.         Robert Hight – 492
8.         Tim Wilkerson – 480 (1)
9t.        Cruz Pedregon – 438
10.       Alexis DeJoria – 427

 
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