Hagan Sets National Funny Car Records, Schumacher Takes No. 1 Spot in Top Fuel for Mopar Sweep in NHRA Topeka Qualifying
 

May 20, 2017 , Topeka, Kan. -  Mopar swept qualifying in both Nitro categories for the third time in 2017 at the NHRA Heartland Nationals, as Funny Car driver Matt Hagan re-wrote the record book twice while his Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate Tony Schumacher set quick time in the Top Fuel ranks.

Hagan used HEMI^® power to earn the title of event low qualifier for the second time this season, turning in a record-shattering pass of 3.802 seconds at an eye-popping 338.85 mph in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T. Both elapsed time and speed represent new national records in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car category. The top qualifying spot is the 28th of Hagan’s career, while the 338-mph speed is the fastest in any category in the sport’s history.

Hagan had previously set the national speed record at Heartland Park Topeka last season en route to the event win, as well as the Funny Car elapsed-time record at Minnesota’s Brainerd International Raceway. He then matched both ends (3.822 seconds/335.57 mph) during the opening event of 2017 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. However, he watched each number fall during qualifying for this year’s Topeka race before blistering the track with his new record-breaking pass on Saturday afternoon.

Schumacher meanwhile turned in a track-record lap of 3.660 seconds at 327.90 mph in his Mopar HEMI-powered U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster during the final round of qualifying to claim the top qualifying spot for the 83rd time in his career and his third No. 1 of 2017. Schumacher was also quick qualifier during the last event on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series calendar at Atlanta Dragway.

Cool weather that barely cracked the 60-degree mark and cloud cover throughout the day on Saturday led to a number of record-breaking runs.

Current Top Fuel points leader Leah Pritchett will start from the second spot in the Papa John’s Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil car, while her Mopar DSR teammates in Funny Car, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Ron Capps, will all start from inside the top eight on Sunday’s elimination ladder.

For the second event in a row, rain played a role in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying, delaying Friday’s first round and cancelling the second.

Mopar/Dodge Notes & Quotes
(best elapsed time in bold)
*Friday’s second qualifying session rained out

Matt Hagan, Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 1 , will face No. 16 Jack Wyatt
Friday: (3.885 seconds at 332.51 mph – Q1)
Saturday: (3.802/338.85 Q2); (3.806/335.98 – Q3)

“We had an amazing hot rod, that’s just Mopar power speaking out loud right there. I knew (crew chief) Dickie Venables and those guys they could do it, the conditions are right. We’ve had this combination in now for a couple of years and Don Schumacher provides all the parts and pieces to go out and do something like that. But you have to have a racetrack and race surface like this out here and obviously the conditions to roll in there. It was pretty cool though when (I) got in the car and strapped in, and Dickie’s like, ‘hold on.’

“This is as extreme as it gets, man. I mean 338 mph and you’ve got a steering wheel in your lap? That’s just craziness. It’s not even that it’s 330 mph, it’s that we’re doing it in a thousand feet. It’s just insane. There you go for your extreme sports.

“We’ve got the conditions and the parts and pieces and the power and the crew that’s doing a great job out there.  It’s just cool to go up there and get it done. To go up there and back up an .80 run like that, you know it speaks for itself. Everybody says, ‘well, that’s a fluke.’ Well there you go, it’s not a fluke. It’s hauling the mail and it’s getting it done. That Mopar power speaks for itself.”

Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 1, will face No. 16 Pat Dakin
Friday: (8.744 seconds at 74.20 mph – Q1)
Saturday: (3.697/319.82 – Q2); (3.660/327.90 – Q3)

“We know we can go out and win when it’s hot out, but to be able to go out and have a car like this when it’s a cool day, it’s going to be what it’s like at the end of the year when we’re fighting for that championship. It was awesome. We’re always watching other cars who have been throwing down every run – my teammates here and (Steve) Torrence on the other side – it’s just awesome to be able to sit back and know we’ve got a car that can keep up. That Torrence car is hot right now. The conditions are beautiful. This is exactly what people dream about in a race car – a cool, tight racetrack (and) crew chiefs all look at their notes and turn knobs that they’ve never turned before.

“It’s not going to be easy to go out and win the race tomorrow. The fans who pay their money to come out here, they’re going to feel at the end of the day like they got their money’s worth. When fans come out and enjoy a great race, and say this is the best side-by-side racing in all of motorsports, I feel proud to be a part of it.”

Leah Pritchett, Papa John’s Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Rob Passey
Friday: (no time – Q1)
Saturday: (3.687 seconds at 320.33 mph – Q2); (3.667/329.83 – Q3)

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 4 will face No. 13 Chad Head
Friday: (3.899 seconds at 324.59 mph – Q1)
Saturday: (8.595/74.38 – Q2); (3.844/331.77 – Q3)

Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 12 Del Worsham
Friday: (3.990 seconds at 323.43 mph – Q1)
Saturday: (3.882/325.61 – Q2); (3.847/331.61– Q3)

Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 7 will face No. 10 Cruz Pedregon
Friday: (3.870 seconds at 325 mph – Q1)
Saturday: (7.296/88.35 – Q2); (3.861/321.88 – Q3)

Tune-In Info
FOX Sports 1 will broadcast three hours of LIVE elimination-round coverage from the 29th annual NHRA Heartland Nationals at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 21.

For more information on Mopar and Dodge in NHRA, check out the Mopar brand’s official blog, http://blog.mopar.com.

About Mopar Motorsports
The Mopar brand’s commitment to professional motorsports competition was established in the 1950s when a partnership ignited with drag racing pioneer Don Garlits, resulting in the breaking of numerous speed and performance barriers in HEMI-powered vehicles over the next several decades. In 2016, thanks to Don Schumacher Racing driver Ron Capps, Mopar captured its fourth NHRA Funny Car World Championship in the last six years. As Mopar celebrates 80 years as a brand in 2017, it will focus its NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series efforts on NHRA Funny Car and, with rising star Leah Pritchett, NHRA Top Fuel Dragster. Mopar will also bolster its commitment to NHRA Sportsman racing with new contingency rewards, factory support and at-track technical advice and guidance.

Mopar-First Features
During the brand’s 80 years, Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers
• wiADVISOR: first to incorporate a tablet-based service lane tool
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals on a smartphone app 

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 newly redesigned Mopar blog at www.blog.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

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