Pritchett Qualifies Mopar Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Top Fuel Dragster No. 1 at NHRA New England Nationals
 

June 3, 2017 , Epping, N.H. -  Leah Pritchett qualified her Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Top Fuel dragster No. 1 for this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals, further adding to the Demon’s dominance on the drag strip.

Sporting a special Demon livery celebrating the powerful new Dodge, Pritchett turned in a pass of 3.673 seconds at 328.86 mph in her Mopar HEMI^®-powered machine during the third round of qualifying at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire. Only a handful of Top Fuel cars were able to make qualifying attempts in the fourth and final session before a lengthy rain delay. Yet despite the cooling conditions when on-track action resumed, Pritchett was able to hang on and claim the top spot.

Pritchett’s lap represented a track elapsed-time record. It was also her third low E.T. of the 2017 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and fourth of her career. Additionally, the No. 1 qualifying effort was the sixth for Mopar in the Top Fuel category out of nine events this year. The current Top Fuel points leader, Pritchett will be looking for her fourth Wally trophy since February on Sunday.

Her Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate, eight-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher, qualified his U.S. Army dragster in the third position. He and Pritchett are now tied for the 2017 series lead as each have qualified No. 1 on three occasions.

In the Funny Car category, Mopar Dodge Charger R/T machines from DSR were led by Ron Capps, who will begin the New England Nationals from the third qualified spot as he looks to win his fifth consecutive event. His Mopar stablemates all turned in solid efforts, with Matt Hagan qualifying fourth, Jack Beckman fifth and Tommy Johnson Jr. ninth.

For the second event in a row, cool weather and ideal atmospheric conditions helped drivers and teams turn in some extremely quick and fast laps throughout each qualifying session.

Mopar/Dodge Notes & Quotes
(best elapsed time in bold)

Leah Pritchett, Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 1, first-round bye
Friday: (3.747 seconds at 324.59 mph – Q1); (3.696/328.78 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.673/328.86 – Q3) (3.701/313.44 – Q4)

“This track is going to be so killer tomorrow and it’s going to need a lot of power. That’s what Mopar does, is create power. It’s what (crew chief) Todd (Okuhara) and (assistant) Joe (Barlam) and this team are able to do as a team. We’re going to bring all the power that we can. What we do in qualifying, because we don’t get to practice, we prepare for race day.

“I want to say that I am above and beyond grateful and blessed to be able to be in this car. Don Schumacher has had the vision for it and has been able to put the right people in the right places and I’m honored to be here. We just want to keep going No. 1 as much as possible for everybody.”

Matt Hagan, Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 4, will face No. 13 John Force
Friday: (4.789 seconds at 162.78 mph – Q1); (11.371/57.45 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.877/33.66 – Q3); (3.874/330.00 – Q4)

Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 3, will face No. 14 Jeff Diehl
Friday: (4.323 seconds at 198.70 mph – Q1); (8.701/79.24 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.252/212.26 – Q3); (3.863/328.30 – Q4)

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 12 Del Worsham
Friday: (3.878 seconds at 330.23 mph – Q1); (7.204/94.24 – Q2)
Saturday: (10.532/58.27 – Q3); (10.934/62.13 – Q4)

Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 9, will face No. 8 J.R. Todd
Friday: (3.922 seconds at 325.77 mph – Q1); (9.059/77.43 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.900/324.75 – Q3); (4.360/199.58 – Q4)

Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 3, will face No. 14 Smax Smith
Friday: (4.956 seconds at 142.70 mph – Q1); (7.434/83.93 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.721/315.49 – Q3); (3.703/327.03 – Q4)

Tune-In Info
FOX Sports 1 will broadcast the elimination rounds from fifth annual NHRA New England Nationals at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 4.

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.

Follow Mopar and company news and video on:
Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Mopar brand: www.mopar.com/
Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com/ 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mopar
Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialmopar
Twitter: twitter.com/OfficialMOPAR
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/mopar or www.youtube.com/StellantisNA