Johnson Qualifies Sixth, Leads Mopar Dodge//SRT Funny Car Drivers into Race Day at NHRA Heartland Nationals

May 19, 2018 , Topeka, Kansas -  Tommy Johnson Jr. qualified No. 6 and will lead a field of five Mopar Dodge Funny Car drivers into the elimination rounds on Sunday at the NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kansas.
 
In Top Fuel, Mopar-powered Tony Schumacher will start No. 4 at Heartland Motorsports Park, one spot ahead of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate and Schumacher Electric/Mopar Dodge Top Fuel dragster driver Leah Pritchett.
 
Johnson Jr. raced his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T to No. 5 after the first day of qualifying, with a 4.008-second elapsed time (ET) in the second session. The Ottumwa, Iowa, native, who considers Topeka his home track, was bumped back one spot after the final two qualifying sessions on Saturday. Johnson Jr. will match up with John Force to open eliminations on Sunday.
 
Fellow DSR Mopar Dodge Funny Car driver Ron Capps, the 2017 event champion at Topeka, was unsatisfied with his No. 13 position after two Friday qualifying attempts and was looking to do something about it. The 2016 Funny Car World Champion responded with 4.025 pass in his first qualifying hit on Saturday, earning one bonus point, and an even quicker 4.021 ET in his final attempt that earned him two bonus points and the seventh starting spot.
 
Matt Hagan, driving the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T for DSR, was ranked in the top half at No. 6 after the first day of qualifying, with his quickest attempt a 4.028 effort. On Saturday, Hagan was solid in his first pass but his final qualifying attempt ended with a fiery bang under the hood. The two-time NHRA Funny Car champion will start No. 8 in Sunday eliminations and try to recapture the magic of his 2016 Topeka victory.

For Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T driver Jack Beckman, currently second in the Funny Car standings and a two-time Topeka winner, his first run was his best. Beckman’s 4.086 in the opening session on Friday was good enough to earn him the No. 12 spot and a date with No. 5 Bob Tasca III in the opening round on Sunday.
 
Mopar-powered U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher was No. 2 after the first qualifying round on Friday, earning two bonus points, and wrapped up the opening day fifth on the Top Fuel ladder. Temporarily knocked out of the top half of the field on Saturday, “The Sarge” re-grouped and rocketed back up near the top with his best qualifying run of the weekend at 3.771 to earn one bonus point and the fourth starting position. The eight-time Top Fuel champion will look to get revenge in round one against Bill Litton, who defeated Schumacher in the opening round of the previous race at Atlanta.
 
Fresh off her Atlanta event victory, Leah Pritchett posted her Schumacher Electric/Mopar Dodge Top Fuel dragster seventh after the first two qualifying sessions. Following the blueprint of DSR teammate Tony Schumacher, Pritchett saved her best run for last, using a 3.776 mark to move up to the fifth spot tomorrow in her bid for back-to-back wins. Pritchett will also be seeking her first career win and final-round appearance at Heartland Motorsports Park.
 
Outside of the DSR camp, Jim Campbell posted his Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car No. 15. In Pro Stock, Kansas native Will Hatcher made his class debut, qualifying No. 16 in his Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge.

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

Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 6, will face No. 11 John Force
Friday: (4.212 seconds at 285.29 mph – Q1); (4.008/313.00 – Q2)
Saturday: (6.967/90.09 – Q3); (5.351/133.71 – Q4)

“It’s a tough race track, with the changing conditions, the hot conditions we’ve had today and the difference in the track prep. It’s a struggle for everybody, we’re not the only ones. Tomorrow is a totally different day weather-wise, so we will come out and deal with it then. We should be alright tomorrow, it doesn’t matter who we have to race.”

Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 4, will face No. 13 Bill Litton
Friday: (3.888 seconds at 319.75 mph – Q1); (3.836/324.51 – Q2)
Saturday: (6.589/100.32 – Q3); (3.771/331.12 – Q4)

“If race day conditions are like this, that really bodes well for us. We made three great runs. The one earlier today wasn’t a very successful run. But we’re just trying to learn how to deal with this new track prep with not enough runs under our belt with those conditions. But, otherwise, this Topeka track is a smooth racetrack and it’s a beautiful place. We’re looking forward to tomorrow. I think we’re going to see some really fast runs.”

Leah Pritchett, Schumacher Electric/Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 12 Antron Brown
Friday: (5.002 seconds at 145.97 mph – Q1); (3.840/286.07 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.173/216.03 – Q3); (3.776/324.51 – Q4)
 
“It’s been a testament to teamwork, particularly today. We were thrown many issues before Q3 in the pit with the accelerated schedule because of the weather today. We also had accelerated issues in the pit. They were electrical and ignition related, and to see the team overcome all that in a timely manner, that’s what really stands out to me. To come out with a No. 5 qualifying position says a lot of the perseverance of this Schumacher Electric/U.S. Army team.”

Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 7, will face No. 10 Shawn Langdon
Friday: (4.477 seconds at 179.64 mph – Q1); (4.095/305.70 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.025/316.97 – Q3); (4.021/317.79 – Q4)

"(Crew chief Rahn) Tobler made big changes coming into this race. We know we have to adapt to what NHRA is doing with the track prep. I think it's a great thing that everyone is having to work really hard at adapting. We lost (a good run) first round when the parachute came out. Unfortunately, we lost that but I'm so excited with the changes we've made. Huge changes but I think we're going to reap the benefits both here and these upcoming races over the rest of the season. I really feel like we're going to get back to how we were last year and in 2016."

Matt Hagan, Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 8, will face No. 9 Tim Wilkerson
Friday: (5.966 seconds at 115.08 mph – Q1); (4.028/315.78 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.136/262.49 – Q3); (5.159/131.99 – Q4)

“Tomorrow is going to be a totally different day than today. We have a 4.02 baseline to work off. Wilkie (first-round opponent Tim Wilkerson) is a great competitor in the heat. He can get down some tricky racetracks, but we can too. It’s nice to have lane choice. I think the left lane is better than the right; it’s just driving better in the left lane. Topeka’s been kind to me. I’ve had a lot of good luck, we’ve set world records here, won races here. Qualifying is over, and we have to look and focus towards race day. We have just as good a shot as any to turn four win lights on tomorrow.”

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 12, will face No. 5 Bob Tasca III
Friday: (4.086 seconds at 304.53 mph – Q1); (4.146/244.12 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.849/165.74 – Q3); (5.109/147.17 – Q4)
 
“We have a great track record, and us struggling on Saturdays does not mean that we’ll struggle on Sundays. The conditions are going to be significantly different tomorrow, and I’ve got the three best crew chiefs out here. They’ll think about this all night. That’s why it’s so important to unload with a good run. Our 4.08 from Q1 is actually the run that qualified us. In two other runs we were running significantly quicker early on, but smoked the tires and didn’t make it, so I’m content that we came out of the box with a conservative run. I also think we can piece together the three runs that didn’t make it and come up with a tune-up that will give us a good, quick car for tomorrow.”

Dodge Garage: New Digital Hub for Drag Racing News
Fans now have a new one-stop destination for Mopar and Dodge drag racing news. Dodge Garage (http://www.dodgegarage.com) is a digital content hub and premier destination for drag racing and muscle car enthusiasts.

Fans can view daily updates and get access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. Dodge Garage features include exclusive content, such as a three-part video series “Chasing the Title,” that offers fans a unique, behind-the-scenes glimpse at Pritchett and her DSR team in action.
 
For information on Mopar on and off the track, check out the Mopar brand’s official blog, http://blog.mopar.com.
 
Tune-In Info                      
FOX Sports 1 will broadcast three hours of live eliminations coverage from the NHRA Heartland Nationals starting at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 20.

About Dodge//SRT
Dodge//SRT offers a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out in their own segments. Dodge is FCA North America’s mainstream 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 company in 1914. Their influence continues today. New for 2018, the 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the fastest quarter-mile production car in the world and most powerful muscle car ever, is taking the world by storm, along with the new 2018 Dodge Durango SRT, America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV, and the 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. These new SRT ultimate performance models join a brand lineup that includes the Durango, Grand Caravan, Journey, Charger and Challenger, including the 707-horsepower Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Charger SRT Hellcat, the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan in the world.
 
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