Johnson Will Defend Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Crown from No. 2 Spot

July 19, 2014 , Morrison, Colorado -  Allen Johnson saw his bid for a fifth straight No. 1 spot at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals end on the final pass of the final qualifying session on Saturday at Bandimere Speedway, but a much more important streak remains very much alive for the “Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart Pro Stock driver. Johnson will start strong from the No. 2 position against Tommy Lee in the first round of Sunday eliminations as he seeks his third straight win and sixth in the last eight years at his primary sponsor Mopar’s headline event.

Johnson claimed the provisional pole during Friday’s second session with a 6.928-second elapsed time, paired with a track record speed of 198.90 mph. Johnson, as well as the rest of the Pro Stock field, was unable to improve that run on Saturday until Jason Line nudged Johnson down to the second position on the final pass of the day. The reigning king of Thunder Mountain posted a 6.966/198.41 and 6.982/197.83 in his two attempts on Saturday and feels optimistic about his chances of keeping his crown.

“No. 1 would have been great just to show off a little for Mopar, as that’s one of the reasons we like to do so well here,” said Johnson, who has advanced to seven consecutive final-round appearances at Bandimere Speedway. “We’ve had a few problems up here that have plagued us this weekend. It affected Jeg (Coughlin Jr.) the first two runs and me on that last run, but we’re focused on getting them worked out for race day.
 
“One of the key differences from past years is that this is a brand new Pro Stock Dodge Dart, and it’s our first time here at Bandimere with it. We’re still learning and haven’t got it all worked out. Still, we’re No. 2 and starting from a good spot. We have some stellar competition, but I guarantee this Mopar crew will go out there fighting tomorrow.”
 
The JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Dart crew and defending 2013 NHRA Pro Stock series champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. showed much fight in a rebound day on Saturday at Bandimere. Ranked 13th following Friday qualifying, Coughlin improved to sixth with a 6.953/198.67 in Q3 and then jumped to fourth with a 6.937/198.73, earning three bonus points on the day. Coughlin will face off with another Mopar-powered Pro Stocker, No. 13 starter Derick Kramer, in round one on Sunday.

Hometown favorite and Colorado native V. Gaines (No. 6, 6.944/198.15), runner-up to Johnson at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in 2012 and 2013, will match up with Dave Connolly to begin eliminations. Mopar HEMI Dodge racer Matt Hartford (No. 12, 6.984/197.31) will battle Greg Anderson, meaning five Mopar-powered Pro Stock cars will race for the money on Sunday.

Based on his 4.087/311.92 Friday run, Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Ron Capps remained the quickest Mopar Dodge Charger R/T at the 2014 Mopar Mile-High Nationals, qualifying No. 5 and setting up a date with Bob Tasca III in the first round. Tommy Johnson Jr. also held his ground from Friday (4.102/308.21) to start No. 6 and was quickest of Saturday’s Q3 (4.186/298.21), earning three bonus points. His opponent will be a familiar one: fellow DSR teammate and No. 11 qualifier (4.153/304.32) Jack Beckman, who earned one bonus point on Saturday.

Matt Hagan, sporting new elephant graphics on his DSR Dodge Charger R/T in tribute to the 50th anniversary of Mopar’s Gen II 426 HEMI engine, nicknamed the “elephant” engine due to its size and strength, motored to a 4.111/311.41 on his final qualifying run to earn two points for posting the second quickest run of the session. Hagan is seeded eighth on the eliminations ladder and will look to take the “elephant” all the way to the winner’s circle on Sunday, with the first obstacle in his path opening-round opponent Alexis DeJoria.  

Eliminations for the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals will begin on Sunday at 11 a.m. (MT). ESPN will air three and a half hours of eliminations coverage on Sunday, July 20, starting at 2:30 p.m. (ET).

2014 NHRA Points Standings
(following Mopar Mile High NHRA Final Qualifying)
 
PRO STOCK (season wins in parentheses)
1.         Erica Enders Stevens – 1209 (4)
2.         Allen Johnson – Dodge Dart – 965 (3)
3.         Jeg Coughlin Jr.  – Dodge Dart – 938 (2)
4.         Jason Line – 911 (1)
5.         Dave Connolly – 908
6.         Vincent Nobile – 873 (1)
7.         Shane Gray – 865
8.         Chris McGaha – 633
9.         V. Gaines – Dodge Dart – 596
10.        Jonathan Gray – 516   
 
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1.         Robert Hight – 1109 (4)
2.         John Force – 938 (2)
3.         Tommy Johnson Jr. – Dodge Charger R/T – 882 (1)
4.         Ron Capps – Dodge Charger R/T – 881 (1)
5.         Alexis DeJoria – 811 (2)
6.         Courtney Force – 797
7.         Del Worsham – 780
8.         Matt Hagan – Dodge Charger R/T – 774 (1)
9.         Cruz Pedregon – 761 (1)
10.        Jack Beckman – Dodge Charger R/T– 688
 
About Mopar Motorsports
Mopar’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 2014, Mopar celebrates the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the GEN III 426 Race HEMI® and looks to defend back-to-back NHRA World Championship titles (2012-2013) in the Pro Stock class and battle for another Funny Car World Championship after wins in 2011-2012. While Mopar remains involved in a various professional motorsports series, it continues to honour its roots by being a proud supporter of amateur racing within the NHRA with its sponsorship of the HEMI Challenge and Mopar Sportsman Cup.
 
Mopar Brand
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked in 1937 with the launch of an antifreeze product but 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 more than 130 markets, integrating 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 unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for FCA vehicles – 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