Led by Funny Car driver Matt Hagan and the Mopar 80th/Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T crew, Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teams featuring Mopar HEMI® power made a number of strong qualifying runs in unseasonably warm conditions during the 33rd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. The solid efforts set up the opportunity for each team to go deep into Sunday’s elimination rounds in both Funny Car and Top Fuel at the second event of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Hagan made a best lap of 3.874 seconds at 335.82 mph during the second qualifying session on Friday evening at the famed track near Reading, a time which held throughout two more summer-like sessions on Saturday. Hagan has been No. 1 qualifier four times this season and missed out on his fifth top spot this weekend by .030. He was the No. 1 qualifier at Maple Grove during the 2016 campaign.
Two of Hagan’s DSR teammates also put their Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars in the quickest five positions, as Ron Capps qualified third and Jack Beckman turned in a fifth-place effort in the Infinite Hero car. Last year’s event winner, Tommy Johnson Jr., will start from the 11th spot in his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T from DSR.
A total of six Mopar Dodge Funny Cars will compete in the 16-car field.
In Top Fuel, Mopar driver Tony Schumacher made a 3.736-second pass at 330.23 mph on Saturday afternoon in the DSR-prepared U.S. Army dragster, putting him No. 5. Leah Pritchett meanwhile qualified sixth in the the Mopar 80th Anniversary dragster from DSR at the Dodge-branded event.
A sellout crowd was on hand for Saturday’s qualifying sessions.
Hagan Bests Pritchett in Second Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Match Race of Weekend
On Saturday afternoon, Pritchett and Hagan also took part in their second match race of the weekend in equally prepared 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demons. Pritchett won the matchup of the 840-horsepower machines on Friday, but two-time Funny Car champion Hagan came back to even the score with a victory in round two. The results on the season are now 3-1 in Pritchett’s favor, as she defeated Hagan in a pair of Demon match races earlier this season during the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
Tom Baker Jr.’s Barracuda Wins Best Appearing Car
Tom Baker Jr’s SS/GA 1970 Plymouth Barracuda took home the Best Appearing Car honors from the 33rd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals. The car, known as “Trippin’ Fish,” has been in Baker’s family since 1976. Baker hails from Kingsville, Maryland, and attended the very first Dodge NHRA Nationals in the car, driven to the race by his dad before it was converted into a race car.
Mopar/Dodge Notes & Quotes
(best elapsed time in bold)
Matt Hagan, Mopar 80th/Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Jeff Diehl
Friday: (3.933 seconds at 329.58 mph – Q1); (3.874/335.82 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.927/334.65 – Q3); (3.948/329.91 – Q4)
“The race car’s running great. We’ve had four good runs (all in the three-second range). It’s been pretty warm out all four runs and the car’s going down the racetrack. So I can’t ask for much more than that, other than to get out here and just have a good race day tomorrow.”
Leah Pritchett, Mopar 80th Anniversary Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 6, will face No. 11 Terry McMillen
Friday: (4.080 seconds at 218.23 mph – Q1); (3.741/328.14 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.776/327.11 – Q3); (10.214/72.39 – Q4)
“We feel like Q3 was probably one of our stronger (runs), we learned a lot from it. We feel good about race day, we feel like we’ve overcome what happened in Charlotte (first-round loss). We think we’re long past that and it’s going to be a tough Sunday but we’re ready for it.”
Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 3, will face No. 14 Jim Campbell
Friday: (4.697 seconds at 171.42 mph – Q1); (3.877/327.43 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.981/324.20 – Q3); (3.901/332.10 – Q4)
Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 12 Cruz Pedregon
Friday: (3.914 seconds at 330.55 mph – Q1); (3.925/327.82 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.527/186.67 – Q3); (3.936/331.20 – Q4)
Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 11, will face No. 6 Alexis DeJoria
Friday: (5.058 seconds at 148.49 mph – Q1); (3.957/326.00 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.208/236.80 – Q3); (4.003/317.64 – Q4)
Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 12 Scott Palmer
Friday: (3.747 seconds at 329.42 mph – Q1); (4.247/189.20 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.736/330.23 – Q3); (6.724/98.12 – Q4)
Tune-in Info
FOX Sports 1 will broadcast the elimination rounds of the 33rd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals LIVE at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 24.
Mopar Motorsports PR
