Ron Capps opened the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a bang, powering the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NAPA Filters Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the provisional pole with his track record-setting run of 3.837 seconds at 339.28 mph in Friday night’s second provisional qualifying session.
With the run, Capps raised the bar for Funny Car class elapsed time and speed records at Maple Grove making the fastest run of his career and establishing the top speed by a Funny Car driver in 2019. The 2017 Reading champion opened qualifying with the fastest pass of the first session as well. Capps will lead the field back on track Saturday with two more qualifying sessions that will set the field for Sunday’s eliminations.
“I was just hoping to get the Countdown started on the right foot,” said Capps, a three-time Funny Car winner in 2019. “I didn’t expect it to be a 3.83 (elapsed time/seconds). To go 3.84 in that first lap, I knew (Rahn) Tobler was pretty apprehensive about what he was doing with the car. I felt like I almost had to pedal it that first lap, but it made it through there and put a cylinder out about 800 feet. We knew there was a lot there. And after seeing a couple high 3.80s and 3.90s early in that session, it paid off being at the back of the pack. This run, we have our new Hellcat body really trimmed out and Tobler went outside of his comfort zone since we had such a good first run. I knew it was going to be a handful. I knew we were on a good run and was hoping we could repeat our first session run. When they told me after the run we went 3.83 at 339 (mph), that was pretty neat. Any record you set now in this new track prep era is special. It means more now to go 3.83 and to go 339, because we just don’t have the track prep and grip we used to have.”
Leah Pritchett made the best of the track conditions Friday evening racing the DSR Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster to a lap of 3.673 seconds at 332.92 mph to capture the No. 2 provisional qualifying position.
Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers Tommy Johnson, Jr. and Matt Hagan hold the third and fifth positions, respectively. Jim Campbell, Jack Beckman, Cruz Pedregon and John Smith also have their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars in the provisional field of 16.
Education takes lead, Mopar CAP and YES events kick off Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals weekend
Before the professional drivers and teams began their first-round qualifying sessions today, education took center stage with the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) “Assemble Your Future” initiative and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Youth & Education Services (YES) program.
Mopar CAP, through a partnership with Pennzoil, hosted 45 students from five area schools. At the track, students visited with Hagan, toured the DSR pit areas and networked with representatives from 15 area FCA US LLC dealerships. Established in 1984, the program prepares students to begin their automotive technician careers upon graduation from a certified, two-year training institution, such as a university, college, community college or technical center. Currently, FCA has more than 9,000 active students enrolled in its Mopar CAP program, with students completing more than 100,000 class courses.
The program is the third of four Mopar CAP “Assemble Your Future” initiative programs at NHRA national events in 2019, with the Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in late October, being the final event. For more information on the Mopar CAP program, visit www.MoparCAP.com.
As part of the NHRA YES initiative, more than 2,000 local high school students heard testimonials from Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Leah Pritchett and other industry spokespeople focusing on the importance of math, science and other skills that can lead to new career opportunities.
Hagan finished second in Home Run Derby at Mopar Mega Block Party
Thousands of Dodge//SRT Mopar and NHRA fans kicked off the race weekend at FirstEnergy Stadium, in Reading on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the fourth annual Mopar Mega Block Party. The free event included a full slate of family activities and concluded with a Mega Fireworks display. Two-time world champion Hagan provided plenty of hitting fireworks of his own during the home run derby, but the 2014 Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals winner came up just short of winning the event, which was eventually won by Julian Haynes from Pennzoil. Proceeds raised from this event benefited the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero Foundations.
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