Highlights:
* Wild day of racing at Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Pennzoil ends with all-Dodge Funny Car final and a record 11th consecutive national event win for
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* DSR's
* Factory Stock Showdown eliminations postponed to Monday for No.1 qualifier
'The last couple races have been 'must do well' races and you look over there (at DSR teammates Beckman and Hagan) and they're still going rounds, so when you do face-up against them, it's a must-win,' said Johnson. 'You can't let them keep going rounds or you fall a round behind. It was huge to be able to take out both of them today and keep ourselves securely planted in it and make it a solid three three-man race right now'.
While Johnson remains third in the standings, the win keeps him in contention with just 34 points separating the three teammates atop the leaderboard. His win also extends the DSR's unprecedented streak of victories to a record 11 national events since
'It's incredible that we won that many races in a row as a team and that I won the race today,' added Johnson. 'It's a tribute to all the hard work, even through the lockdowns and everything. These guys are at the shop working and trying to make everything better even not knowing when we would race again. They continually worked hard to keep that advantage. It's extremely hard to make these cars run that good, that long, and that many runs in a row, so to be able to do it for this long is incredible.'
The runner-up finish by Hagan moves the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver into the championship lead ahead of Beckman and Johnson. He advanced to his 63rd career final elimination with round wins against
'As tough as it is to lose a close final like that, we gained ground and took the points lead, Said Hagan. 'We had a good weekend and it's hard to complain when you make a final round. That was the bad side of a really good drag race for our Mopar team. It's a Mopar-sponsored event and we wanted to win for Mopar and
Capps saw his race day end prematurely along with any hopes of remaining close to the fight atop the standings as a result of a second fiery run in two events; this one resulting in 'oil-down' that cost him 10 valuable points and a quarterfinals loss to Hagan.
Race day at the Mopar Express Lane Midwest Nationals was also marked by a frightening Round 2 incident for
'The was the most intense round of competition I've ever had and the wildest ride I've ever had, that's for sure,' said Pruett who, despite the setback, remains third in the standings behind points leader
The brisk temperatures and windy conditions made it more difficult for low downforce vehicles to compete safely on the dragstrip and as such, the NHRA made the difficult decision to postpone racing for all other classes and categories including Factory Stock Showdown. No. 1 qualifier
The Mopar Dodge SRT contingent will head west in two weeks for the 35th annual
ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:
(No. 5 Qualifier - 4.750 seconds at 185.03 mph)
Round 1: (0.084-second reaction time, 3.885 seconds at 332.10 mph) defeated No.12
Round 2: (0.089/3.890/329.50) defeated No. 4
Round 3: (0.083/3.903/330.80) (0.068/3.896/327.98) loss to No.
'It's not the way I thought the day would end. I really thought we had the car to beat. Guido (
Round 1: ( 0.094-second reaction time, 3.959 seconds at 319.98 mph) defeated No.
Round 2: (0.080/4.085/249.58) defeated No. 14
Round 3: (0.102/3.935/328.62) defeated No. 2
Round 4: (0.058/3.886/333.00) loss to No. 8
'As tough as it is to lose a close final like that, we gained ground and took the points lead. We had a good weekend and it's hard to complain when you make a final round. That was the bad side of a really good drag race for our Mopar team. It's a Mopar-sponsored event and we wanted to win for Mopar and
Round 1: (0.084-second reaction time, 3.919 seconds at 324.05 mph) defeated No. 9
Round 2: (0.078/3.943/324.51) defeated No. 1
Round 3: (0.068/3.896/327.98) defeated No. 5
Round 4: (0.047/3.884/326.08) defeated No. 6
'What a different set of circumstances from last weekend at
Round 1: (0.110-second reaction time, 3.894 seconds at 331.77 mph) defeated No. 3
Round 2: (0.090/5.182/113.44) loss to No. 6
'I'm not sure what to say at this point. The NAPA guys are tearing the car apart to see what went wrong. That's two pretty good ones in two races. We have to figure out what the issue is. We have a great running car. We had lane choice. It hurts worse when you see your opponent go out and run 4.08 when you have an issue like that. It's depressing when we have such a great car. The good thing is I know they'll dissect the problem and find out exactly what the issue was and we'll have it fixed for
(No. 9 Qualifier - 4.310 seconds at 249.07 mph)
Round 1: (0.037-second reaction time, 3.676 seconds at 328.38 mph) defeated No. 8
Round 2: (0.060/No Time/ No Speed) loss to No. 1
'That was the most intense round of competition I've ever had and the wildest ride I've ever had, that's for sure. We're still taking time to process and look at the parts and put a plan together for how to move forward. For me, my body is fine. My mind is fine. The DSR chassis and Impact safety equipment did everything it was supposed to. As a drag racer this is what we do. There's a risk. I think the quicker you can get back on the track, the better. Let's not ever do that again. I thank the lord, my team, the chassis shop,
(No. 7 Qualifier - 7.955 seconds at 172.32 mph)
NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:
(Following the Mopar Express Lane Midwest Nationals)
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1.Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 659 (2)
2.Jack Beckman (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 643 (2)
3.Tommy Johnson Jr . (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 625 (2)
4.Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 527 (2)
5.Tim Wilkerson - 480
6.J.R. Todd - 473
7. Bob Tasca III - 465
8.Alexis DeJoria - 375
9.Paul Lee - 319
10.Cruz Pedregon - 303
TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)
1.Steve Torrance - 642 (3)
2.Doug Kalitta - 640 (2)
3.Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge //SRT) - 562
4.Billy Torrance - 506 (1)
5.Terry McMillen - 436
6.Justin Ashley - 433 (1)
7.Antron Brown - 425
8.Shawn Langdon - 415 (1)
9.Clay Millican - 347
10.Tony Schumacher - 234
DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for
Fans can follow all the NHRA's action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads, and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com.
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The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.
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