Highlights:
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* DSR Top Fuel driver
* Much-anticipated debut of new generation Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak saw
* Mopar-powered Drag Paks of
After finishing fourth in the closely contested 2020 Funny Car championship that went right down to the wire, Capps kicked off the season-opening weekend the way he ended 2020 at the Dodge NHRA finals in
2020 NHRA Funny Car World Champion
Battling in the Top Fuel top-three through most of the 2020 season and closing out the year fourth in the championship has DSR's
In the NHRA Sportsman class, the fourth-generation 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak made its much-anticipated official on track debut in the Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) series on Friday.
Teammate
Television coverage of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season-opening event, the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, begins Sunday morning,
ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:
Qualifying 2: 3.981 sec./ 324.59 mph (1 bonus point for 3rd quickest of session)
Qualifying 3: 3.974 sec./ 325.30 mph (4th)
'Race day is everything. Driving this Dodge SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car into race day and hopefully carrying on that championship momentum into tomorrow. At the end of the day, we've got
Qualifying 2: 3.948 sec./ 320.66 mph (3 bonus points for quickest of session)
Qualifying 3: 4.802 sec./ 163.65 mph (12th)
'We all know how good this car is and with (cew chiefs) Guido (
Qualifying 1: 6.567 sec./ 94.57 mph (17th)
Qualifying 2: 3.863 sec./ 314.53 mph (9th)
Qualifying 3: 3.741 sec. / 326.32 mph (1 bonus points for 3rd quickest of session)
'It's amazing how one small tire shake situation very much humbles us. We didn't get the start to the event that we wanted but we immediately bounced back. We had a strategy in Q2 to lay down a very solid, honest pass so that we could pick away at it in Q3 and that's exactly what we did. I'm so proud of this team and the authority that they're taking. The car is reacting well; I'm driving well. Our test before this went great. Qualifying third in our HEMI dragster at this first event is fantastic. As I've said before, it doesn't matter who we line up with, it's just about taking it one round at a time. So far, things are working in unison and we look forward to keeping it working that way, just as our Pennzoil oil keeps us running smoothly.'
(No. 13 Qualifier - 7.892 seconds at 173.49 mph)
Qualifying 1: 7.966 sec./ 175.09 mph (6th)
Qualifying 2: 7.892 sec./ 173.49 mph (8th)
Qualifying 3: 9.849 sec./ 129.57 mph
'I think it's fair to say that our Dodge DSR team performed to its maximum of capabilities to get the car into competitive form with just a limited number of days with it before entering actual competition. We are definitely in the right direction. With the limited number of runs that we have had with it to really understand and get to know this car, where we're at has been in the positive progress domain. I wouldn't call it a conservative run out of the gate. It was more of a run to identify a baseline for this car, which we really didn't have before, so we're really tackling multiple things at one time. Qualifying with a 7.89 was fantastic. We thought we'd whip it up for final session but unfortunately lots of different factors played into the night. Running at
Qualifying 2: 7.934 sec / 172.65 mph (11th)
Qualifying 3: 7.873 sec. / 174.12 mph (11th)
'I was glad to get my
NHRA Championship Points Standings:
Following qualifying at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1.Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 44
2.Alexis DeJoria - 40
3.Tim Wilkerson - 37
4. John Force - 36
5.Robert Hight - 35
6.Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 34
6.J.R. Todd - 34
8.Cruz Pedregon - 33
9.Blake Alexander - 32
9.Chad Green - 32
9.Paul Lee - 32
9. Bob Tasca III - 32
TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)
1.Steve Torrance - 44
2.Billy Torrence - 42
3.Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge //SRT) - 37
4. Brittany Force - 35
5.Doug Kalitta - 34
5.Shawn Langdon - 34
5.Mike Salinas - 34
8.Josh Hart - 33
9.Justin Ashley - 32
9.Antron Brown - 32
9.Doug Foley - 32
9.Clay Millican - 32
Mopar
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 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, the brand expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.
Complete information on the Mopar brand is available at www.mopar.com. Mopar is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider
Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and
2021 marks the year that Dodge is distilled into a pure performance brand, offering Hellcat-powered, 700-plus-horsepower SRT versions of every model across the lineup. For the 2021 model year, Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock, the new 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world, and the new 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever. Combined, these three muscle cars make Dodge the industry's most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.
In 2020, Dodge was named the '#1 Brand in Initial Quality,' making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). The Dodge brand also ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market). These results are historic because it marks the first time a domestic brand has earned top spots in both
Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider
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.
@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World 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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