Highlights:
* Reigning Funny Car world champion
* Defending (2019)
* Third Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car entry driven by
* DSR's
Hagan, the reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion, was back to the familiar Mopar blue and white livery on his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car this weekend and looking to chase down his first victory of the 2021 season for the final NHRA event at the historic track (due to local area development.)
After trouble negotiating tricky track conditions on his first qualifying pass, Hagan came back with a stout 4.001-second run at 314.02 mph, the second-quickest run in the final session to earn a third place starting position and two bonus points.
For his first round battle, Hagan's faced-off against No. 12 seed
A quicker reaction time by Hagan (0.055-seconds to 0.078-seconds) helped propel the Mopar driver to a 3.947 sec./ 324.75 mph low elapsed time run and win over Wilkerson's 3.985 sec./ 319.22 mph pass, providing him with a berth to the semifinal round to battle No. 2 qualifier Bob Tasca III for a rematch of their final round at
While Hagan powered his Dodge Charger to another stout (0.084-second reaction time) 3.974 sec./ 326.40 mph drive, he incurred a rare holeshot loss to the eventual event winner's (0.057-second reaction time) slower 3.981 sec./ 327.82 mph pass. With the result,
Hagan's DSR teammate
Capps took his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for a solid 4.006 second qualifying run at 313.73 mph, to earn two bonus points for the second-quickest run of the first session. That time slip provided him with a sixth-seed starting position and lane choice over No. 10 qualifier
That set up Capps' quarterfinal battle against No. 11 seed, John Force. After near identical reaction times, (0.062 vs. 0.061-seconds) the rivals fought just as closely the whole length of the track with the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat crossing the finish line with a 4.042 sec. at 313.44 mph elapsed time run that was just fifteen-thousandths of a second behind Force's 4.028 sec./ 315.19 mph winning pass. Capps' quarterfinal result puts him fifth in the Funny Car point standings.
A third Mopar/Dodge SRT-supported Funny Car driven by
In Top Fuel action this weekend,
Unfortunately, Pruett had an unusual opening round launch against Langdon and was hampered immediately by dropped cylinders, shortening her race day and bring to an end her consecutive streak of first round wins that had begun at the Mopar Express Lane Nationals presented by Pennzoil at
The Mopar Dodge//SRT contingent will be back in action on
ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES
FUNNY CAR:
(No. 3 Qualifier - 4.001 seconds at 314.02 mph)
Round 1: (0.083-second reaction time, 3.991 seconds at 307.65 mph) defeats No. 12
Round 2: (0.055/3.947/324.75) defeats No. 6
Round 3: (0.084/3.974/326.40) loss to No. 2 Bob Tasca III (0.057/3.981/327.82)
'Coming off of another tough race with
Round 2: (0.062/4.042/313.44) loss to No. 11 John Force (0.061/4.028/315.19)
'A great job by this NAPA AutoCare team to put the car together to go down both runs in a tricky track during qualifying which is no easy task. It was a very difficult track to get down there being that it was so hot. A not so great race day today. We tried not to beat ourselves first round and the second round is always a huge match-up with John Force, especially with this track and this being the last time in 40 years that we'll race here. Force and I have had a lot of matchups at this track. I didn't see his car, I didn't even hear him, honestly. Our car moved out to the right and it might have had a cylinder out, but what a great race. I honestly thought the win light was burned out on our guardrail when it didn't come on, that's how close it was. Overall, another solid weekend. We had a lot of fun, and were able to entertain some first time guests from NAPA headquarters in their own backyard. Off to the Four-Wides next.'
Cruz Pedregon, Pedregon Racing Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat (No. 4 Qualifier -4.005 seconds at 319.60 mph) Round 1: (0.065-second reaction time, 4.126 seconds at 306.53 mph) loss to No.11 John Force (0.056/4.049/319.14)
'Look at the crowd out here this weekend. It was probably the most I've seen or at least what it was like in the nineties. Good weekend but overall not the result we wanted. The car is consistent going down the track. The four flat in Q2 was clutch and I think we are right there. For eliminations, we felt we had the car that could have ran with everybody, so we felt like in some ways we let one get away. In the first round, we dropped a cylinder right at the step, but we have identified the problem and now we'll just replace all the wires and get it back to where that doesn't happen again. I think we're right in the mix. We just need to get rid of some of these little issues and performance-wise we're right there. We'll focus on preparing for
TOP FUEL:
(No. 6 Qualifier - 3.957 seconds at 304.94 mph)
Round 1: (0.172-second reaction time, 4.071 seconds at 237.00 mph) loss to No. 11
'We did not have the final farewell to
NHRA Championship Points Standings:
Following the Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1. Bob Tasca III - 307 (2)
2.J.R. Todd - 247 (1)
3.Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 207
4. John Force - 205
5.Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 195
6.Robert Hight - 184
7.Tim Wilkerson - 183
8.Alexis DeJoria - 117
9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) - 106
10.Blake Alexander - 118
TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)
1.Steve Torrance - 286 (1)
2.Antron Brown - 258 (1)
3.Shawn Langdon - 221
4.Billy Torrence - 179
5. Brittany Force - 173
6.Josh Hart - 168 (1)
7.Doug Kalitta - 160
8.Justin Ashley - 158
9.Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge //SRT) - 139
10.Clay Millican - 137
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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