Highlights:
* Intermittent rain disrupted and shortened qualifying at Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil at
* DSR's
* Four-time
*
*
Due to forecasted rain, Friday sessions were cancelled and the NHRA moved up the Saturday schedule to begin earlier in the day in the hopes of getting in both qualifying sessions for all categories. While there were pauses in action due to sporadic sprinkles, they were able to complete the first qualifying sessions. Then the first few pairs of Funny Cars locked in times during the second session before the skies darkened and unrelenting rain eliminated the possibility of any more runs. The remaining Funny Car entries had their seeded positions determined by Q1 times, while Top Fuel and Factory Stock Showdown elimination ladders were set by their sole session.
That ended up being good news for the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat entries of
Capps kept his streak of top-five qualifying positions alive this season with a 3.941 second pass at 315.42 mph aboard his
The Pedregon Racing Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was looking strong in its first run of the day as it crossed the finish line in 4.003 seconds at 319.98 mph, a time that was subsequently disqualified due to a brush with the wall just prior to crossing the stripe. Pedregon came back quickly with a solid second pass at 3.943 sec./ 323.12 mph to put himself in the No. 4 position on the ladder for race day. A three-time winner at
DSR driver
While the Top Fuel class only got one session, DSR's
Pruett will have two chances to drive to the winner's circle this weekend as she is returns behind the wheel of her 2021 Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak for the Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) in Sportsman category for the first time since the 2021 season opener. This is the first time FSS will run a full event at
Pruett took her DSR- prepared
Teammate
The Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil will be streamed online via NHRA.TV and television coverage will be broadcast on FS1 on
ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES
FUNNY CAR:
(No. 6 Qualifier - 3.961 seconds at 324.12 mph) Bonus point for third quickest Q1 run
Qualifying 1: 3.961 sec./ 324.12 mph
Qualifying 2: (Did not run due to rain)
'We had a pretty good qualifying as we went out there and threw down a nice opening lap that put us third and then we were the next pair to go and the rain started dumping. It's unfortunate that we didn't get to make another run when others did, but that's racing and the weather, you can't change that. We're in the field and we have good data to work off of for Sunday. Let's go racing and put this car in the winner's circle for Pennzoil.'
Qualifying 1: 7.844 sec./ 89.36 mph Hazed the tires and shut off
Qualifying 2: 3.941 sec./ 315.42 mph
'There are so many moving parts just to get up to the starting line for a run.
'The first run, the car shook pretty good, but not super hard. It shook for a long time and so I kind of let it go. With 16 cars on the property, there was no need to pedal it and risk something bad happening. (Crew chiefs) Guido (
Qualifying 2: 3.943 sec. / 323.12 mph
'The second run was good and definitely reaffirmed that we are headed in the right direction. The track has character and is bumpy and I think that definitely affected our first run (resulting in brush with wall). I really love this track. It's where I had my first Funny Car national event win in 1992, so it'd be great to get back to the winner's circle here. It's been a good track for me and we're happy with that last qualifying run. It was still on the conservative side as JC (Crew Chief
TOP FUEL:
(No. 2 Qualifier - 3.733 seconds at 312.86 mph)
Qualifying 1: 3.733 seconds/ 312.86 mph - Two bonus points for second quickest run of Q1
'Our first hit out of the box was great. Instead of like before where we had so many gremlins attacking our Mopar/Dodge/Pennzoil team. It's been random mechanical errors and we focused on getting rid of those. We want great shiny fast ET slips and we got that. Was it perfect, no, perfect would have qualified us No. 1. We did have a cylinder go out and if we were to have gotten another run that's what we would have worked on. We're very happy with that No. 2 position and we're looking forward to a great race day. We can't thank the NHRA and
FACTORY STOCK SHOOTOUT:
(No. 10 Qualifier - 7.959 seconds at 174.73 mph)
Qualifying 1: 7.959 sec. / 174.73 mph
'I feel most comfortable and at home when I'm pulling double-duty and able to drive both of my Mopars on the same day. We did make a lot of changes from the last time the new Dodge Challenger Drag Pak competed at
(No. 13 Qualifier - 8.050 seconds at 172.21 mph)
Qualifying 1: 8.050 sec./ 172.21 mph
'Seeing the forecast earlier in the week, I never would have thought we'd get even one qualifying session in this weekend, but we did. Unfortunately, we didn't perform as well as we had hoped, but we are qualified. We're glad we got one run in before more weather came in and eliminated the last qualifying session. Tomorrow brings a new day with new conditions, and a better looking forecast. Hopefully we can step it up on race day, and have a good showing in our Empaco Equipment
DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for
Fans can follow all the NHRA 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.
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.
Mopar is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider
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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
Follow Dodge and company news and video on:
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