Pair of Runner-up Finishes for Mopar at NHRA New England Nationals
Tommy Johnson Jr. earned round wins against Bob Tasca III, Alexis DeJoria and Courtney Force to advance to his first final round appearance of the season. It is also the ninth time in ten national events that the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T has done so since being introduced to Funny Car competition this season following a year of extensive designing, building and testing. The DSR driver’s adversary for the championship round was John Force, and while Johnson Jr. had the starting line advantage, he had to settle for a runner-up finish with a 4.195/304.25 lap to his opponent’s 4.160/309.49.
"We had a great racecar all weekend," said Johnson Jr., who moved into fifth spot in the Funny Car standings. "I felt really confident that we could continue that. I felt really good about our chances going into the final, but we had a mechanical issue, and that cost us. It ran a 4.19, but our Make-A-Wish Dodge was set up to run a 4.10 or 4.12. It's frustrating that we had such a good car and then had something like that bite us in the final, but overall, it was a really good weekend for our team. Hopefully we can continue this. I think we're on to something."
After posting his third win of the season with the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T last weekend at the NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey, Matt Hagan took on and beat teammate Jack Beckman in the opening round, then saw his day come to an end in the quarterfinals against rival Force. The good news is that the defending world champion extended his lead in the standings to 61 points ahead of second place position held by his DSR teammate Ron Capps.
Last year’s winner at New England Dragway, Capps endured a loss in the first round against Alexis DeJoria.
Winner of the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals in the Pro Stock class two years ago, Allen Johnson came close to being the first repeat victor at New England Dragway. After a rough start to the season, hampered by issues brought on by a change in fuel and tires for the category, Johnson and his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart finally seem to have made some good headway with a solid showing in the first two of three consecutive nationals events.
From his eighth place position on the ladder, Johnson defeated Larry Morgan, Chris McGaha and Erica Enders-Stevens to advance to a second consecutive final round appearance and a rematch of last week’s showdown against Greg Anderson in Englishtown, New Jersey. While the Mopar driver had the better reaction time (0.024 sec to 0.032 sec), his 6.530-second elapsed time run at 213.50 mph wasn’t quite enough to beat his opponent’s 6.512-second pass with the top speed of the meet at 214.72 mph.
“The Mopar team has done such a great job to overcome challenges and frustration and just keep plugging away and it’s finally starting to pay off,” said Johnson, who made a significant jump from tenth in the points standings two weeks ago into the top-five for the first time this season. “We just kept digging with every run and we’re getting closer. It’s got us looking even more forward to the next race at home.”
The results are especially welcome because Johnson and his Mopar crew prepare to head to their home track of Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tennessee, next weekend. It’s where he and his father Roy Johnson are still working towards their first trip to the Pro Stock winner’s circle in front of family and friends on Father’s Day.
From his 13th seeded spot, V. Gaines and his Dodge Dart fell in the first round against Erica Enders-Stevens, while the HEMI-powered Dodge Avenger of Alan Prusiensky also saw his day cut short in the opening round against Jason Line.
Mopar teams and drivers will contest their third event in consecutive weeks coming up at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the 11th of 24 events on the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule, at Bristol Dragway on June 19-21.
2015 NHRA Championship Points Standings
(following the NHRA New England Nationals)
PRO STOCK (season wins in parentheses)
1. Greg Anderson – 907 (3)
2. Erica Enders-Stevens – 837 (3)
3. Jason Line – 776 (2)
4. Chris McGaha – 646
5. Allen Johnson – Dodge Dart – 554
6. Drew Skillman– 540 (1)
7. Larry Morgan – 518
8t. Shane Gray – 507
8t. Vincent Nobile – 487
10. Rodger Brodgon – 493 (1)
12. V. Gaines – Dodge Dart – 397
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1. Matt Hagan – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 746 (3)
2. Ron Capps – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 685 (2)
3. John Force – 652 (2)
4. Del Worsham – 643
5. Tommy Johnson Jr. – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 611
6. Jack Beckman – (2015 Dodge Charger R/T) – 601 (2)
7. Robert Hight – 546
8t. Alexis DeJoria – 540
8t. Cruz Pedregon – 540
10. Tim Wilkerson – 513 (1)
About Mopar Motorsports
Mopar’s commitment to professional motorsports competition was established in the 1950s when a partnership ignited with drag racing pioneer Don Garlits, resulting in the breaking of numerous speed and performance barriers in HEMI®-powered vehicles over the next several decades. In 2015, Mopar looks to add to its streak of five NHRA World Championship titles in the Pro Stock (2012 and 2013) and Funny Car (2011, 2012, and 2014) categories in four years. While Mopar remains involved in a various professional motorsports series, it continues to honor its roots by being a proud supporter of amateur racing within the NHRA with its sponsorship of the HEMI Challenge and Mopar’s Tom Hoover Sportsman Challenge.
About Mopar Brand
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked in 1937 with the launch of an antifreeze product, but it truly made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era. From Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, the brand soon expanded to include technical service and customer support.
Today, Mopar is FCA’s service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 27 customer contact hubs globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for FCA brands.
Mopar parts are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for FCA vehicles. This offers a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at: www.mopar.com.
Mopar-first Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:
- Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with customers
- Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format. First to offer complete vehicle-information kits in Spanish
- Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
- Wireless charging: first to introduce in-vehicle wireless charging for portable devices
- Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
- wiADVISOR: first to provide factory-connected tablet technology in the service lane for instant vehicle diagnosis
- wiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network
- 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car
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