Preview-Dodge NHRA Finals in Las Vegas
*This press release and photos are also available online at: https://media.fcanorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=22274 <https://media.fcanorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=22274>* [image: image.png] Dominant Season-Long Performance by Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars to Conclude with Crowning of World Champion at Dodge NHRA Finals in Las Vegas - Four Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge Charger SRT Hellcats will battle for the Funny Car world championship in a final showdown of the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing season at the Dodge NHRA Finals Presented by Pennzoil - DSR drivers Matt Hagan, Tommy Johnson Jr., Jack Beckman and Ron Capps look to put exclamation mark on the team’s Funny Car domination by driving a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat into the winner’s circle for an undefeated season record and extend their 13 consecutive national events win streak - Leah Pruett looking to drive her Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel dragster to the winner’s circle and a secure a top-three finish in the championship at the Dodge NHRA Finals at The Strip at Las Vegas Speedway - Mark Pawuk eyeing a win and a runner-up finish in the Factory Stock Showdown championship with his DSR Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak to close out the 2020 season. October 29, 2020, Auburn Hills, Mich. – A Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) stable will be crowned the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing Series Funny Car World Champion this weekend at the Dodge Finals Presented by Pennzoil. While that is a certainty, there is still heightened anticipation and drama heading into the season finale with much left to be determined on the track at The Strip at Las Vegas Speedway. First and foremost, intrigue remains heading into the Dodge NHRA Finals regarding which of the four DSR drivers will be crowned Funny Car World Champion as Matt Hagan (842 points), Tommy Johnson Jr. (800 points), Jack Beckman (799 points) and Ron Capps (679 points) sit 1-2-3-4 respectively atop the standings where they jostled for position all season long while dominating the category. With the adoption of a format awarding points-and-a-half for the final event of the season, all four are still mathematically in contention with 183 points up for grabs. However, the focus is sharply on the three-way battle between Hagan, Johnson, and Beckman, as just 43 points separates them. “I have a lot of confidence in our team, and our car, and what we’re doing,�?? says Hagan who will run the sinister looking Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye paint scheme for the final time this season in tribute to the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world. “We’ve made up a lot of ground in a little bit of time. We’ve done what we needed to do to put ourselves in this position to have the points lead.�?? Having won the Funny Car title in 2011 and 2014, Hagan takes nothing for granted even if he comes into the weekend as the defending winner of the event and with the points advantage. “I just want to go out there this weekend at the Dodge NHRA Finals Presented by Pennzoil and treat it like a regular race,�?? adds Hagan. “We want to qualify well and take it one round at a time, and if we can do that, we’ll be successful. We’re 43 points ahead, but with the points-and-a-half deal things can really turn quickly, but I’d rather be leading than following, and that’s where we’re at right now. We’ve got to keep digging, stay focused, and go rounds in Vegas, and if all goes according to plan, I’m looking forward to partying hard Sunday night and celebrating with my team.�?? The possibility of an undefeated season looms large for the DSR foursome. They will stage their HEMI®-powered Funny Cars for this weekend’s Dodge NHRA finals having won every national event this year leading up to the season finale with Beckman and Johnson both having earned three Wally trophies, while Hagan and Capps have a pair each. While the season schedule was shortened to 11 national events due to the pandemic, the feat is still worthy of note as it is merely an extension of a streak that began in October of 2019 and has already set the NHRA record for most consecutive wins by a team at 13 national titles, surpassing the previous mark of 10 set by the same lineup of DSR drivers in 2017. Of this season’s 10 national event wins to date, the DSR teammates have battled head-to-head in the final round on six occasions. Johnson has been involved in four of those six Hellcat versus Hellcat finals, the latest of which was last weekend in Houston at the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals, which resulted in his third win and a chance to vie for the Funny Car title at the season finale for the first time in his career. “I'm excited to come into Vegas with a shot at this championship and the team has had a great season,�?? says Johnson who has finished top-three in points on four occasions, including a runner-up finish in the 2016. “It's a track where I have had some success and do pretty well at. I'm a round-and-a-half behind Matt (Hagan), and Jack (Beckman) is right on our heels. To see the dominance that the Don Schumacher Funny Cars have had all season is really exciting. I think we are all excited to see if we can't close out the season and sweep all the races with the DSR Funny Cars.�?? Funny Car World Champion in 2012, Beckman finished runner-up last year and came back strong again this season with a category-leading five final round appearances, winning three Wally trophies, two of them against DSR teammates. He hopes to collect some hardware on Sunday as well. “It's probably going to be one of the most thrilling conclusions ever and I fully expect the Funny Car championship is probably going to go down to the final round of the final race on the final day of the season,�?? says Beckman. “For a fan that's amazing and from a driver's perspective that's the deal you want; to be in it going into the last race of the season. “As long as we win the race and Matt (Hagan)'s car is not in the other lane for the final round, I would consider that as perfect a year to a season as I've ever had, so I’m very much looking forward to this.�?? Capps first climbed into a Funny Car in 1997 and captured his world championship in 2016. At the conclusion of the 2020 NHRA season he will have finished Top 10 in points for 16 consecutive seasons and earned a Wally from every NHRA drag strip he has raced in his illustrious career. Should he finish out the year in fourth place or better, this year will mark the 14th time he will have a wrapped up a season in the Top 5. After battling atop the Top Fuel standings all season long, Leah Pruett saw her championship hopes put on hold until next year after a quarterfinal holeshot loss at last weekend’s Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. However, Pruett will still be pursuing a win in the finale in order to put her “Demon-possessed�?? Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye-themed dragster firmly in the top-three in the Top Fuel standings to improve upon the pair of career-best fourth place finishes posted the last two seasons. Pruett will also close out the season by also taking the wheel of her Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak in Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) competition alongside her teammate Mark Pawuk. For Pawuk, while the winner of the FSS championship was determined last weekend at Houston after his semifinal matchup and loss to points leader Aaron Stanfield, he’ll work to secure a runner-up finish in the standings for the Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak with four more rounds of racing left on Sunday. The 2020 NHRA season will conclude this weekend at the Dodge NHRA Finals in Las Vegas with FS1 television coverage airing on Sunday, Nov. 1, from 4- 7 p.m. ET and featuring live coverage of the final rounds. NHRA Championship Points Standings: (Following the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil) FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses) 1. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 842 (2) 2. Tommy Johnson Jr. (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 800 (3) 3. Jack Beckman (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 799 (3) 4. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 679 (2) 5. Bob Tasca III – 595 6. J.R. Todd – 584 7. Tim Wilkerson – 570 8. Alexis DeJoria – 489 9. Cruz Pedregon – 388 10. Paul Lee – 382 TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses) 1. Steve Torrance – 868 (4) 2. Doug Kalitta – 767 (1) 3. Billy Torrence – 675 (1) 4. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 670 5. Shawn Langdon – 544 (1) 6. Antron Brown – 534 7. Justin Ashley – 485 (1) 8. Terry McMillen – 436 9. Tony Schumacher – 415 (1) 10. Clay Millican – 414 *DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News* 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 <http://www.instagram.com/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. *Official Driving School of Dodge//SRT* Dodge is the official sponsor of the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Chandler, Arizona, where guests get behind the wheels of the fastest street-legal cars in the world with professional instruction and time on the track. Customers who buy a new SRT model receive one full-day session as part of the Dodge//SRT Package and have the opportunity to learn how to get the optimum performance from their new vehicles in a controlled environment. For more information, visit dodgegarage.com/track-experience. *Mopar* Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) is the service, parts and customer-care brand for FCA vehicles around the globe. 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 care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide. Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era, with Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, and expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, the Mopar brand’s global reach distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in more than 150 markets. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 25 customer-contact centers globally, 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 global automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. For more information regarding FCA , please visit www.fcagroup.com. *Dodge//SRT* For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with muscle cars and SUVs that deliver unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete. 2021 marks the year that Dodge is distilled into a pure performance brand, offering Hellcat-powered, 700+ 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 June 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). Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by global automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. For more information regarding FCA , please visit www.fcagroup.com. *Follow Dodge, SRT and FCA news and video on:* Company blog: http://blog.fcanorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.fcanorthamerica.com Dodge brand: www.dodge.com Dodge Garage: www.dodgegarage.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge or https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/dodgeofficial or www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA Twitter: www.twitter.com/dodge or www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge or www.youtube.com/fcanorthamerica *If you would like to be added or removed from our Mopar Dodge//SRT Motorsports media distribution list, please reply to this email with the request and please include the address to which you received the release.* Pat Caporali Motorsports Communications—Mopar Dodge//SRT Mobile: 248.421.9427 Pat.Caporali@external.FCAgroup.com
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