COUGHLIN GIVES DODGE DART TOP BILLING IN QUALIFYING FOR NHRA NATIONALS IN LAS VEGAS
Company press release.
◾Coughlin earns new Dodge Dart its first Pro Stock No.1 qualifier position at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
◾Coughlin was highest finishing Mopar in the Pro Stock edition of the K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus race-within-a-race
◾DSR Funny Car driver Johnson paces the Dodge Charger R/T entries with a third place spot on eliminations ladder
◾Hagan Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T was fastest in first three sessions but drops to fifth in final qualifying
March 29, 2014 , Las Vegas - Mopar driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. put the brand new Dodge Dart atop the Pro Stock elimination ladder at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday's SummitRacing.com National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals event. It is his 20th career No.1 qualifier position but the first of the 2014 season and a very first for the Dodge Dart which marked its debut at the previous event—the Gatornationals— with a title victory by Mopar teammate Allen Johnson. The new Dodge Dart now has both a win and a No.1 qualifier in its first two events.
The JEGS.com HEMI-powered machine earned the pole position with a low elapsed time pass of 6.625 seconds (208.78 mph) in the Friday's second qualifying run, a time that held up in the final two sessions.
'We're really proud to hold on to the No. 1 position because it really shows quite a bit about our team,' said Coughlin who has five wins at the Las Vegas track and is looking for post his first win of the season on Sunday. 'We've been hustling a lot the last month and a half, getting the new cars ready and starting the new season. We've had a great start to the new year with Allen (Johnson) winning two of the first three races and we had a great ride today.
'We were really happy with the results and the performance of the car so we'll tuck that in our hat and get ready for tomorrow,' added Coughlin who will have Mark Wolf as his opponent in the first round of eliminations. 'We're really happy with the cars. Both Allen's and mine have run really well, and to be No. 1 is great.'
While Mopar teams used the two Saturday qualifying sessions to prepare their rides for eliminations, much of the focus was initially centered on the yearly race-within-a race bonus event called the K&N Horsepower Challenge. All three Mopar Pro Stock drivers were part of the eight-racer field eight battling for a lucrative payday in the challenge with the winner taking home $50,000, and the runner-up earning $10,000.
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Coughlin, a three-time winner of the bonus event, was the sole Mopar to make it out the first round with a win over Vincent Nobile who defaulted on his start. The JEGS.com Mopar driver went on to face Erica Enders-Stevens, but while he had the lower elapsed time of 6.642 seconds (208.88 mph) he fell short by nine thousands of a second—beaten on a holeshot by the eventual winner of the K&N Horsepower Challenge. Allen Johnson, No.1 seed for the challenge, saw his hope for a repeat of last year's win come to an end with a first round holeshot loss to Dave Connolly, who was voted into the competition by a fan vote. Connolly (6.648 sec / 208.07 mph) got a better start with 0.010-second reaction time to Johnson's 0.029 (6.643 /208.23) to eliminate the 'Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar' Dodge Dart from earning the lucrative jackpot for a third time. For Sunday's eliminations, the defending winner of the national event qualified sixth (6.632/208.94) and will have Steve Kent in the lane next to him for the opening round. Also eliminated from the challenge early was fellow Mopar driver V. Gaines (6.657 / 208.33) by Enders-Stevens (6.642 / 208.42). The HEMI-powered driver, who already has two runner-up performances this year in the Dodge Avenger to put him second in the Pro Stock standings, ended up 10th with his best qualifying run of 6.657 sec / 209.07mph and will see Shane Gray in the first round. In Funny Car action, Matt Hagan and his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T led the charge in the first three qualifying sessions, setting both low e.t. and top speed in the each one, with a best pass of 4.046 sec. (318.17 mph) to keep him atop the score sheets until his final run. Dislodged from the provisional pole position by opponent Courtney Force, who did it by setting both ends of the track record with a 4.006-second, 325.37 mph on her final pass, Hagan never got a chance to better his effort after hazing the tires. He ended up fifth overall and will see Alexis DeJoria in Round 1 of eliminations. It was Tommy Johnson Jr. who ended up pacing the Don Schumacher Racing quartet of Dodge Charger R/T entries with his final pass of 4.023 (317.87 mph) putting him third on the ladder to face his teammate Jack Beckman (4.115 / 310.13) who was 14th overall. Ron Capps put his HEMI-powered machine sixth with his best qualifying effort, posting an e.t. of 4.052 sec. (315.34 mph), to be matched up with Tim Wilkerson in the opening round. Television coverage for the fourth of 24 events in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Sunday, March 30, with two and a half hours of eliminations action starting at 11 p.m. (ET). 2014 NHRA Championship Points Standings (Following Final Qualifying at SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals Las Vegas) PRO STOCK (season wins in parentheses) 1. Allen Johnson – Dodge Dart – 317 (2) 2. V Gaines – Dodge Avenger – 276 3. Jason Line – 269 (1) 4. Vincent Nobile – 267 5. Erica Enders Stevens – 264 6. Dave Connolly – 247 7. Shane Gray – 217 8. Jeg Coughlin Jr. – Dodge Dart 194 9. Chris McGaha – 107 10. Larry Morgan – 114 FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses) 1. John Force – 358 (1) 2. Robert Hight – 307 (1) 3. Del Worsham – 224 4. Alexis DeJoria – 219 (1) 5. Tommy Johnson Jr. – Dodge Charger R/T – 205 6. Matt Hagan – Dodge Charger R/T – 204 7. Ron Capps – Dodge Charger R/T – 201 8. Bob Tasca III – 194 9. Courtney Force – 187 10. Jack Beckman – Dodge Charger R/T– 182 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 2014, Mopar celebrates the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the GEN III 426 Race HEMI® and looks to defend back-to-back NHRA World Championship titles (2012-2013) in the Pro Stock class and battle for another Funny Car World Championship after wins in 2011-2012. 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 Sportsman Cup. Mopar Brand Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes 280,000 parts and accessories. With the creation of the industrial alliance between Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A., Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar's global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories that are distributed in more than 130 markets. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group brands as well as Fiat brands. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler Group and Fiat vehicles – 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 More than 75 Years of Mopar Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked for antifreeze product in 1937. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle-car era. The former Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth 'package cars' equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of 'special parts' for super-stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use. The brand has expanded to include technical service and customer support. About Magneti Marelli Based in Italy (Corbetta, Milan), Magneti Marelli was established in 1919. The company is a subsidiary of Fiat Group and has a successful presence and reputation as performance technology provider in racing, including Formula 1 and World Rally Championship (WRC). Its racing involvement also includes other racing segments such as NHRA sponsorships. Magneti Marelli designs and produces advanced systems and components for the automotive industry. With its 85 production units, 12 R&D centers and 26 application centers in 19 countries, about 38,000 employees and a turnover of 8.3 billion USD in 2013, the group supplies all leading carmakers in Europe, North and South America and the Far East. Its business areas include: Electronic Systems, Lighting; Powertrain, Suspension Systems and Shock Absorbers, Exhaust Systems, Aftermarket Parts & Services, Plastic Components and Modules, Motorsport.. Mopar Express Lane Service Mopar Express Lane service, offered at participating Chrysler Group dealerships, provides a dedicated service lane for fast oil changes, and much more, in order to maximize customer convenience for all make and model vehicles. Available services include oil and filter changes, multi-point vehicle checkup, tire rotation with brake inspection, air and cabin filter replacement, wiper blade replacement, headlight and light bulb replacement and battery testing. Mopar Express Lane service is a consumer's best choice for vehicle maintenance, with highly-skilled Chrysler Group dealership technicians ready to get to work and get you back on the road in no time. No appointments. No waiting. No worries.
