NO.1 QUALIFIER HAGAN WINS ALL-MOPAR FINAL; JOHNSON RUNNER-UP AT NHRA SUMMERNATIONALS
Company press release.◾Hagan earns No.1 qualifier position and second win of the year in the 'Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar' Funny Car at the 44th annual NHRA SummerNationals ◾Third all-Mopar Funny Car final elimination and Hagan's fourth appearance in the championship round this season ◾Hagan takes over lead in Funny Car points standings from his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Gray ◾All four Funny Car Mopar entries in top-5 in tight points battle at halfway mark of the regular season ◾Johnson takes the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger to its fourth final elimination of the year and finishes runner-up to Edwards June 2, 2013 , Englishtown, N.J. - No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan took the 'Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar' Dodge Charger R/T to victory circle for the second time this season by beating his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the final elimination round at the 44th annual NHRA Summernationals at the historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. This was the third Mopar versus Mopar Funny Car showdown in the finals this season, all of which involved Hagan who now has a total of four championship round appearances in nine races thus far in the NHRA Mello Yello series season. 'That's our fourth final of the year and it's still a young season,' said Hagan who won the 2011 NHRA Funny Car Championship but then had a difficult 2012 season without a victory and narrowly missed the playoffs. 'All of these guys didn't know if they'd have jobs this year. They toughed it out. To come back and be this strong blows me away. It's just an awesome feeling to see those win lights turn on every time. It's something that you can't buy out here.' 'Everyone at Mopar would like to congratulate Matt Hagan on earning his second Wally of the year with his Summernationals title win,' said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand. 'It's great to see all the hard work that Matt and the Don Schumacher Racing team have put in be rewarded with having the 'Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar' branded Dodge Charger R/T in the winner's circle again.' Hagan began the weekend by earning the No. 1 qualifying position, his second of the year, on the strength of a 4.050-second pass at 315.64 mph in the Friday night session at the Englishtown facility, a run that ended up being the quickest Funny Car pass of this year's edition of the Summernationals after no one was able to beat it in the heat of the day in the final two qualifying sessions. Hagan went on to post his seventh career victory by beating two of his DSR teammates in the elimination rounds. He scored a second round holeshot win over Johnny Gray, who had won the previous two national events and has three wins on the season. Hagan then put in a final round performance of 4.112 seconds at 308.00 mph to beat Jack Beckman's 4.182 second pass at 303.98 mph and earn his first title win at Englishtown.
Trending News• Worldwide counts down to Enthusiast Car Week in Auburn, Indiana, with a diverse offering of 150 great enthusiast cars and a one-of-a-kind Midwest driving tour
• Iconic Lowriders Take Center Stage in Petersen Automotive Museum's Newest Exhibit this May
• The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is the Family-Friendly Event of the Year
• Estimated 3,000 Classic and Collector Vehicles at Dana Mecum's 37th Original Spring Classic May 10-18
• New Aston Martin Vantage GT3 targets victory in WEC and IMSA
With the victory Hagan retakes the points lead from his DSR teammate Gray, who slips to second in the championship standings. Hagan initially had the lead after his first win of season at the Four-Wide Nationals. In a very tight Funny Car championship points battle, all four Mopars are currently in the top-five at the half way point of the regular season with Ron Capps in fourth place and Beckman breaking into fifth spot with his runner-up finish this weekend. In Pro Stock action, 2012 NHRA Champion Allen Johnson advanced to his fourth final round appearance of the year in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge to face his nemesis, No. 1 qualifier and current points leader, Mike Edwards. To get to the final elimination face-off, Johnson qualified sixth and disposed of Larry Morgan and Erica Enders-Stevens in the opening rounds. He then lined up beside HEMI-powered teammate Vincent Nobile, against whom he has 10 win - 4 loss record in prior events. Nobile had the starting line advantage with a 0.024-second reaction time to Johnson's 0.060, but tire shake pitched the car sideways to give Johnson the round win and send him to do battle against Edwards. Meanwhile, following a win at the previous national event in Kansas, Jeg Coughlin Jr. entered elimination rounds as the top Mopar qualifier with the fifth quickest pass, marking the ninth time this season in as many events that he has qualified in the top half of the field. Coughlin beat his first round opponent Steve Kent to advance and face Jason Line, whom he beat off the start line only to have his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger uncharacteristically shake the tires for the loss. In the final elimination match-up, Johnson and Edwards had nearly identical 0.04-second reaction times on the start, with the Mopar Express Lane Dodge finishing runner-up for a second time this year with a 6.641-second (209.95 mph) run to his competitor's 6.589 sec (210.21mph) pass. Edwards wins is his third title of the season and increases his points lead to 152 over Coughlin in second place, with Johnson just three points behind his Mopar teammate in third spot. While the Mopar contingent gets ready to race again in two weeks, Johnson in particular will be looking forward to the next event at his home track of Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway on June 14-16 for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the tenth event of 24 on the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. 2013 NHRA Championship Points Standings (after 9 races): PRO STOCK (season wins in parentheses) 1. Mike Edwards (3) – 853 2. Jeg Coughlin Jr. (1) - Dodge Avenger – 701 3. Allen Johnson (2) - Dodge Avenger – 698 4. Erica Enders-Stevens (1) – 586 5. Jason Line (1) – 582 6. Vincent Nobile (1) - Dodge Avenger – 538 7. Shane Gray – 517 8. Greg Anderson – 455 9. V. Gaines- Dodge Avenger – 435 10. Rodger Brogden – 388 FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses) 1. Matt Hagan (2) - Dodge Charger R/T – 689 2. Johnny Gray (3) - Dodge Charger R/T – 645 3. Cruz Pedregon (2) – 639 4. Ron Capps (1) - Dodge Charger R/T – 544 5. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger R/T – 543 6. Tim Wilkerson – 534 7. Courtney Force (1) – 522 7. Robert Hight – 483 9. Del Worsham – 476 10. John Force – 437
