AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July
10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
- Dodge//SRT brand extends FCA US
mark as longest running sponsorship in NHRA and one of longest
in all of motorsports
- Dodge//SRT and Mopar will reveal special graphics wrap on
Matt Hagan's Funny Car at NHRA press
conference on July 18 at iconic
Bandimere Speedway near Denver
- Mopar Big Block Party Presented by Pennzoil returns on
July 18 for 18th year as "Official
Starter" of Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by
Pennzoil
- "Angry Bee" looking to sting again with Leah Pritchett targeting second consecutive
Denver win in Mopar Dodge 1320 Top Fuel dragster
- Hagan and Pritchett will connect with Mopar Career Automotive
Program (CAP) service technician students during race weekend as
part of "Assemble Your Future" Initiative
- Three hours of eliminations coverage will air live on national
FOX Network on Sunday, July 21
The Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, the
longest continuous running sponsorship in NHRA and one of the
longest in all of motorsports, is rumbling back to Bandimere
Speedway near Denver on
July 19-21. The 2019 edition marks
the 31st year of FCA US event
sponsorship, a partnership that spans four decades.
"NHRA offers the perfect stage to connect with the performance
and race enthusiasts who power our brand," said Tim Kuniskis, Head
of Passenger Cars – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA –
North America. "Together with our
friends at Mopar and Pennzoil, we continue to deepen our commitment
to the sport because there's no better arena to showcase what
Dodge//SRT represents on both the street and strip."
Later this year, Dodge//SRT will also return as title sponsor of
the NHRA Dodge HEMI® Challenge at the historic NHRA U.S.
Nationals. The brand will also take over title sponsorship duties
at the Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, the penultimate
event of the NHRA season, scheduled for October 31 - November 3, 2019, at The Strip at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The action-packed weekend at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado, will commence with the
reveal of special new graphics on Matt
Hagan's Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car during the
NHRA pre-race press conference on Thursday,
July 18. The 18th annual Mopar Big Block Party Presented by
Pennzoil, scheduled for Thursday night in downtown Golden, Colorado, will kick enthusiasts into
high gear at the free-admission fan event.
At the track, fans will also have the chance to visit the
Dodge//SRT and Mopar displays on Manufacturers Midway and to test
their skills on Dodge Challenger SRT Demon race simulators.
Education will also be the focus during the weekend, with more than
30 students from the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP)
participating in the "Assemble Your Future" initiative.
18th Annual Mopar Big Block Party Presented by
Pennzoil
The 18th annual Mopar Big Block Party Presented by Pennzoil will
return to help rev up the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Powered by
Pennzoil. Scheduled for Thursday, July
18 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in
downtown Golden, Colorado, the
event will include an autograph signing with Dodge//SRT Mopar NHRA
stars, including Matt Hagan,
Leah Pritchett, Jack Beckman, Tommy
Johnson Jr., Cruz Pedregon
and Jim Campbell.
The free-admission fan event will also feature Dodge//SRT Mopar
drag cars on display. Renowned gearhead and TV/radio personality
Willie B. will serve as the MC for the evening along with his
co-host, automotive celebrity and podcast star Jeff Allen, and tunes will be provided all night
courtesy of the Steve Thomas Band. Attendees can grab seat time in
Demon race simulators and Pennzoil virtual simulators, purchase
merchandise, including the commemorative Block Party T-shirt, and
choose from a variety of food and drink stations. FCA US vehicles will be on display in the Larry
H. Miller Chrysler Jeep® Dodge Ram area and fans can also sign-up
for the chance to win $70,000 toward
the purchase of any new FCA vehicle.
Enthusiasts can share their Block Party love on social media by
using #MoparBP19 or #MoParty. For more information,
visit www.Mopar.com and scroll to the blog section of the
site.
Higher Education at 300 mph: Mopar CAP Students to Visit
Bandimere Speedway
For the second time in 2019, the Mopar CAP program will host
students at an NHRA event as part of the "Assemble Your Future"
initiative. Through a partnership with Pennzoil, students from
Arapahoe Community College,
Lincoln Tech and WyoTech colleges will
have the opportunity to visit with Hagan and Pritchett, tour the
DSR pit areas and interact with Denver and Wyoming-area FCA
US dealership representatives.
The Denver stop will be the second of four visits by the Mopar
CAP "Assemble Your Future" initiative at NHRA national events in
2019, with the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Presented by
Pennzoil near Reading,
Pennsylvania, in September up next.
For more information on the Mopar CAP program, visit
www.MoparCap.com.
Hagan and Pritchett Power Up Dodge//SRT Mopar Teams in
Denver
Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat NHRA Funny Car driver Matt Hagan and Mopar Dodge Top Fuel pilot
Leah Pritchett will spearhead a
formidable squad of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) drivers battling
for wins at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by
Pennzoil.
Hagan debuted the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car body last
year in Denver. Earlier this year,
he became the first driver to claim victory in the new body with a
win at the NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix. The 2011 and 2014 Funny Car world
champion, coming off a recent victory at the NHRA New England
Nationals, is chasing his first triumph on "Thunder Mountain."
Pritchett returns looking to continue her Mile-High magic. Last
July, she topped the field in qualifying before rocketing her
Mopar Dodge 1320 "Angry Bee" Top
Fuel dragster to her first Denver victory. Pritchett carried the 1320
colors on her dragster after helping to reveal the drag-oriented,
street-legal 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 production
vehicle, and she will again carry the "Angry Bee" logo this
year.
Hagan and Pritchett's DSR teammates Jack
Beckman and Ron Capps also
return as previous winners of the event. Beckman will chase his
fourth career triumph at Bandimere racing the Infinite Hero
Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, while Capps eyes a
second Denver win in his
Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Tommy Johnson Jr. will also chase the Funny Car
Wally trophy out of the DSR camp.
Event Info: Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by
Pennzoil
The Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil is
scheduled for July 19-21 at Bandimere
Speedway, with qualifying Friday and Saturday, and elimination
rounds on Sunday. Qualifying coverage will air live on FOX Sports 1
(FS1) from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET and
during a special one-hour qualifying recap show on Saturday, July 20 from 10 – 11 p.m. Three hours of eliminations coverage will
air live on the national FOX Network starting at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 21.
About Dodge//SRT
Dodge//SRT offers a complete lineup of performance vehicles that
stand out in their own segments. Dodge is America's performance
brand and SRT is positioned as the ultimate performance halo of the
Dodge brand, together creating a complete and balanced performance
brand with one vision and one voice.
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the
spirit of brothers John and Horace
Dodge, who founded the brand in 1914. Their influence
continues today. New for 2019, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
Redeye is possessed by the Demon. Its 797-horsepower supercharged
HEMI high-output engine makes it the most powerful, quickest and
fastest muscle car, reaching 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in 3.4
seconds, and the fastest GT production car with a quarter-mile
elapsed time (ET) of 10.8 seconds at 131 mph. It also reaches a new
top speed of 203 mph.
Joining the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye is the 2019 Dodge
Challenger SRT Hellcat, with its more powerful 717-horsepower
engine, and the Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody, featuring fender
flares from the SRT Hellcat Widebody, which add 3.5 inches of width
to the 485-horsepower Scat Pack's standard body. Also new for 2019
is the Challenger R/T Scat Pak 1320 with exclusive drag strip
technology from the iconic Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. The
Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is a drag-oriented, street-legal
muscle car and a blank canvas for the serious grassroots drag
racer. The 2019 Dodge Durango SRT, America's fastest, most powerful
and most capable three-row SUV with a best-in-class tow rating of
8,700 lbs., completes the brand's performance lineup. These
visceral performance models join a 2019 brand lineup that includes
the Durango, Grand Caravan,
Journey, Charger and Challenger — a showroom that offers
performance at every price point.
About 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 over 150 markets around
the world. 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.
Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for all
FCA US LLC vehicle brands. Mopar parts are engineered together with
the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for
FCA vehicles, offering a direct connection that no other
aftermarket parts company can provide. Complete information on the
Mopar brand is available at www.mopar.com.
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