Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak Driver Pritchett Begins Factory Stock Championship Title Defense at Historic NHRA Gatornationals

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*Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak Driver Pritchett Begins Factory Stock
Championship Title Defense at Historic NHRA Gatornationals*

·       Leah Pritchett kicks off Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) title defense
in HEMI®-engine-powered Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak at Gainesville
Raceway

·       Former Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson and Mark Pawuk join
Pritchett as Drag Pak entries in the Gatornationals FSS field

·       Pritchett pulling double duty by competing in Top Fuel, looking to
become just third woman to win Gatornationals Top Fuel Wally

·       Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver Matt
Hagan aiming for back-to-back wins after Phoenix victory

·       Jack Beckman seeks a second consecutive Gatornationals triumph
aboard his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat NHRA Funny Car

·       Lynn Prudhomme to be recognized with 2019 Pat Garlits Memorial
Award Presented by Mopar at International Drag Racing Hall of Fame ceremony



*March 13, 2019*, *Auburn Hills, Michigan *– Leah Pritchett will lead a
star-studded group of Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers into one of the marquee
events of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season, this weekend’s 50th
annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville (Florida) Raceway. Pritchett will
pull double duty, chasing both her first Top Fuel Gatornationals triumph as
well as making her first start as reigning SAM Tech NHRA Factory Stock
Showdown (FSS) world champion.

Pritchett raced her 354-cubic-inch HEMI®-engine-powered Mopar Dodge
Challenger Drag Pak to last year’s overall FSS championship with three
consecutive season-ending wins to put an exclamation point on her campaign.
The turning point in her title run came during the prestigious U.S.
Nationals in Indy where she defeated her Don Schumacher Motorsports (DSM)
teammate Mark Pawuk in the final. It was all win lights from there in the
class for the Redlands, California, driver.

She’ll defend her title driving a Drag Pak carrying unique Mopar and
Dodge//SRT “Angry Bee�??-themed livery, designed by motorsports lifestyle
brand Hoonigan and chosen by a fan vote on the brand’s website. Pritchett
carries a 12-round winning streak into action against an extremely deep
field that will not only include Pawuk in a Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag
Pak, but also 2012 NHRA Pro Stock world champion and two-time
Gatornationals champion Allen Johnson campaigning in a Drag Pak with
additional vehicle preparation and support provided by DSM and Dodge//SRT
Mopar engineers.

The goal is for Pritchett to make the maximum passes in Gainesville, not
only in her Drag Pak with specially-designed Hoonigan livery, but also in
her Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar Dodge Top Fuel dragster. She reached
her 14th career final in the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse
Motorsports Pass near Phoenix on February 24 and currently ranks third in
the Top Fuel championship standings. Pritchett would like to add a
Gatornationals Wally to her trophy case and join Shirley Muldowney and
Brittany Force as female Top Fuel winners in Gainesville.

“Competing at the Gatornationals alone is always prestigious, no less
gunning for two Wallys at the 50th anniversary,�?? said Pritchett. “I
remember attending the 50th anniversary of the Pomona Finals and
Winternationals as a fan, and to now be a strong contender at the Gators in
its golden hour is something that excites my soul. We have a great race car
and team that I know is excited about putting on an incredible show for a
sell-out crowd, as well as bringing home two truly golden wins to DSR.
History will be made there, and we intend on giving it everything we’ve got
to be the fastest part of it.�??

*Back-to-Back Theme for Beckman, Hagan in NHRA Funny Car*
Winning NHRA Funny Car event titles is extremely difficult and the ratio
for winning consecutive events is tough to match, but for Mopar-powered
Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat DSR drivers Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan, the odds
are in their favor.

Beckman raced his DSR Dodge Funny Car to his first Gatornationals triumph
over Hagan last March. Hagan, driver of the Mopar Express Lane Dodge
Charger SRT Hellcat, is coming off the first-ever victory for the Hellcat
body at the NHRA Arizona Nationals and is chasing his first Gatornationals
victory.

Ron Capps, pilot of the DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, will
pursue a fourth Gatornationals win. Tommy Johnson Jr. will join his DSR
teammates, as well as 1998 Gatornationals winner Cruz Pedregon and Jim
Campbell, as six Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars battle
for spots in the eliminations field on Sunday.

*Prudhomme, Lewis and Schumacher Honored*
Lynn Prudhomme will be recognized with the 2019 Pat Garlits Memorial Award
Presented by Mopar on Thursday, March 14, during the 28th Annual banquet
and induction ceremony for the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
Lynn, wife of drag racing superstar Don “The Snake�?? Prudhomme, has been at
the forefront of efforts to help racing families in need. She was one of
the driving forces behind the formation of DRAW (Drag Racing Association of
Women), an organization that has supported families of drag racers who have
been injured in racing accidents, helping to defray some expenses, since
1985.

The award is named for longtime Dodge and Mopar driver Don Garlits’ late
wife, Pat. Don Garlits is a four-time Gatornationals winner and one of the
sport’s most iconic personalities. The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing
and International Drag Racing Hall of Fame is located in Ocala.

Don Schumacher Racing’s Senior Vice President, Mike Lewis, will be part of
the 2019 class inducted to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame
during the Thursday night ceremony. Lewis’ honor comes just two days after
team owner Don Schumacher’s induction into the prestigious Motorsports Hall
of Fame of America in Daytona Beach, Florida.

*About Dodge*
Dodge//SRT offers a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out
in their own segments. Dodge is America’s mainstream 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 ¼-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, the Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody,
which features fender flares from the SRT Hellcat Widebody and adds 3.5
inches of width to Scat Pack’s footprint, as well as and the new Challenger
R/T Scat Pack 1320. Infused 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. fills out the brands’ 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 <http://www.mopar.com/>*.



*****



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