MOTORSPORTS RACE RECAP

MOTORSPORTS RACE RECAP

Johnson Drives Make-A-Wish Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car to Victory in Las Vegas

? Mopar-powered driver Tommy Johnson Jr. wins 14th career Funny Car event in Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T ? Tony Schumacher puts Mopar-fueled U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster in final round, two Mopar Top Fuel dragsters advance to semis ? Mopar and Dodge hold top two spots in both Funny Car and Top Fuel points ? Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) scores 300th victory ? Mike Loge wins all-Mopar Super Stock final

April 2, 2017 , Las Vegas - The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series made its first of two 2017 trips to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, and the event ended the same way the season's first three races have: with a Mopar HEMI?-powered Nitro machine in the winner's circle.

Tommy Johnson Jr. drove his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T from the No. 6 qualifying position to victory in the 18th annual NHRA Nationals, defeating Swedish driver Jonnie Lindberg from the right lane on a pass of 3.933 seconds at 323.66 mph with a .059-second reaction time. Lindberg turned in lap of 4.016 at 302.14 with a .071. The victory is the 14th Funny Car win for Johnson (who has also has two Top Fuel victories) and the third for the Mopar Funny Cars from the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) stable this season. Johnson, a native of Ottumwa, Iowa, previously won in Las Vegas in 2001.

Not only did Mopar take home the Funny Car victory this weekend, Dodge and Plymouth vehicles also made headlines in the Sportsman classes, with Mike Loge collecting the Super Stock event win in his SS/LA '72 Plymouth Barracuda.

Funny Car driver Johnson was not qualified after Friday's first two sessions, but after Saturday found himself in the sixth spot. He began his Sunday march to the class win by beating Dodge driver Jim Campbell in the first round before besting Robert Hight in the second after a Hight red light. Johnson next knocked out 16-time Funny Car champion John Force to reach the final against Lindberg.

Johnson's teammate and current Funny Car points leader, Matt Hagan, drove his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T to the second round of competition in Las Vegas. He knocked out Del Worsham in the first round, then found himself matched up against another champion in the form of John Force in round two. Hagan's car dropped a cylinder, allowing Force to claim the round win.

Jack Beckman also took his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car to the second round after Cruz Pedregon redlighted in the first. Beckman then dropped a cylinder to be bested by upstart Lindberg in round two.

2016 Funny Car champion Ron Capps made an unusual first-round exit when he was defeated by Jonnie Lindberg after Capps' NAPA Dodge Charger R/T also had cylinder issues.

In Top Fuel, Mopar fell short of victory for the first time this season, but Tony Schumacher took his Mopar-powered, U.S. Army-backed machine to the final round for the second consecutive event after winning the Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway two weeks ago. In Las Vegas, Schumacher fell to Antron Brown in a rematch of the Gatornationals finale.

Schumacher made a solo pass in the first round after scheduled competitor Terry Haddock had mechanical issues and was unable to make the starting line, then took down Terry McMillen in round two with both cars having cylinders out. He defeated the stout Doug Kalitta in the semis before lining up against Brown in the final.

Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil Top Fuel Dragster driver Leah Pritchett defeated Troy Buff in the opening round, then took on Brittany Force in a rematch of the NHRA Arizona Nationals final just over a month ago. Like she did in Phoenix, Pritchett defeated Force and found herself matched up against 2016 Top Fuel champion Brown, where her day came to an end in the semifinals.

The Las Vegas track is known to be one of the most difficult ones on the NHRA circuit for drivers and tuners alike due to the facility's elevation and unique setting, forcing many to gamble on setups between each pass. This year a sandstorm on Thursday evening, rain on Friday, cool temperatures Friday evening, wind throughout the weekend and a hot track on Sunday wreaked havoc with teams, forcing many to make lessthan-stellar passes and creating a number of upsets.

MOTORSPORTS RACE RECAP

Johnson Drives Make-A-Wish Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car to Victory in Las Vegas

? Mopar-powered driver Tommy Johnson Jr. wins 14th career Funny Car event in Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T ? Tony Schumacher puts Mopar-fueled U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster in final round, two Mopar Top Fuel dragsters advance to semis ? Mopar and Dodge hold top two spots in both Funny Car and Top Fuel points ? Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) scores 300th victory ? Mike Loge wins all-Mopar Super Stock final

Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car (No. 6 Qualifier ? 3.887 seconds at 328.46 mph)

Rd.1: (.080-second reaction time, 3.943 seconds at 320.97 mph) defeated No. 11 Jim Campbell (.159/4.714/181.218) Rd. 2: (.015/4.068/268.71) defeated No. 14 Robert Hight ( no show ? red light) Semis: (.071/3.997/319.45) defeated No. 7 John Force (.071/4.128/282.13) Final: (.059/3.933/323.66) defeated No. 13 Jonnie Lindberg (.071/4.016/302.14)

View from the Winner's Circle "(We) started off Friday with a very tricky racetrack and very few cars got down it. You kind of went into Saturday going, `boy I hope we can figure this thing out.' The weather changed a little bit. We're not used to running those conditions, but when the weather changed to a little warmer racetrack, with sun on it, it kind of came to everybody and we just made the appropriate changes like we normally would to the car and went right down the racetrack. Today was a pretty trying day, too, because it was pretty hot. It's probably the hottest track we've seen yet this season and we're at a little bit of altitude so it changes the tune-up and it kind of changes the clutch curve. The guys really have to work at it and they did a great job. When we came out first round and were low E.T. by three-hundredths I thought, `oh it's going to be a good day.'

"I saw (crew chief) John (Collins) dive into the box for all the adjustments (before the final round) for the clutch and the timers for ignition and he was confident about it. It's kind of neat to have chemistry with your crew chief and I can tell by the look on his face and the way he carries himself if he's confident or if he's scratching his head a little bit. When I saw him shut the lid on the box, I went, `oh yeah, we're going to be good.'"

Mopar/Dodge NHRA Sportsman Spotlight It was an all-Mopar final in Super Stock, with Mike Loge and his SS/LA '72 Plymouth Barracuda defeating Tm Hall's SS/JA '74 Dodge Dart to take home the Wally from Las Vegas. Loge, a native of Antioch, California, turned in a breakout pass of 11.549 seconds on an 11.55 dial-in at 113.04 mph with a .032-second reaction time. However, he collected the win after Beaumont, California's Hall went red. It is Loge's third national event victory. Three Dodge or Plymouth vehicles advanced to the semifinals in the Super Stock ranks.

Bob Elliott of Phoenix meanwhile took his B/SA '64 Dodge Polara equipped with a 426 all the way to the semifinals in the Stock Eliminator class. There he turned in a pass of 10.786 seconds on a 10.78 dial-in at 123.80 mph after a .076-second reaction time.

Both Loge and Elliott were awarded the Dodge Top Finisher for being the highest finishing Dodge or Plymouth drivers in Super Stock and Stock, respectively. The award pays $500 to the winner and is in place at all 24 NHRA national events in 2017.

In the Top Sportsman class, Eastvale, California's Paul Mitsos advanced his '08 Dodge Stratus to the semifinals on Sunday afternoon, a feat made even more impressive after an incident at the top end in the morning put his return for the afternoon rounds in doubt.

Next Event A trip to the Lone Star State is up next on the NHRA national event calendar, with the 30th annual NHRA Springnationals at Royal Purple Raceway slated for April 21 ? 23 in Baytown, Texas. The Houston-area track has played host to numerous records over the years due to its proximity to Trinity Bay, which provides the facility with cool air. Ron Capps has won at the track three times in the Funny Car class with his most recent victory coming in 2015, while Tony Schumacher has collected two Wally trophies in Houston in Top Fuel. The NHRA Springnationals will be broadcast on FS1, with the elimination rounds airing on the network at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 23.

For more information on Mopar and Dodge in NHRA, check out the Mopar brand's official blog, .

MOTORSPORTS RACE RECAP (cont'd)

2017 NHRA Championship -- Point Standings After Round 4 of 24 (Season Wins in Parentheses)

NHRA Funny Car 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger R/T (2) ? 368 2. Tommy Johnson Jr. Dodge Charger R/T (1) ? 324 3. John Force (1) ? 314 4. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger R/T ? 275 5. Courtney Force ? 218 6. Jack Beckman Dodge Charger R/T ? 205 7. Robert Hight ? 201 8. Jonnie Lindberg ? 183 9. Jim Campbell Dodge Charger R/T ? 180 10. J.R. Todd ?170

NHRA Top Fuel 1. Tony Schumacher, Mopar HEMI (1) ? 382 2. Leah Pritchett, Mopar HEMI (2) ? 376 3. Antron Brown (1) ? 357 4. Doug Kalitta ? 301 5. Brittany Force ? 258 6. Steve Torrence ? 251 7. Clay Millican ? 187 8. Troy Coughlin Jr. ? 176 9. Terry McMillen 164 10. Scott Palmer - 148

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