Capps Drives Dodge//SRT Mopar to No. 2 Spot in Funny Car Qualifying at NHRA 4Wide Nationals in Las Vegas

April 6, 2019

, Las Vegas, Nevada

Ron Capps is the fastest of six Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers qualified for Sunday’s elimination rounds at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Capps, the 2016 NHRA Funny Car champion, was one of only two drivers to post a 3.8-second run during qualifying Friday and Saturday, making his best qualifying pass behind the wheel of the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NAPA Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car in Friday’s second session with his lap of 3.897 seconds at 325.92 mph. The pass was just two thousandths slower than Tim Wilkerson’s No. 1 run.

Capps will be joined in his first round quad Sunday by fellow DSR racer and Hellcat Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson, Jr., who made his best pass in Saturday’s final qualifying session with a run of 3.952 seconds at 319.45 mph. Matt Hagan qualified No. 5 with his run of 3.924/327.03 Friday afternoon and will be joined in his first round quad by fellow Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver, No. 12 qualifier Jim Campbell. Jack Beckman, No. 11, and Cruz Pedregon, No. 3 are the final two Mopar-powered Hellcat drivers in the field and make up half of the final first round quad.  

In Top Fuel, Leah Pritchett entered the weekend second in the championship standings through the first three events and earned qualifying points in each of her first three qualifying runs aboard her HEMI-powered Mopar Dodge Top Fuel dragster. She earned a single point in Q1 and Q2 before grabbing three more following her best qualifying run of 3.724/325.22 in Saturday’s Q3 session. Pritchett begins her second run for a NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Wally from the fourth position Sunday facing Clay Millican, Austin Prock and Terry Totten in her first round quad.

To follow Dodge//SRT and Mopar during the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, visit Dodge Garage, a digital content hub for muscle car and race enthusiasts.

Mopar Dodge//SRT Notes Quotes
(best elapsed times below)

Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 7 Bob Tasca III, No. 10 Tommy Johnson, Jr. and No. 15 Terry Haddock
Friday: (3.977 seconds at 315.86 mph – Q1); (3.897/325.92 – Q2)
Saturday: (4.346/204.98 – Q3); (3.942/321.42 – Q4)

“We look to bounce back from the first three races and like I said, (Rahn) Tobler doesn’t get too far away from where he’s comfortable with the tune-up and this weekend is a perfect example of that. We came in here and he knows where to look at in the past to make this NAPA Dodge go. We made three great runs and finished No. 2. We pushed it in Q3 to see where we’d be during the hotter conditions tomorrow. We have a good hot rod. We want to roll into race day ready and these NAPA AutoCare guys have a great race car for tomorrow. It’s going to be fun.”

Matt Hagan, Pennzoil/Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 5, will face No. 4 J.R. Todd, No. 12 Jim Campbell, No. 13 Gary Densham
Friday: (4.013 seconds at 320.05 mph – Q1); (3.924/327.03 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.975/320.28 – Q3); (3.937/325.92 – Q4)

“We’ve got a great Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat this weekend here at the Four-Wide in (Las) Vegas. We’ve been down the track every run and (crew chief) Dickie (Venables) has a great handle on things and this Pennzoil Dodge is running strong. Race day is up for grabs, but I’m confident it can be our day.” 

Tommy Johnson, Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 10, will face No. 2 Ron Capps, No. 7 Bob Tasca III and No. 15 Terry Haddock
Friday: (3.968 seconds at 316.15 mph – Q1); (4. 374/191.97 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.980/319.07 – Q3); (3.952/319.47 – Q4)

“It’s not the qualifying effort we were looking for, but we do have a consistent car. Come race day I think we can surprise a few of them because we certainly didn’t get the best of this Make-A-Wish Dodge this weekend. It keeps getting better with each lap and tomorrow could be the day we make it all come together for a win.”
 
Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
Qualified No. 11, will face No. 3 Cruz Pedregon, No. 6 John Force and No. 14 Phil Burkart, Jr.  
Friday: (3.956 seconds at 321.97 mph – Q1); (4.044/253.37 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.967/318.92 – Q3); (3.963/318.92 – Q4)

“We went three out of four in qualifying and have a consistent car. We may have to lean on it a little bit or let this hotter weather come to this E.T. for the car. We did unload a brand new chassis this weekend at LVMS and we feel, long term, it’s the way to go. We’re just trying to get a handle on it right now. Four wide is a complete crap shoot. You can finish second twice and still leave with the trophy and that’s what we want to do.”

Leah Pritchett, Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 4, will face No. 5 Clay Millican, No. 12 Austin Prock and No. 13 Terry Totten
Friday: (3.775 seconds at 322.73 mph – Q1); (3.743/328.06 – Q2)
Saturday: (3.745/327.66 – Q3); (4.139/210.60 – Q4)

“We have an incredible hot rod this weekend. We’re so consistent. We were low of our quads and tested in Q4 and threw everything at it. We’ll have our choice of the four lanes tomorrow and I’m stoked on it. We are going to pick up where left off in Gainesville and pick up some win lights. We want to shine bright like a win light three times tomorrow.”

Tune-In Info
FOX Sports 1 will broadcast three hours of eliminations coverage of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals starting at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 7.


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.