March 6, 2018
, Auburn Hills, Mich.
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The Dodge//SRT and Mopar brands are teaming up with the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) to offer complimentary customer drag racing experiences exclusively at NMCA race events for the 2018 season. Mopar-powered competitors in model-year 2005 and newer FCA US LLC vehicles will receive complimentary entry to battle it out in the NMCA Dodge/Mopar HEMI® Shootout category, giving owners the opportunity to race their vehicles in a sanctioned and secure drag strip environment.
Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout fields are expected to draw a unique mix of modern-day FCA US vehicle nameplates, such as Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger vehicles in a variety of models, including the 485-horsepower Dodge Challenger and Charger Scat Pack models, 707-horsepower Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models, the 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, as well as Chrysler 300, Ram truck and Jeep® vehicles.
The NMCA season kicks off with the 16th annual NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida, March 8-11, 2018.
“The National Muscle Car Association series is an excellent venue for Dodge//SRT and Mopar to give owners of our modern-day FCA US LLC vehicles, including the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger, the opportunity to drag race in a sanctioned, controlled environment,” said Steve Beahm, Head of Passenger Cars, Dodge//SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA North America. “We’re continuing our efforts to take racing off the street and put it where it belongs — the drag strip — by providing complimentary entry into the Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout category.”
“Together, the Mopar and Dodge brands share a long and respected legacy in the world of drag racing, and we’re proud to add another chapter to that tradition with this new initiative in the NMCA,” said Pietro Gorlier, Head of Parts and Service (Mopar), FCA. “Mopar is about providing owners with the tools they need to not only be fast on the strip, but also secure on the streets, and this new program helps us push forward to reaching those goals.”
Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout: The Facts
Vehicles entered in the Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout must be licensed, insured and street driven, on street-legal tires and must be model-year 2005 or newer FCA US vehicles (Viper models permitted). While geared toward Gen III HEMI-engine-powered machines, vehicles with alternate Mopar engines will also be eligible for complimentary entry.
The Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout class is open to the first 75 vehicle owners to register for each NMCA event, with each complimentary entry — valued up to $175 — good for one car/driver participant credential. Vehicle owners can register online at www.NMCAdigital.com/hemi for the Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout, which will be featured at all six races on the 2018 NMCA national event schedule. NMCA membership not required to participate.
NMCA will offer Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout competitors an easy and fun experience, with personalized, step-by-step instruction available. The Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout will take place on Saturday at each NMCA event, but all participants are welcome to arrive on Thursday and/or Friday of race weekend for early registration, instruction and test-and-tune passes down the dragstrip. Competitors are encouraged to race at their own pace, depending on each participant’s comfort level.
Although competitors will stage side-by-side for runs down the quarter-mile, drivers will not race head-to-head. Participants will compete against the clock and will be measured in elapsed time (ET) down the track, taking reaction time off the starting line out of the equation.
Participants will be allowed three passes down the drag strip. NMCA staff will average the three passes by each competitor, with the quickest averages in seven different ET categories — from the nine- to 15-second ET range — earning an award and $100 cash courtesy of NMCA. The overall ET runner-up will also receive $100 and an award, with the quickest overall ET winner taking home $250 and the NMCA Victor award.
Each Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout participant will also receive a free collectible license plate. As an added bonus, participants who would like to extend their racing experience will also receive complimentary entry into the Sunday Bracket 3/Street class at each NMCA event.
Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout Coverage
Event coverage can be viewed on NMCA’s SpeedVideo.com live feed, RacePagesDigital.com and in Fastest Street Car magazine.
Coverage can also be found on the new one-stop destination for Dodge and Mopar drag racing news — Dodge Garage (http://www.dodgegarage.com). Dodge Garage is a digital content hub and premier destination for Dodge and Mopar drag racing and muscle car enthusiasts.
For complete rules and entry guidelines, as well as registration information on the NMCA Dodge/Mopar HEMI Shootout, visit www.NMCAdigital.com/hemi.
2018 NMCA Event Schedule
16th Annual NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem
Bradenton Motorsports Park – Bradenton, Florida
March 8-11, 2018
10th Annual NMRA/NMCA All-star Nationals
Atlanta Dragway – Commerce, Georgia
April 5-8, 2018
17th Annual NMCA Bluegrass Nationals
Beech Bend Raceway – Bowling Green, Kentucky
May 17-20, 2018
13th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-legal Drag Racing
Route 66 Raceway – Joliet, Illinois
July 26-29, 2018
17th Annual NMCA All-American Nationals
Summit Motorsports Park – Norwalk, Ohio
August 23-26, 2018
17th Annual NMCA World Street Finals
Lucas Oil Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana
September 20-23, 2018
About Dodge//SRT
Dodge//SRT offers a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out in their own segments. Dodge is FCA North 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 company in 1914. Their influence continues today. New for 2018, the 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the fastest quarter-mile production car in the world and most powerful muscle car ever, is taking the world by storm, along with the new 2018 Dodge Durango SRT, America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV, and the 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. These new SRT ultimate performance models join a brand lineup that includes the Durango, Grand Caravan, Journey, Charger and Challenger, including the 707-horsepower Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Charger SRT Hellcat, the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan in the world.
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.