Mopar Driver Allen Johnson Starts Sixth at Reading; Jack Beckman Scores Funny Car Pole and Sets Elapsed Time Record

October 5, 2012 , Reading, Pa -  Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson claimed the No. 6 position in Pro Stock qualifying on Saturday, Oct. 6, during the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa. For the current points leader, he has now qualified sixth or better in all 21 races this season.

Johnson, who earned six bonus points during the first three rounds of qualifying, leads Jason Line in the standings, heading into eliminations on Sunday, where he will face teammate and fellow Mopar-powered driver Vincent Nobile in the opening round. Three events remain this season in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs, including this weekend.

“We were really good on Friday and okay today,” said Johnson. “On the last run today, we just made a little boo-boo and it cost us, because the air was so much better. We were experimenting a little bit today, and it will just make us have to go out and work a little bit harder tomorrow and really earn it. We know we have a good car in our Mopar Dodge Avenger and our HEMI engines are strong. Tomorrow is a new day and we’ll treat it that way.”

Johnson opened the weekend at Reading on Friday, Oct. 5, with a pass of 6.545-seconds at 211.39 mph, which at the time put him at the top of the leaderboard. In the second round of qualifying, the native of Greeneville, Tenn., turned in a run of 6.546/211.49 to earn the provisional No. 2 spot heading into today’s final two sessions. Johnson laid down a lap of 6.572/210.93 in the third of four qualifying rounds to remain second overall, and ran a 6.557/210.18 in the fourth session, which put him sixth overall.

“We have to go out and do our job in the first round tomorrow,” Johnson said. “Vincent is always a tough opponent and he has just as good of a car as us and we know he has plenty of horsepower under the hoods with the engines that dad (Roy Johnson) and his guys build. Every round out here is tough and tomorrow will be no different.”

Mopar-powered V. Gaines, who held the provisional pole following the second and third rounds of qualifying, ended up fourth on the ladder, with a best time of 6.544/211.00, and will face Warren Johnson, who qualified 13th, in the first round of Pro Stock eliminations on Sunday. Nobile recorded a best qualifying effort of 6.567/211.43 to earn the No. 11 spot and set up the Mopar vs. Mopar match-up with Johnson in the first round on Sunday. Jeg Coughlin Jr., driver of the Mopar/JEGS.com Avenger, will roll off seventh, following a best qualifying lap of 6.552/210.37, and will pair up with No. 10 qualifier Ron Krisher in the opening frame tomorrow.

Jack Beckman was the No. 1 qualifier in the Funny Car class in his Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), earning his second straight pole position and fourth of the season. Beckman grabbed the top spot in Funny Car with a pass of 3.989/320.58, in the second round on Friday, which set a new national elapsed time (ET) record, a new track ET record and a new career-best ET mark for the veteran driver. Beckman, who will take on Mike Smith in the opening round on Sunday, trails DSR teammate Ron Capps by less than 30 points as each chases their first Funny Car title.

Capps qualified eighth at Reading and will go up against Jeff Arend in the opening round, while his Mopar-powered DSR teammate Johnny Gray rolls off fourth and matches up with Bob Tasca III in the opening round. Matt Hagan begins eliminations from the 12th slot and will face Courtney Force in the opening frame on Sunday.

About Mopar Motorsports
Mopar’s commitment to professional motorsports competition was established in the 1950’s when a partnership ignited with drag racing pioneer, Don Garlits. Combined efforts between Garlits and the Mopar brand resulted in the breaking of numerous speed and performance barriers in a HEMI-powered car over the next several decades. Mopar has remained a fixture on the racing scene in the North America ever since and is currently involved with the NHRA, NASCAR, USAC and TORC series. Mopar also sponsors many motorsports events, including title sponsorship of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Colorado for nearly 25 consecutive years; and it is a proud supporter of amateur racing within NHRA and USAC.

Mopar-First Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• Wireless charging: first to introduce in-vehicle wireless charging for portable devices
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owners a text when the vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car
• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network

About the Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes 280,000 parts and accessories. With the creation of the Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. partnership, Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Combined with Fiat SpA, Mopar’s global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories that are distributed in more than 120 countries. Mopar is the source for all genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA brands.

Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A.vehicles — a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com.

75 Years of Mopar
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for an antifreeze product in 1937. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s — the muscle-car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “special parts” for super-stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use. The brand has expanded to include technical service and customer support.