Dodge named title rights sponsor of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series event at Maple Grove
Dodge has signed an agreement to become the title rights sponsor of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at Maple Grove Raceway.
The 32nd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals will be held Sept. 29Oct. 2 and is the third race in the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship. The track is traditionally one of the quickest on the NHRA circuit and has been the site of several national records through the years.
“The Dodge NHRA Nationals in the Keystone state is an integral part of the championship hunt,” said Brad Gerber, NHRA vice president and chief development officer. “We are pleased to have Dodge involved with the event and will build upon their relationships in the sport of NHRA Drag Racing.”
The title rights sponsorship builds upon the alliance with the NHRA and Dodge, the American performance brand of FCA US LLC. Another FCA brand, Mopar, is the title rights sponsor of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, the event held annually in Denver. Dodge is also the manufacturer of choice for world champions Matt Hagan in Funny Car, as well as JegCoughlin Jr. and Erica Enders in Pro Stock. The manufacturer is also the preferred car make for many racers in the Funny Car, Pro Stock and Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors.
“Dodge has had a strong history in NHRA drag racing dating back to the early 1960s,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Car Brands – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and Fiat – FCA North America. “Our brand is rooted in performance, and our role as title sponsor at Maple Grove Raceway provides a direct connection with the NHRA fans who take Dodge performance from the strip to the street. In recent years, successful Mopar race teams have campaigned Dodge-branded vehicles in the Funny Car and Pro Stock classes, but now with the launch of the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak fielded by Joe Welch Racing in NHRA Factory Stock, Dodge and Mopar have taken their close collaboration to the next level.”
Fans of the Dodge NHRA Nationals will be sure to take part in the inaugural Mopar Mega Block Party free fan-admission event, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. The stadium’s baseball diamond will be transformed into the Mopar brand’s home field for one night to kick-off an action packed race weekend.
The Dodge NHRA Nationals will also feature thrilling competition in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet.
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 24 national events featuring the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.
The Dodge brand is America’s mainstream performance brand. With the purification of the brand and consolidation with SRT, Dodge is focusing on its performance roots with every single model it offers. The Dodge and SRT brands offer a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out within their own segments. Dodge is the 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.
From muscle cars to minivans, crossovers and full-size SUVs, the Dodge brand’s full lineup of 2017 models deliver best-in-class horsepower, class-exclusive technology, unmatched capability and a slew of cool features, such as LED headlamps, Dodge signature racetrack tail lamps, active exhaust, cold-air induction, 8.4-inch touchscreen Uconnect infotainment centers and 7-inch customizable gauge clusters, to name a few. For the 2017 model year, the Dodge brand lineup features the 25th anniversary Viper, Durango, Grand Caravan, Journey, Charger and Challenger, including the new Charger Daytona and Challenger T/A, as well as the 707-horsepower Challenger SRT Hellcat, the most powerful and fastest muscle car ever and the Charger SRT Hellcat, the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan in the world.