Mopar HEMI Challenge to Offer Record Winner's Purse at Indy

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Mopar HEMI Challenge one-race shootout at Mac Tools U.S. Nationals to feature $15,000 winner's purse
• $18,000 total purse up for grabs at Mopar HEMI Challenge event
• Super Stock/A-HEMI (SS/AH) Mopar HEMI Challenge drivers to do battle for 11th-consecutive year at Indy

Mopar® announced today that the 11th Annual Mopar HEMI® Challenge will feature Mopar-powered Super Stock/A-HEMI (SS/AH) competitors battling it out in a one-race shootout at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 1–2. Drivers competing in the popular National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sportsman event will vie for the $15,000 winner's purse and a total event purse of $18,000, both the largest in the history of the Mopar HEMI Challenge.

"Grassroots racers who compete in the Mopar HEMI Challenge are the foundation of drag racing, and the reason why Mopar is involved in the NHRA," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand. "These enthusiast drivers spend a great deal of time and money preparing their Mopar HEMI-powered race cars for battle, and purchase many Mopar parts from their local Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, or Ram dealerships. They have a passion for the Mopar brand that reflects positively throughout the drag-racing world. This is why we recognize this passion supporting the HEMI Challenge."

"We are excited to have the Mopar HEMI Challenge event return as part of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals," said Eric Lotz, Director of Field Marketing, NHRA. "It's become an important part of the event and a must-see for all Sportsman enthusiasts. The increased purse from Mopar will add even more excitement to the competition."

The Mopar HEMI Challenge matches SS/AH 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas in pitched quarter-mile competition. The NHRA Sportsman event began life as a one-race shootout at the 2001 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and returns to its roots as a single-race event following a number of years as a multi-race series.

Jim Daniels of Bristol, Pa., claimed the 2010 Mopar HEMI Challenge win at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Past winners at the HEMI Challenge event, now a much-anticipated Labor Day weekend tradition, include Charlie Westcott Jr., a three-time Mopar HEMI Challenge Indy winner, and Bucky Hess, owner of the inaugural 2001 Mopar HEMI Challenge victory at Indy.

11th Annual Mopar HEMI Challenge

The 11th Annual Mopar HEMI Challenge is scheduled to take place Sept. 1–2 during the 57th Annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind. The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is scheduled to take place Aug. 31–Sept. 5. For more information on the Mopar HEMI Challenge or Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, log on to http://www.nhra.com.

Mopar-First Features

Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• 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
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when 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
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• 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.

Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles — a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at http://www.mopar.com.

More than 70 Years of Mopar

When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. 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.

SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC

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