Mopar to Storm Thunder Mountain for 32nd Annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Mopar hosts longest continuous-running sponsorship in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
• Mopar will kick off the festivities with a Big Block Event in downtown Golden, Colo. tomorrow from 6 to 10 p.m. MDT
• Mopar Big Block Event to feature famed five-time Grammy-nominated blues-guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and an autograph session with NHRA stars including Allen Johnson and Matt Hagan
• Team Mopar veteran Johnson guns for three-peat following his 2009 and 2010 wins in the Pro Stock class at Bandimere

Mopar® will welcome thousands of Mopar drag-racing fans as they descend upon Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. for the 32nd Annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, July 22–24.

Year after year, Mopar fans, racers and enthusiasts gather at the Bandimere family's picturesque drag strip, set 5,800 feet high in the Rocky Mountains. Mopar's sponsorship of the event is the longest, continuous-running sponsorship in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

"Thunder Mountain is Mopar's home-away-from-home," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand, who will attend the event. "Bandimere Speedway is one of the premier stops on the NHRA circuit and is the perfect venue to showcase the Mopar brand and interact with loyal Mopar enthusiasts and racers."

"Bandimere Speedway is proud to host the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals once again," said John Bandimere Jr., President and CEO of Bandimere Speedway. "We take great pride in our long relationship with the Mopar brand, and we strive to continue to make the Mopar Mile-Highs one of the most fan-friendly events on the NHRA circuit."

Mopar-powered racers will attempt to sustain their dominance at Thunder Mountain during Mopar's flagship event. Team Mopar veteran Allen Johnson will be gunning for a three-peat, following his 2009 and 2010 wins in the Pro Stock class at Bandimere. Johnson scored his first win at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in 2007, and has visited the winner's circle in three of the past four years. He will be joined by a large contingent of Mopar-fueled drivers in the Pro and Sportsman classes, including Funny Car star Matt Hagan, who will sport special Mopar graphics on his Dodge Charger R/T.

Each of the 20 participants in the inaugural Mopar MoVenture road rally and scavenger hunt, which wraps up in Golden, Colo. on July 21, will be guests of honor at Bandimere Speedway. Following their 1,900-mile trek from Detroit to the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, MoVenturers will be treated to an all-access experience at the track.

The Mopar Direct Connection display center will highlight the manufacturer's midway at Bandimere Speedway, providing fans an up-close look at Mopar Performance Parts and display vehicles, in addition to numerous chances to enter contests and win Mopar prizes. Shirley Muldowney, the featured NHRA 60th Anniversary legend at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals, will sign autographs at the Direct Connection display. Mopar will also stage exhibition runs with special Mopar vehicles driven by celebrity Mopar racers in between the elimination rounds on Sunday, July 24.

10th Annual Mopar Big Block Event to Kickoff Mopar Mile-Highs
The 32nd Annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals will kick off tomorrow from 6 to 10 p.m. (MDT) with the free-admission 10th Annual Mopar Big Block Event, which will transform the quaint streets of downtown Golden, Colo. into one giant Mopar Nation celebration. Highlighting the event will be a Team Mopar autograph session scheduled from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. featuring NHRA stars including Allen Johnson, Vincent Nobile, V. Gaines, Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, Spencer Massey, Roy Johnson, Judy Lilly and SCCA road-racing star Cindi Lux.

Famed blues-guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who will reclaim the keys to a special Dodge 330 built for him by Mopar, will also sign autographs at the event. SpeedFreaks radio hosts Kenny Sargent and Crash Gladys will emcee the proceedings, which will include a Mopar trivia contest where fans may test their knowledge about their favorite Mopar drivers in exchange for Mopar prizes. The Mopar Big Block Event will also feature a "Personalization Station," where Mopar technicians will demonstrate the easy installation of select Mopar parts and accessories on to a Dodge Charger. In addition, a Mopar Express Lane exhibit will be on site to spotlight Mopar's new quick oil-change service.

Mopar race car and display vehicles will line the streets, providing Mopar enthusiasts a glimpse at a variety of high-performance vehicles that perform both on the track and on the street. Mopar clubs from the area will also exhibit their personal rides. Local rock band Rated M will kick out the jams throughout the night, with food and beverages available for purchase at booths manned by local vendors.

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, Ram and SRT® vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and SRT 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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