Johnson Falls to Nobile in Mopar® vs. Mopar First Round Duel at NHRA Winternationals
February 27, 2011 , Pomona, Calif. - Mopar® Dodge Avenger NHRA Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson was dealt a tough first-round defeat today at the hands of fellow Mopar-powered Pro Stocker and teammate Vincent Nobile, exiting on a holeshot loss in the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif.
Johnson knew the rookie Nobile would be a formidable opponent — the young Mountain View Dodge Avenger driver competes with Mopar HEMI® engines supplied by Johnson’s J&J Racing team and the two drivers share a crew chief, J&J Racing’s longtime wrench-turner Mark Ingersoll.
Johnson, the No. 3 qualifier, recorded a 6.559-second elapsed time at 212.39 mph, coupled with a .055 reaction time off the starting line. Nobile’s near-perfect .002 reaction time proved the difference, however, paired with his solid 6.561/211.73 run. The No. 14 qualifier and Pro Stock rookie seized his first round win in his first career start.
“I don’t like to lose at all, but Vincent is going to be a good driver and his team is going to do well this year,” said Johnson, who leaves Pomona with the No. 9 spot in the standings. “It wasn’t a good day at the office. Maybe we’re going to reverse it; last year we had a bad run at the end of the year, but maybe this year we’ll get the bad stuff out of our system early.
“We plan to test at Bradenton (Fla.) with Kurt Busch a few days before the Gatornationals, and we’ll work out any bugs. We are real happy with the Mopar Dodge Avenger, real happy with the new chassis, real happy with our Mopar HEMI engines. This weekend the driver goofed it up, but we will rebound. We’ll come back at Gainesville and be strong, try to qualify No. 1 and win the race.”
“Getting that first round win was awesome,” said Nobile, who fell in the second round to Jason Line and is now No. 8 in the points. “I’m having the time of my life out here. It’s very exciting. I had a .002 on the tree. When I see yellow on the lights, I just let go of the clutch. That’s all I do.”
The third member of the Mopar-powered Pro Stock trio, V. Gaines, saw his day end in a first-round loss to Line, ending the event in the No. 10 position of the Pro Stock standings. The Mopar-fueled trio will become a quartet at the next race, the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, March 10–13, in Gainesville, Fla., when NASCAR Sprint Cup star Kurt Busch makes his Pro Stock debut in his Shell Dodge Avenger.
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 Truck 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
Mopar - Authentic Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Accessories, Service & Parts.
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.
Linear Mode
