Let’s Get it Started …

Words: Darren jacobs

It’s the circle of life—motorsports style.

The racing season draws to a close. Fans, drivers, teams and sponsors take time to celebrate prized accomplishments and mourn tough defeats. Then, after due respect is paid to the previous annum, memories of the old campaign are tucked away, replaced by the bright hopes and unlimited dreams a new year brings.

The 2009 season has arrived, and, as usual, another formidable lineup of Team Mopar® drivers and teams are prepared to leave their mark—before the circle repeats itself once again.

USAC Mopar® Midget National Championship

Mopar signed on as primary sponsor of the USAC Mopar Midget National Championship Series in 2008 and will continue its successful sponsorship for the 2009 season. The 2009 Mopar Midget National Championship Series features a 35-event schedule that will travel to both dirt and pavement tracks across the country. As in 2008, the series will visit 10 states, stopping at such famed tracks as Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and the Belleville High Banks in Kansas.

Mopar-powered drivers have proven themselves to be among the elite competitors of the USAC Mopar Midget National Championship Series. Josh Wise claimed the 2005 title with a Mopar powerplant, and USAC Triple Crown winner Jerry Coons Jr. captured championships in 2006 and 2007 with the aid of Mopar power. Kasey Kahne Racing driver Brad Sweet steered a Mopar-powered midget to victory in the prestigious Belleville Midget Nationals in 2008 and finished third in the final USAC Mopar Midget National Championship Series points standings.

The 2009 Mopar Midget National Champion will be crowned at the season-ending “Turkey Night” event in November at Southern California’s Irwindale Speedway.

Formula Drift

The Mopar-sponsored team that posted a runner-up finish in the 2008 Formula Drift (FD) Series—comprised of two-time FD champion Samuel Hübinette and the NuFormz Racing squad, led by team owner Shaun Carlson—will return intact for 2009, save for one major change. Hübinette will take the wheel of his new Mopar Drift Dodge Challenger (shown at left) during the upcoming FD season (see story on pages 38-39).

The switch to a new drift machine would pose major hurdles for most drivers, but not for Hübinette. It’s become par for the course for the Team Mopar veteran. Entering his sixth year competing in the FD Series with Mopar power, Hübinette will break in his fourth drift car. The “Crazy Swede” captured the 2004 FD title in a Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, the 2006 crown in a Dodge Viper SRT10,® and seized one victory in 2007 while steering a new Dodge Charger SRT8.® Doing the race car shuffle hasn’t impeded Hübinette—in fact, the result has been quite the opposite. His nine career FD wins are a series-high.

“We were so close to bringing home the title in 2008,” said Hübinette, who has never finished outside the top five of the final FD points standings. “Obviously, that gives us even more hunger to fight to get back the championship that we had in 2004 and 2006. Preparation in the new Mopar Drift Dodge Challenger is very important, so the car is dialed in correctly for the opening round.

“The Formula Drift season lasts just seven events, which makes every event so important. We started out strong last year, and that’s what we aim to do in 2009 with the new Mopar Challenger. Overall, we’ve got a phenomenal new car, it’s exciting, and we’re fired up over that.”

NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock

One is the loneliest number—especially in the ranks of the NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Series, where two-car teams are all the rage. Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T driver Allen Johnson posted another solid season in 2008, finishing seventh in the points standings and qualifying for the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff for the second-straight year. But with his eyes on the big prize in 2009—his first NHRA Pro Stock title—Johnson decided it was time to take the two-team plunge and partner up with another HEMI®-powered Pro Stocker.

The Greeneville, Tenn., native tapped Johnny Gray and his SKI Racing team to join forces with his J&J Racing crew. Mark Ingersoll will return as J&J crew chief, joined by a new addition, co-crew chief Jeff Perley. The pair will serve as advisors for Gray’s team (as well as for the Mopar-powered Pro Stocker piloted by Vinnie Deceglie). Both teams will pit side-by-side and share car set-up and testing data throughout the year. Johnson’s father, Roy Johnson, will build the Mopar HEMI engines for both teams.

“Johnny and I will work to make both cars identical, so we can get the most advantage by sharing data with each other,” said [Allen] Johnson. “I think Johnny’s a real talented driver and I welcome him aboard the J&J Racing team.

“I tested with Johnny in early December at the West Palm Beach drag strip. The test sessions gave the two crews a really good chance to jell and get everyone’s personalities in sync with one another, and Johnny and I spent a lot of time together. He and I jelled perfectly just like our crew guys did. I’m really excited about the upcoming season.”