Team Mopar® Driver Allen Johnson Notches Two Top-Tens in Dodge Viper Cup Action
Johnson drove the No. 52 Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10® ACR-X to an impressive sixth-place finish in the first Dodge Viper Cup event at Pocono on Saturday, Sept. 11, with a best lap time of 1:27.732. One of two celebrity drivers at the event, Johnson had to deal with a rain-soaked, puddle-filled track in qualifying for the 20-lap Sunday Pocono race. Johnson qualified ninth and battled through the unfamiliar conditions to move up one spot and post an eighth-place result in the finale, with a best lap time of 1:27.463.
“This weekend was absolutely awesome,” said Johnson, who had only one practice session with Dodge Viper Cup celebrity driver program manager Cindi Lux prior to the Pocono event. “It was so much fun, yet it was so physically demanding. I think I’m in pretty good shape, but I went back to my hotel and collapsed on the bed after the event.”
The Dodge Viper Cup is a ten-race spec series featuring the new Dodge Viper ACR-X — the ultimate special-edition model of America’s ultimate sports car. A contingency program sponsored by Dodge Motorsports and Mopar paid out more than $200,000 during the 2010 season. Payouts for each race were in cash and Mopar vouchers which came as credit toward purchase of Mopar parts and accessories. For more information on the series, visit Viperheadquarters.com.
Jim Daniels Awarded Mopar HEMI® Challenge Win at Jegs Northern SPORTSnationals
In a fitting finish to a wild Mopar HEMI® Challenge Race Series event at the Jegs Northern SPORTSnationals on Saturday, Sept. 25, Jim Daniels of Bristol, Pa. was awarded the event win after Jim Pancake failed a post-race technical inspection.
Daniels was unable to stage for the final round at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio due to mechanical problems with his engine, giving Pancake a solo run in the final and—seemingly—the event win. However, when Pancake’s Super Stock/A HEMI (SS/AH) 1968 Dodge Dart failed post-race inspection hours after his Victory Lane celebration, Daniels was awarded the Mopar HEMI Challenge trophy and the $5,000 winner’s purse.
“This was not how I wanted to win it,” said Daniels, who drove his Ray Barton Racing Engines 1968 Dodge Dart past Stephen Herbert, Charlie Westcott Sr. and Gary Wolkwitz on his way into the final. “Jim runs a Ray Barton engine, so in essence he’s part of our team, and he’s also a great guy. I’ll take it, but I’ll remember my victory at Indy a lot more fondly.”
Daniels, the No. 2 qualifier of the event, earned his second-straight 2010 Mopar HEMI Challenge win, coming on the heels of his $10,000 victory at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals on Labor Day Weekend. The triumph was also Daniels’ second straight at the Jegs Northern SPORTSnationals.
The Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series, which pits owners of SS/AH 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas against each other in fierce quarter-mile competition, was formed in 2001 and celebrated its 10th anniversary season this year. The Jegs Northern SPORTSnationals marked the final of three 2010 Mopar HEMI Challenge events.
