Center Line, Mich. — Spring has made its long-awaited return, which means singing birds, blooming flowers and high powered, screaming Mopar Performance featuring HEMI-powered Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts in full-throated roar competing in pitched battle in the 2008 Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series.
The 2008 HEMI Challenge racing series resumes on Saturday, March 29 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Vegas HEMI Challenge stop, held in conjunction with the popular Mopars at The Strip event, is the fourth of eight legs in the 2008 HEMI Challenge points race.
An impressive company of Super Stock/A-HEMI (SS/AH) pilots are scheduled to make the trek out West, where they’ll shake off the long winter’s cold and rust as they resume the chase for the 2008 HEMI Challenge championship.
Charlie Westcott Jr., driver of the “Warfish” 1968 Plymouth Barracuda, holds the top spot in the standings heading in to Vegas, with Larry Woo in second and Westcott Jr.’s father, Charlie Westcott Sr., in third.
“The 2008 HEMI Challenge points battle is shaping up to be yet another nail biter,” said Jon Clark, Mopar Performance’s Department Manager, Chrysler LLC. “Three different drivers captured wins in the first three 2008 points events [Westcott Sr., Michael Ogburn and Westcott Jr.]. Such parity illustrates the amazing dedication of the grassroots racers that compete on the series. All the ingenuity emerges from each individual racer’s garage, not from a lab someplace. They buy parts from a Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep dealership and use them to go fast in Mopar HEMI Challenge events. We’ve decided to turn up the wick this year, making it an all-year points race.”
The 2008 Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series champion will be crowned at the NHRA Northeast Dutch Classic.
Following the Mopars at The Strip event the 8th annual Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series, will head to the JEG’s Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La., on Apr. 4–6; the 54th Annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 27–Sept. 1; the JEG’s Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 19–21; and the NHRA Northeast Dutch Classic in Reading, Pa., on Oct. 23–26.
The 2008 HEMI Challenge champion will be crowned in October at the NHRA Northeast Dutch Classic. In years past, the HEMI Challenge champion was crowned over Labor Day weekend at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals event. The U.S. Nationals HEMI Challenge victor will still bank a $10,000 bonus as in previous years, with the overall series champ hauling in a $5,000 payday. The change in format will position the 2009 Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series to be the first “pure” year in the series’ history, with all 2009 points events taking place within the same calendar year.
For more information on the Mopars at The Strip HEMI Challenge Race Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway scheduled for Saturday, March 29, 2008, visit:
www.moparsatthestrip.com .
For event coverage of the HEMI Challenge, visit:
www.moparspeed.com .
For you history buffs here’s some background on 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.
Originally used in the 1920s, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It was also 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.
For more information: about Mopar, log on to
www.mopar.com or
www.moparspeed.com .
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