NASCAR Champ Kurt Busch to drive Mopar-Powered Dodge Challenger Super Gas Car at NHRA Gatornationals

AUBURN HILLS, MI - Fresh off his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch will swap his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger for a Mopar®-powered 1970 Dodge Challenger Super Gas car. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champ is set to do battle on the drag strip in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at the 41st Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The event is scheduled for March 11–14 at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

Busch banked his 21st career NASCAR Sprint Cup win at the Kobalt Tools 500. He’ll celebrate his victory and a rare break in the hectic NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule to race his rebuilt Dodge Challenger, powered by a stroked Mopar 6.1L HEMI® engine, in NHRA competition. The Sportsman car pumps out 1,167 horsepower. Qualifying for Super Gas will take place on Thursday, March 11, with eliminations beginning on Friday, March 12.

“Gainesville is one of the marquee events on the NHRA calendar, and it’s a privilege to compete against the best Sportsman racers out there,” said Busch. “I spent over 30 hours at Roy Hill’s drag racing school, and have had two tests in my own Dodge Challenger, but that’s nothing compared to the seat time many of these guys have in their own cars. We are going to go out there and do our best competing against these talented Sportsman racers.”

Busch will take part in a Team Mopar autograph session at the Mopar Image Center, located in the manufacturer’s midway at Gainesville Raceway. Busch is scheduled to appear on Saturday, March 13, with the time of his appearance to be announced at the track.

Mopar racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits will also make an appearance at the Mopar Image Center at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 12. Mopar HEMI-powered Pro Stock drivers Allen Johnson, V. Gaines and Vinnie Deceglie will appear from 10:30–11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 13. NHRA Funny Car racers Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan and Melanie Troxel will visit for a signing session following the first round of qualifying on Saturday.

41st Annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals: The 41st Annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals is scheduled to take place March 11–14 at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Sunday, March 14, beginning at 12 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Three hours of eliminations coverage will air on Sunday beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. For more information on the NHRA, log on to www.nhra.com.

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 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.

When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts maker, 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 former 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, in order to enhance speed and handling for vehicles both on the road or at the track.