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HEMI® Engines are Revved Up for Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway

Lisa — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 21:01:21 +0000

A full slate of activities for the Mopar Mile High National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals was kicked off on Thursday morning at Red Rocks Park, a dramatic geological formation near Bandimere Speedway, by the firing-up of the Don Schumacher Racing Dodge (DSR) Charger R/T Funny Car driven by Matt Hagan in order to “wake-up Denver” and let fans know Mopar drivers and teams are in town and revving to get the weekend started.

The Mopar Express Lane Crew helmed by team owner Don Schumacher warmed up the Funny Car, which features a special 50th anniversary tribute to the legendary 426 Race HEMI^®engine for this weekend’s national event, in front of fans in the early morning hours with the sounds of the 10,000 horsepower HEMI-powered Dodge Charger R/T echoing off the picturesque rocks surrounding the amphitheater plaza at Red Rocks. The 35th edition of Mopar’s signature event will be held at the Bandimere’s family quarter-mile Thunder Mountain drag strip at 5800 feet above sea level on July 18-20.

“We wanted to find a fun way to start the weekend off with some HEMI thunder of our own,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand, who was in attendance for the warm-up. “After celebrating 25 years of title sponsorship of this fantastic event in 2013, this year our focus is on commemorating the 50th anniversary of the iconic 426 Race HEMI. The legendary engine is still such a vital part of Mopar’s heritage and a key ingredient in the success we’ve had at Bandimere Speedway over these years. We’re very proud to be able to continue and add to that that legacy thanks to the hard work of our Mopar teams in Pro Stock and Funny Car classes.”

“We’re proud of the success the legendary HEMI engine continues to have on race tracks as that is what persistently reinforces the quality of the Mopar brand, not just making it synonymous with the sought after muscle car but also with quality service and parts,” Gorlier said. “We are especially proud to invite the father of the HEMI, Tom Hoover, to join us in that celebration as Grand Marshall of the Mopar Mile High Nationals.”

Widely regarded as the “Father of the 426 HEMI,” Tom Hoover spearheaded a performance revolution during his decades of service with Chrysler Corporation, playing an instrumental role in the creation of early racing programs, iconic engines and products that still fuel the Mopar and Dodge brands to this day.

In addition to his work on the 426 HEMI “elephant” engine — so nicknamed for its size, strength and power — Hoover also was instrumental in the development of early Funny Cars, small block engine NHRA Pro Stock cars and a long list of additional performance parts. Hoover was also a founding member of the Ramchargers race team, the legendary group of drag racers/Chrysler Corporation employees whose passion for quarter-mile competition helped launch the company’s motorsports program during the dawn of the performance era.

To complete the countdown to this weekend’s national event will be the 13th edition of the popular Mopar Block Party festivities held on Thursday, July 17th, from 6 to 10 p.m. (MT) between 11th and 13th street in downtown Golden, Colo. where fans are invited to take part in a large variety of free activities.

They include an All-Mopar driver autograph session featuring five-time and defending title winner, Allen Johnson, five-time and reigning NHRA Pro Stock World Champion, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and runner-up the last two years at Bandimere Speedway, V. Gaines. Also joining the factory Mopar Hot Rod drivers will be 2011 Funny Car Champion Matt Hagan and 2012 Champ Jack Beckman, teammate Tommy Johnson Jr., as well as DSR Top Fuel drivers Tony Schumacher and Spencer Massey.

On display will be Mopar’s NHRA race cars, classic cars and special display vehicles, as well as Mopar product demonstrations. The evening will be hosted by local radio personality Willie B. of KBPI 106.7 FM and highlights will also include a live concert with local Golden vendors offering food and drink for purchase. Also broadcasting live from the street party will be Kurt Hansen’s “Race Central Radio on Yahoo Sports, ESPN Sports Radio And KFNX AM 100 Phoenix presented By Office Liquidators, Tuff Shed and Bandimere Speedway”.

As Mopar teams prepare to hit the track at scenic Rocky Mountain drag strip there is plenty of anticipation for the event that serves as the opener of the NHRA western swing, which includes stops in Sonoma, California, and Seattle, Washington. Last year, the Roy Johnson tuned Pro Stock HEMI engines swept the western swing and are hoping to repeat the feat starting with a win at the Mopar Mile High Nationals

The odds favour Allen Johnson who has been the king of Thunder Mountain earning five wins (2013, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2007), four No. 1 Qualifier award, seven straight final round appearances and has posted nine out of the ten fastest passes at this track. He and Mopar teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr, along with HEMI-powered hometown favorite, V. Gaines, will be taking their new Dodge Dart hot rods down the track for the first time since their debut earlier this season.

In Funny Car, Hagan would like to take his HEMI 50th anniversary Mopar to the winners circle for this first time while Beckman would like to add a victory to the two titles earned in 2012 and 2007 and three final round appearances in the past seven years. Tommy Johnson Jr. has seen victory circle at Bandimere Speedway in other classes but will work to take his Funny Car Dodge Charger R/T there this weekend while Ron Capps, who stands third in the Funny Car points, would love to use a win in Denver to propel him further up the standings.

ESPN2 will provide coverage of the Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals with two hours of qualifying highlights on Saturday, July 19 starting at 11 p.m. (ET). Three and a half hours of elimination round coverage will air on Sunday, July 20, starting at 2:30 p.m. (ET).

The post HEMI® Engines are Revved Up for Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway appeared first on Modern Mopar Magazine.

2014 Marks 50th Anniversary of the Iconic 426 HEMI

Lisa — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 18:21:30 +0000

Mopar Unveils Logo, Special Product Line and Plans Marketing Events

2014 marks 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Gen II 426 Race HEMI®
Mopar unveils 50th anniversary HEMI logo celebrating the iconic engine
Engine made its legendary debut in February 1964 by dominating the Daytona 500
A version of the Gen II 426 HEMI still powers NHRA Funny Car and Top Fuel vehicles
Special 50th anniversary HEMI merchandise product line available on WearMopar.com
Marketing events planned for fans throughout the year

Throughout 2014, Mopar will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the iconic second generation (Gen II) 426 Race HEMI^® engine to motorsports competition and its eventual initiation to production vehicles.

To kick off the year-long commemoration of the legendary engine, Mopar has created a 50th anniversary logo. The design incorporates an elephant in reference to the engine’s moniker, which resulted from the powerplant’s imposing size, strength and power. The logo also features the trademark HEMI-orange color that covered the engine and made it even more recognizable.

“Mopar is proud to mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Gen II 426 HEMI, a revolutionary engine that inspired a long line of quality products in our brand’s portfolio,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO — Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “The 426 HEMI is such a vital part of our heritage and a key ingredient in helping make Mopar what it is today. The success of the Race HEMI launched a unique brand of sought after muscle cars that had fans began to refer to as Mopars, and that is something we are very proud of.”

While Chrysler engineers initially introduced the original hemispherical combustion engine design for passenger cars in 1951 and celebrated its 60^th anniversary in 2011, the iconic and revolutionary second generation HEMI engine, so closely associated with the muscle car era, made its memorable debut in 1964.

The new second generation HEMI measured 426 cubic inches and was built specifically to win races. Two versions of this 426 race engine were built – one called the “Circuit” or “Track” engine and the other the “Acceleration” or “Drag” engine.

The Gen II 426 Race HEMI was first introduced at the Daytona 500 in February 1964 with legendary driver Richard Petty winning the race handily in his Plymouth, while a dominating performance by three other HEMI-powered entries gave four of the top five finishing positions to the new powerplant. Petty drove to eight victories and earned the NASCAR championship in 1964 with HEMI-powered cars amassing a total of 26 race wins. The HEMI used for the season was rated at 400 horsepower and had a compression ratio of 12.5:1.

That same year in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing competition, Don Garlits broke the 200-mph barrier in the Gen II 426 Race HEMI-powered car travelling the quarter-mile straight-line distance in 7.78 seconds at 201.34 mph.

For the following season, NASCAR’s sanctioning body changed the rules mandating that all engines used for its races must be available in production vehicles. This led to the withdrawal from NASCAR competition for the 1965 season and saw Chrysler engineers concentrate their efforts in drag racing.

A new lighter drag racing package, referred to as A-990, debuted in the NHRA Super Stock class in 1965 in Dodge and Plymouth vehicles with altered wheelbases, launching the popularity of Funny Cars. To this day, a version of that engine still powers every single Funny Car and Top Fuel engine regardless of being badged by other manufacturers.

With the introduction of the 426 “Street” HEMI in 1966 for production vehicles, the HEMI made a return to NASCAR racing. During the next several years, vehicles with HEMI engines won countless races, numerous championships in various professional categories and were feared by competitors.

With the availability of a Street HEMI, Chrysler no longer offered a special drag racing engine. Instead, drag racers were provided with the street version, which they could modify at their discretion. The only exception was the limited edition 1968 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracudas that remained powered by the 426 Race HEMI, with only 75 of each model produced.

The heritage of those special vehicles is celebrated each year by Mopar with the HEMI Challenge that takes place in the Sportsman class at the NHRA’s prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. The HEMI Challenge made its debut in 2001 and features these classic muscle cars, which contributed to the brand’s legendary reputation and success at the drag strip.

In anticipation of the 50^th anniversary of the 426 Race HEMI engine, Mopar also established the “Tom Hoover Sportsman Challenge” at the start of the 2013 season, with a winner selected from the Sportsman Stock or Super Stock classes by amassing the most points at the wheel of a Chrysler Group vehicle in the course of a season during NHRA sanctioned races nationwide.

Since its1964 debut, the second generation Gen II 426 HEMI remains a legend due to its reputation and performance on and away from the racetrack, the dedication and skill that Chrysler designers put into it, as well as its rarity since availability was discontinued in production vehicles in 1971.

The innovative engine’s offspring live on, not only in the NHRA within all Funny Car and Top Fuel machines, but also within both new production and classic heritage vehicles thanks to the availability of current day products (including the installation of a crate engine), to transform them into a “Mopar”-machines.

To mark the 50th anniversary celebration, and complement the availability and continued development of these engines, a unique product line of HEMI merchandise has been created and will be launched throughout the month of January at WearMopar.com. This new product line features the HEMI 50th anniversary logo and will include items such as clothing, decorative lighting, clocks, a pub table, stools, and much more.

Numerous marketing initiatives and events surrounding the 50th anniversary, designed to encourage Mopar fans to partake in the celebrations nationwide, are also planned for 2014 and will be announced shortly.

The post 2014 Marks 50th Anniversary of the Iconic 426 HEMI appeared first on Modern Mopar Magazine.