American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 5 | Page 17

NHRA | Team PR

Mopar and Pennzoil will sponsor the
NHRA Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett at select events in 2016
and debut the blue Omega M on her
Don Schumacher Racing entry at the
37th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA
Nationals, July 22-24, at Bandimere
Speedway in Denver.
The announcement brings the Mopar
brand back to winning roots first fueled by drag racing icon “Big Daddy”
Don Garlits, who captured the majority of his Top Fuel championships and
event wins under Mopar Hemi power.
The new Top Fuel machine also expands the Mopar presence in the
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
The brand now serves as a sponsor in
three of the four NHRA Pro classes,
including Matt Hagan’s NHRA Funny
Car and Pro Stock entries piloted by
Erica Enders and Jeg Coughlin Jr., and
also remains deeply involved in supporting NHRA Sportsman racers, introducing last year the next generation of

its modern-day package car, the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak.
“We are extremely excited to team up
with our partners at Pennzoil in our
return to competition in the Top Fuel
class,” said Pietro Gorlier, head of
parts and service (Mopar), FCA-Global. “A key part of Mopar’s DNA has
always been going fast at the track.
We welcome Leah Pritchett to the
Mopar team and will cheer her on as
she drives us forward in Top Fuel.”
The association with Pennzoil extends
an already robust global business relationship between the two brands.
Shell supplies bulk and packaged oil
and transmission fluids for Mopar in
the United States, Canada, Mexico,
and many additional countries
throughout the world, and Pennzoil is
the approved factory-fill for Chrysler,
Dodge, Jeep, and Ram vehicles. Pennzoil is also a major associate sponsor
on Hagan’s Mopar Express Lane
Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.

“Pennzoil has not only a long and storied history as a supporter of motorsports but specifically an impressive
sponsorship of a roster of amazing
drag racers, including legends like Don
Prudhomme and Eddie Hill,” said Jesse
Campos, director of OEM marketing,
Shell Lubricants. “The partnership
with Don Schumacher Racing provides
Pennzoil with the ability to test existing and new motor oil technology developed by Pennzoil’s industry-leading
scientists in order to gain insights from
the track and to aid in the production
of innovative lubricants for consumer
vehicles in the future. This is coupled
with the growth of the NHRA audience
on FOX Sports 1 and the timing of
Leah’s relationship with Pennzoil to
begin at Denver, which will feature the
first live network coverage of NHRA on
FOX and mark the first time an NHRA
event ever will be broadcast live on
one of the four major networks. We
are honored to have Leah carry our
brand forward with DSR and Mopar
for 2016.”