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A.J. Allmendigner, the newest member of the Penske Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup team, is profiled in this Dodge Motorsports video:
Video courtesy of Chrysler Electronic Communications.
Like on Facebook • Tags: A.J. Allmendinger, Chrysler, Dodge Charger, NASCAR, Penske Racing, Sprint Cup.
Chrysler Group’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) brand has announced the 10-race 2012 season schedule for the newly named SRT Viper Cup Series Presented by Pennzoil Ultra – formerly the Dodge Viper Cup series. Entering its third year of competition in 2012, the series will visit five of the country’s most famous and challenging road courses at events sanctioned by the North American Road Racing Association (NARRA):
| Race Dates | Track/Location |
|---|---|
| April 14-15 | Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga. |
| May 12-13 | Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. |
| July 7-8 | Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Va. |
| Aug. 25-26 | Monticello Motor Club, Monticello, N.Y. |
| Oct. 20-21 | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y. |
A revised rule package for the 2012 season includes the elimination of race qualifying for the five scheduled Sunday races. Instead the Sunday race fields will be set in reverse order of the finishing field from each of the previous day’s races. This inverted start will create even more on-track action as the faster drivers will now have to move through the field to the front.
“The SRT Viper Cup Series continues to offer a fantastic way for road-racing enthusiasts to compete in our ultimate American sports car,” said SRT CEO Ralph Gille – President and CEO, SRT and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC. “The 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X is designed and built specifically for the race track by taking all the performance attributes of Viper to an even higher level for a wide range of drivers starting with the grassroots racer all the way up to the professional. And with the rule changes for the 2012 season such as the inverted race field for Sunday races along with the continuation of our celebrity driver program, the next chapter of Viper racing looks to be better than ever.”
Celebrity Driver and Charity Payout Program: SRT selects each celebrity driver and professionally trains them for the competition. As many as two celebrity drivers will be invited to participate each race weekend. Guaranteed payouts to celebrity drivers of $2,000 for the highest finishing celebrity and $1,000 for the next highest will be donated directly to the series’ official charity of the series: the National Breast Cancer Coalition. Donations will be made following all 10 series races.
“We are exceedingly grateful to the SRT brand for selecting the National Breast Cancer Coalition as the official charity for its SRT Viper Cup Series in 2012,” said Fran Visco, president of the coalition. “These grassroots racing efforts play an important role in helping bring more national attention and support to Breast Cancer Deadline 2020®, our strategic plan of action to end breast cancer by January 1, 2020.”
Since the inaugural 2010 season, the celebrity driver program has donated close to $80,000 to various charities.
Making a return to the series in 2012 is the Lux Performance Group, which will once again be the “works” team behind the scenes managing the celebrity driver program.
“Our successful SRT Viper Cup Series celebrity driver program will continue in 2012 by offering Viper ACR-X rides to select media and celebrities for them to experience one of the best factory-built race cars out there,” Gilles added. “We’re lucky to have the Lux Performance Group managed by Cindi Lux back with us to not only safely convey the special message of what it’s like to race a Viper, but to expertly provide the best race car and driver instruction possible every weekend.”
Series Contingency Program: The series contingency program sponsored by SRT, Mopar and Michelin provides a number of payouts to the top-10 drivers. Drivers from each race will earn the following payouts in cash, Mopar vouchers for the purchase of Mopar parts and accessories, and Michelin Tire Bucks good for the purchase of Michelin tires.
| Driver Finish | Cash | Mopar Voucher | Michelin Bucks | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $4,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| 2nd | $2,500 | $500 | $500 | $3,500 |
| 3rd | $1,750 | $250 | $250 | $2,250 |
| 4th | $800 | $200 | $1,000 | |
| 5th | $600 | $200 | $800 | |
| 6th | $500 | $200 | $700 | |
| 7th | $400 | $200 | $600 | |
| 8th | $300 | $200 | $500 | |
| 9th | $200 | $200 | $400 | |
| 10th | $100 | $200 | $300 |
The 2012 SRT Viper Cup Series champion will win an additional $10,000 cash award. Series entry fees will remain unchanged from last season at $800 per car, per race.
Like on Facebook • Tags: Racing, Ralph Gilles, SRT, Viper, Viper Cup series.
Mopar’s 75th anniversary is on Tuesday, January 31, 2012, and you’re invited to take a ride into a new and exciting future. Please join us for a 75th Anniversary Celebration and glimpse of what’s to come.
Event Highlights include: Unveiling of the Mopar ’12; a collection of Past, Present and Future Vehicles; Special Events Announcements and much more.
Be a part of the entire event and watch the Web Broadcast live right here on Allpar.com or at the special Mopar anniversary website. The event starts nest Tuesday, January 31, at 8:30 AM, Eastern, 7:30 AM Central, 6:30 AM Mountain and 5:30 AM Pacific.
SPECIAL NOTE: Watch the Webcast for a chance to win a special 75th anniversary prize pack. During the broadcast, watch for a special promo code that you can enter on Mopar.com for a chance to win. Winners will be randomly selected and will receive a Mopar 75th anniversary prize pack.
Like on Facebook • Tags: 75th anniversary, Chrysler, Mopar.
Join in a live telephone interview with Brian Keselowski & Sloan Henderson at 7:30 PM Eastern, 6:30 PM Central!
Get your chance to talk to Dodge Motorsports ARCA team owner & Sprint Cup driver Brian Keselowski LIVE!
Brian Keselowski’s ARCA Dodge Motorsports team now includes the new driver of the No. 29 Dodge Charger for the Daytona 500, Sloan Henderson, who also will be on the program! Get to know Sloan & how she is making her mark in the world of stock car racing!
If you would like to join us on the program or have any questions you wish to ask our guest, Brian Keselowski, please call (218) 632 0550, then punch in the access code 884791#
All interested allpar members wishing to ask a question of our guests need to call in by 7:00 PM Eastern-6:00 PM Central so we can count how many people we have on the call. You will be asked to state your full name, your home city & state your from and your allpar.com user name.
Thanks to MoparBob for the tip!
Like on Facebook • Tags: ARCA, Brian Keselowski, Chrysler, Dodge, Racing, Sloan Henderson.
SAE International’s best-selling We Were The Ramchargers is now available in audio CD-ROM format.
Narrator Dave McClelland, “The Voice of the NHRA,” brings Dave Rockwell’s book to life with inside details on all elements of the Ramchargers story. Rockwell and McClelland go behind the scenes with the group of Chrysler engineers who, from the 1950s through the 1970s, became one of the most successful and influential drag racing teams of all time. The only team of engineers from an automobile manufacturer to drag race successfully, the Ramchargers broke the most time barriers in drag racing history and earned the most NHRA Super Stock titles during the sport’s golden era of factory competition.
Rockwell, a Ramcharger himself, interviewed more than 40 team members, competitors, and track operators, making it the first book to provide inside details on all elements of the Ramchargers story. In addition to chronicling the races they won and legendary cars they developed (including the High and Mighty, 426 Hemi, and first Funny Car), corporate and personal files are revealed and take listeners behind the doors at Chrysler (showing, among other things, how the Ramchargers helped pioneer the platform team concept), and the personalities of the men who made it all happen.
This abridged audiobook features bonus materials that include interviews with author Dave Rockwell and Ramcharger Tom Hoover.
Sections Include:
Ramchargers fans, Mopar aficionados, and those interested in automotive racing history can order “We Were The Ramchargers” from SAE International’s website or email CustomerService@sae.org; or call1-877-606-7323 (U.S. and Canada only) or 1-724-776-4970 (International).
We Were The Ramchargers (ISBN: 978-0-7680-6034-8) SAE Product Code: R-384.CD List Price: $39.95
Like on Facebook • Tags: Chrysler, Dave Rockewell, Dodge, drag racing, NHRA, Ramchargers.
Pro Stock driver Richie Stevens, sitting in for Team Mopar’s Allen Johnson, who is recovering from surgery, set an unofficial Pro Stock record when he drove the Mopar Dodge Avenger in a 6.466-second, 212.51 mph run last week. The current official NHRA Pro Stock record is 6.477-seconds.
Stevens made the run at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida.
“We’ve really worked hard on the car during both test sessions this off-season,” said Johnson. “We have the car working really good down low and it turned into a spectacular run. We learned a lot during the test this week that we will work on in the shop before we head west.”
Stevens also turned in a 6.48-second pass earlier in the week. The test session was the second of the off-season for the team, with plans for more test runs at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Feb. 3-5, with Johnson back behind the wheel.
“I’m very excited to get back in our Mopar Dodge Avenger in Las Vegas,” noted Johnson. “It will be good to get the feel of the car again and get into a rhythm and get honed in to go to Pomona. We want to make sure we come out of the box strong this year.”
The 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season kicks off for Johnson Feb. 9-12 with the 52nd Annual NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club (Calif.) Raceway at Pomona. For more information on the NHRA, visit http://www.nhra.com.
Like on Facebook • Tags: Chrysler, Dodge, drag racing, Mopar, NHRA.