The Mopar Dodge//SRT sponsored race cars of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) will feature a new look for this weekend’s National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Lucas Oil Summernationals in Indianapolis. This weekend’s race marks the second of two consecutive national events at Lucas Oil Raceway to restart the 2020 NHRA schedule after a four-month pause in competition.
Both the Funny Car of Matt Hagan and the Top Fuel Dragster of Leah Pruett will be sporting a new “SRT Hellcat Redeye” paint scheme to go along with the recent unveiling of the new 797 horsepower 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world. With a top speed of 203 mph and quarter-mile elapsed time of 10.6 seconds at 129 mph, the 2021 Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is designed and engineered to appeal to muscle car enthusiasts who want even more power, more performance, and more bragging rights at the drag strip.
After driving away with bragging rights and a Wally trophy of his own by earning his first national event win of the season at this past Sunday’s E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals, Hagan is looking forward to trying to repeat that performance aboard his new-look Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye this weekend.
“It’s beautiful and those colors really pop and I think it’s going to look great at 330 mph, so don’t blink,” says Hagan, whose speed has earned him two No.1 qualifier awards this season to date. “It’s one of those deals where Dodge has always come out with some awesome schemes, the coolest and fastest cars. I love that they really give me an opportunity to engage with the fans and the stuff they sell on the showroom floor. Dodge always comes out with some cool stuff and I’m excited for fans to see it because I love it. It’s an amazing paint scheme.
“My Hellcat Redeye Funny Car might be faster and more fun to drive,” adds the two-time Funny Car world champion, “but when you have a production car that you can grab off the showroom floor and take it out there, that’s pretty awesome. It’s pure power. It’s probably the closest you can get to what we’re drag racing, having that raw power in the palms of your hands and underneath you.”
Leah Pruett is no stranger to special Dodge paint schemes, including her success running the popular “Angry Bee” paint scheme celebrating the launch of the 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320. Her Top Fuel dragster will also feature the new look, and she is looking forward to showing it off this weekend.
“I’d like to say that I’m surprised how good it looks, but I’ve come to expect nothing but the remarkable from Dodge when it comes to showcasing their cars,” says Pruett. “They stand out on the racetrack and they stand out when it comes to how the cars look and how they perform. It makes me feel like when you’ve got a really nice dress and your dancing shoes on and you look hot-to-trot, then you go and have a good night out on the town.
“They’ve actually simplified that paint scheme into something that really pops with the chrome detail and that flat black is simple and refined,” says Pruett. “While I love my blue Mopar for how sleek and cool, like with a lot of o’s cool it is, this Redeye is spicy hot.”
After reaching the quarterfinals in the NHRA’s return to the drag strip last weekend, Pruett is also hoping to harness some of the energy she feels comes with the new Redeye look to maintain her top-five position in the Top Fuel point standings.
“This Redeye dragster is going to have a good weekend. I can just tell. There is an aura about it. The Redeye stands for ultimate power and it’s a way for us to be able to relate to those Redeye owners. It’s a new version for us to highlight. We had the 1320 and the Demon and I personally have driven a couple of Redeyes and wish I had one of my own. I feel that we are going to not only look good but do well,” says Pruett.
The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye-themed paint schemes will remain on the two DSR entries through the next two scheduled NHRA events, including the Dodge Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Colorado, on Aug. 7th to 9th.
Source: Mopar
