Team Mopar Gears Up for MoPowered Knoxville Nationals Title Run

Team Mopar is ready to roll into the legendary Knoxville Raceway for the 46th Annual Knoxville Nationals, as Paul McMahan, Joey Saldana, Tyler Walker, Sammy Swindell and Kevin Swindell all have their sights set on winning their first event title-MoPowered style.

McMahan and the No. 20 Tony Stewart Motorsports team have worked hard to mesh, and a recent upswing of strong finishes has boosted their confidence. The team is led by veteran crew chief Jimmy Carr, who has several Knoxville Nationals wins under his belt. McMahan has driven to two victories this season, and is seventh in the National Sprint Tour Series points.

Saldana and the No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing team head to Knoxville, with one victory at the facility already this season. Saldana has notched seven 2006 World of Outlaws Sprint Series A-main feature victories, and is second in the World of Outlaws Sprint Series championship.

Walker and the No. 5 Forbrook Motorsports team head into the event after a recent string of strong finishes. The Mopar-powered No. 5 machine is tuned by car owner and crew chief Guy Forbrook. Kevin Swindell and the No. 1 Swindell Motorsports team will look to follow up their World of Outlaws Sprint Series victory at the Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway in May, with a Knoxville Nationals win. Veteran Sammy Swindell will compete in the No. 1S machine, powered by a Stanton built Mopar engine.

Sammy Swindell will compete tonight in the first night of Knoxville Nationals preliminary action. McMahan, Saldana, Walker and Kevin Swindell will all compete in the second night of Knoxville Nationals preliminary action tomorrow, with the A-Main event scheduled for Saturday. Mopar powered machines have won the event three times this decade, earning the champion's title in 2000, 2003 and 2004. For more information regarding Mopar or Knoxville Raceway, log on to moparspeed.com, mopar.com or knoxvilleraceway.com.

Paul McMahan is part of a contingent of Mopar-powered drivers set to do battle in the 46th Annual Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. McMahan will be looking for his first Knoxville Nationals event title.

Joey Saldana is one of the drivers with a chance to claim the $10,000 MoPowered bonus at the 46th Annual Knoxville Nationals. The bonus goes to the driver who can win Saturday's A-main event utilizing Mopar power.

Sprint Stars Vie for
$10,000 MoPowered
Bonus at Knoxville Nationals

This week's 46th Annual Knoxville Nationals event will feature a battle within a battle, as Mopar will offer a $10,000 MoPowered bonus to the driver who can win Saturday's A-main event utilizing Mopar power. If the feat can be accomplished, $5,000 of the bonus will be paid to the engine builder, with the other $5,000 going to the race driver/team.

The strongest Team Mopar engine builder/team combinations up for the MoPowered bonus include Kevin Swindell, driving his Stanton Racing-powered No. 1 Swindell Motorsports car; Sammy Swindell, in his No. 1S Swindell Motorsports machine, also powered by Stanton Racing; the Gaerte Engines-powered No. 5 Forbrook Motorsports car, driven by Tyler Walker; Joey Saldana's No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing car, powered by Speedway Engine Development; and the No. 20 Tony Stewart Motorsports car, driven by Paul McMahan and powered by Kistler Engines. All the engines utilized by these teams feature Mopar powerplants.

The No. 1S team will compete in tonight's preliminary action. The No. 20, No. 5, No. 9 and No. 1 teams will compete in tomorrow's preliminary event. There are also several other Mopar powered entries entered in the event. For a complete rundown of the 46th Annual Knoxville Nationals and results, log on to knoxvilleraceway.com.

Mopar Midget Engine to Power 1969 Barracuda's Assault on Bonneville Speedweeks

The Bonnevillle Speedweeks, scheduled to begin this Friday at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Western Utah, will feature a one-of-a-kind car zooming along the salt. Famed car owner and hot-rod builder George Poteet will pilot his 1969 Barracuda, powered by a Mopar 4-cylinder Midget engine, as he attempts to break the 232 mph record in the Blown Fuel Competion Coupe/Sedan Class F.

The project was first conceived during the 2004 Autorama in Detroit by Poteet and fellow car builder Troy Trepanier, who, along with his father Jack, built the car at their shop, Rad Rides by Troy. The group hopes their long, hard work pays off with a class record this weekend.

"We put together a combination no one has ever tried, and it turned out extremely well," said Jack Trepanier. "This car is a street machine from the 1960s headed for the salt, with a turbo charged Mopar 4-cylinder Midget engine and a Mopar Performance P5 Hemi head. We're the first to push it to that limit with this head.

Trepanier is confident that if everything goes as expected, the car will have no problem meeting its expectations.

"Everything from an engineering standpoint points to this car breaking a record," said Trepanier. "But it's still racing, and we haven't been there yet. The Salt Flats are like driving on ice. If everything works out, we're going to break a record. We just have to go and do it."

For more info on Mopar or Rad Rides by Troy, log on to moparspeed.com, mopar.com or radrides.com.

"You have to hear this engine, because it's incredible. It sounds like a thousand hornets angry at each other. We found so much power that we're pulling back a bit. We don't need a lot of horsepower to go fast with the drag coefficient of this car, which at .21 is extremely low. A big part of that was due to [Dodge Motorsports engineer] Terry Dekoninck, who worked with us on the nose design. [Mopar Performance engineer] Jim Szilaygi also helped a lot on the project, as he was the designer of the Mopar 4-cylinder Midget engine we used."

— Jack Trepanier, who along with son Troy, built the 1969 Barracuda (shown above), powered by a Mopar 4-cylinder Midget engine, that George Poteet will pilot at the upcoming Bonneville Speedweeks.