Great Dodge Challenger Drag Racing Moments - Something to Remember When It's Gone

They started as a machine shop that supplied parts and assemblies to Detroit-based automakers like Ford. Still, they soon branched out into building their automobiles from around 1914 before being acquired by Chrysler in 1928. For decades, their mainstay focus was performance cars, trucks, and full-size passenger cars, and they always acted as Chrysler's mid-tier brand above the likes of Plymouth.

Among their icons, we can easily count the Dodge Ram trucks (now a separate brand) or the pony and muscle car representatives like the Charger and Challenger. Unfortunately, starting this year, only one of these nameplates gets another chance at glory – the eighth-generation Charger has arrived in Daytona in all-electric form to replace both the L-bodied Charger sedan and the third-generation Challenger coupe.

As such, the new Charger has both a two-door fastback coupe format and the modern four-door sedan body style, as well as both all-electric and new 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six twin-turbo options via the new Sixpack category. However, don't be in a hurry to discard the Challenger predecessor, as the latter had access to the glorious Hemi V8, and it could achieve marvelous feats, both on the street and the local racetracks such as the quarter-mile dragstrips.

But there is no need to take our word for granted. Instead, let us give you a fine example – the videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube is a big fan of The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he witnessed something Mopar going on. In fact, everything was Moparized and even the announcer noticed they were dealing with the "hell kitty cat category," given the abundance of Hellcats, Widebodys, Redeyes, and Super Stocks.

As such, get ready for an all-out festival of Dodge Challenger SRT models in Las Vegas. We begin with a couple of widebodys – one crimson and black with a few splashes of color and another white and blue-striped. Knowing they were on equal terms, the red Mopar's driver was faster than the Christmas tree and got red-lighted as a consequence (it would have won, though – 10.82s versus 10.98s).

Next came an older Hellcat (note the single-hood intake) and a white Challenger that got splashes of red paint all over the front area – this Mopar was so good off the mark that its opponent decided it wasn't worth the trouble and strolled down its lane. Indeed, the 9.79s ET would have been pretty darn hard to beat, especially with a 17.42s ET.

Anyway, a Super Stock came up next, all dressed in gray and black and with an imposing hood plus Widebody attire – the orange and black-striped Hellcat didn't seem impressed, at least judging by its cool takeoff. However, it was all a ruse from the Super Stock as the latter shot out like a rocket, caught up with its opponent, and posted a flying 8.78s versus 10.89s pass!

So, do you want more of this sweet Mopar action? No worries, this was just the 'appetizer' because we have only discussed the first three minutes of this delightful Dodge Challenger SRT compilation! After that, more interesting things happen during the final six minutes – but we're not going to spoil the fun of finding out for yourself if anyone managed to beat that great eight-second time or not. Enjoy!