The results of Car & Driver’s Lightning Lap 10 were published in the October 2016 issue (on newsstands now) and yesterday, the C&D crew posted the videos from all of LL10 – including the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR and the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.
In case you hadn’t heard, the Viper ACR turned the quickest lap in Lightning Lap 10, comfortably beating the other 19 production cars on hand for the shootout at Virginia International Raceway. The Viper ACR ran a best time of 2:44.2, making it the quickest car in this year’s class and also making it quicker than the C7 Corvette Z06, by a margin of 9 tenths of a second. The only production car to run quicker than the Viper was the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder, which was 1.1 seconds quicker and which costs around $700,000 more than the ACR.
The video below shows the Viper setting this year’s winning pace VIR.
While the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was nowhere near the top of the Lightning Lap 10 leaderboard, it was still the quickest 4-door car in the field, beating the Ford Focus RS, the Lexus GS F and the Tesla Model S P85D. With a time of 3:03.5, the Hellcat Charger was almost as quick as the previous Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca around the VIR Grand West course and when you consider the fact that this 4,600lb, full sized sedan is often accused of being nothing but a straight line performer – the supercharged Dodge sedan laid out an impressive effort.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
