Watch the world’s quickest Dodge Hellcat reset its own record while claiming another.
This past weekend, the world’s quickest Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat hit the track for the first time this season with a few new upgrades. The goal of Josh Schwartz and the rest of his team from High Horse Performance was to test the new heads/camshaft combo that they installed during the off-season – which they did – but this Dodge Challenger also managed to reset its own record for the quickest Hellcat in the world while also claiming the title for the world’s quickest blower-only (no nitrous) Hellcat car.
When the HHP-built Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat – known better as the Top Cat around the Mopar world – set the record last October with a 9.29 quarter mile, the supercharged Hemi under the hood had been modified with smaller pulleys, headers, a nitrous setup and a good tune while a heavy duty rear differential, lightweight wheels and sticky rear tires helped put that power to the ground. Since then, HHP added a set of ported cylinder heads, a new camshaft and a ported supercharger body, all of which will help the blown V8 breathe better and make more power.
The Top Cat Hellcat Challenger did make more power – enough to run a 9.44 at 144 miles per hour on a no-nitrous run. This was the quickest quarter mile time by any Hellcat car without the aid of nitrous oxide, allowing the Top Cat to claim the “blower-only” record…but they were done.
On the next run, Josh Schwartz opened the nitrous bottle and got out of the hole well enough to lay down a stunning 9.15 elapsed time with a trap speed of 158 miles per hour. No Hellcat car has ever gotten down the quarter mile in the 9.1 range before this and the trap speed of 158 is a higher speed than ever recorded by any Hellcat car on a quarter mile track.
Based on this run, it looks like an 8-second Hellcat is not far off, but in the meantime, check out the HHP-built Hellcat Challenger resetting its own world record.
"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.
