Blind Dodge Challenger Hellcat Owner Runs a 10-second Quarter-mile
Sheldon Wilson is legally blind, but that doesn’t stop him from pursuing his Dodge passion.
There are many Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcats running in the 10-second quarter mile range, but none have a backstory like the beautiful B5 Blue Mopar muscle car shown here. This Hellcat is owned by Alaskan Sheldon Wilson, who is legally blind, but thanks to some help from his employer and some friends, he is able to go racing with his supercharged Dodge. In fact, at a recent drag racing event held by Gene’s Chrysler Dodge in Fairbanks, Alaska, Wilson made his first 10-second run and we believe that this is the first 10-second quarter mile pass made by a blind Hellcat driver.
Sheldon Wilson’s Story
Sheldon Wilson was diagnosed with a rare stage of Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis at when he was just two weeks old. As a result, he lost the majority of his vision and he points out that he is legally blind. Some people who are legally blind can see, but they have very poor vision. In Wilson’s case, he has only very limited light perception and on very bright, sunny days, he cannot see anything at all. In cloudy conditions he can make out light and shadows, but he is unable to see in many situations. However, that hasn’t stopped him from exercising his passion for Dodge muscle cars.
His first Mopar was a 2014 Challenger SRT8 in Jazz Blue Pearl with Gray stripes and Black Vapor Chrome wheels. That car was upgraded with a Legmaker cold air intake, StainlessWorks long tube headers and exhaust, a 3.73 rear differential, Stop Tech brakes and Billet Technology accessories under hood.
More recently, Wilson purchased a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and began modifying it as well. This supercharged B5 beast has a Legmaker cold air intake, StainlessWorks long tube headers and exhaust, a 3.09 rear differential, a one piece aluminum drive shaft, a BWoody differential brace, Factory Reproductions 20 20-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin rubber up front, 325-45-18 Hoosier drag radials out back and an engine tune from Barth Tuning.
Finally, like his SRT8, this Hellcat was ceramic coated by Brandon Reason, the owner of Absolute Auto Detail in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Hitting the Track
Due to his vision issues, Sheldon Wilson is not permitted to drive his Dodge Challengers on public roads. However, Lane Nichols, Wilson’s boss and owner of Gene’s Chrysler Dodge has track days for his employees from time to time at Alaska Raceway Park in Butte. At those events, Wilson is able to take his cars down the track with some help from Brandon Reason, who rides shotgun and serves as Wilson’s eyes during the run. Reason also made a pass in Wilson’s car, running a 10.88 at 127 miles per hour, but more importantly, he helped this blind Mopar fanatic get his own 10-second time slip.
In the video below, Wilson is behind the wheel of his Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Reason is riding shotgun, providing instruction to set up the run. He tells Wilson what steering adjustments to make, when to brake, when to burnout and when to launch. On this run, Wilson left a little early and got the red light, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that on this run, this B5 Blue Challenger stopped the timer with a 10.95 at 125.5 miles per hour. To our knowledge, that is the quickest quarter mile time by a blind Hellcat driver.
Wilson credits a handful of people with helping to make his Mopar racing dreams come true. This includes Lane Nichols and Luke Kincaide of Gene’s Chrysler, along with Russ Reason, owner of FrontLine Automotive and Brandon Reason, owner of Absolute Auto Detail and his co-pilot on this run. It is awesome that the dealership holds this type of event for all of the employees, but it is particularly important for Wilson, who gets to enjoy his Dodge Challengers in their full capacity.
Finally, Sheldon also wants to thank his mom and stepdad Mike for always helping him make the most of his passion for Mopar performance.
All images provided by Sheldon Wilson for DodgeForum.
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