Grumpy Again: Challenger Hellcat Goes 6.99 at 200 MPH

Remember that ‘World’s quickest’ first-gen Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat that ran a 7.07 last September? 

Kevin Helmick and his Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat known as “Grumpy Cat” has spent the past month as the quickest and fastest Hellcat car in the world. Helmick and his heavily modified Hellcat Challenger first claimed the title back in late-September when he ran a 7.07. He improved on that a few weeks later by running a 7.01 at 199 miles per hour, but Helmick was confident that a 6-second slip was in his future.

He was right, as during the Lone Star Mopar Fest at Houston Raceway Park with his fellow Modern Street Hemi Shootout racers, Helmick became the first Hellcat owner to run in the 6-second range. This turbocharged Challenger Hellcat ran a 6.99 at 200.05 miles hour, resetting the “quickest” and “fastest” Hellcat quarter mile records while also being the first in the 6-second range.

GRMPYCAT Hellcat Challenger

Before getting into the details of the world’s quickest and fastest Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat on the quarter mile, we should point out two things. First, this car begin its life as a normal production Hellcat Challenger. At first, Helmick modified is somewhat moderately and after loads of racing success, he went all-in on the track-ready build. It is massively modified, but this is a VIN Hellcat Challenger. Second, while the car is called Grumpy Cat by most people on social media, the name is technically GRMPYCAT, with the “M” being the Mopar rounded M logo.

This Hellcat Challenger was built by Jason Brazzel of Brazzel Performance Fabrication and the engine was built by Sujal Patel of Demon Performance and Kevin Mullins of TKM, with Mullins also handling the engine tuning. At the track, Bill Quay is the crew chief and Curtis Creel is the technician.

Here are all of the details on the engine of the world’s quickest and fastest Hellcat car.

The Engine:
426 stroked Gen 3 HEMI
98mm Jose turbo
Diamond pistons
8 Atomizer 850 inj
3 Atomizer 400 inj cold pipe
Winberg crank
Thitek ported heads
GRP rods
Custom ground cam
Victory titanium valves
Manton rocker arms
Trend one piece push rods
Johnson lifters
Waterman 26 GPM Fuel pump
Peterson external oil pump
Milodon oil pan
Holley Dominator EFI ECU system
MSD600

To put the power from the monstrous Hemi to the ground, Helmick runs an ATI Big Shaft Full T400 with a Neal Chance torque convertor, a transbrake and an M&M shifter. Of course, there is also considerable chassis and suspension work needed to run in the 6-second range, as well as unique safety items. Below is a full list of the other key features of the GRMPYCAT Hellcat Challenger.

Custom 25.2 chassis
Menscer 4 way adjustable shocks
Strange spindle
Strange carbon fiber brakes in front, aluminum brakes out back
Red River steering rack
Strange Ultrafab 9 with 9.5 pro gear
PST carbon fiber driveshaft
Davis Technologies VPS, Profiler
Custom 4 link suspension
Dual Stroud pneumatic chutes
Stroud fire suppression system
Cool shirt air system/water system
Smart wire
Weld V-Series front wheels with M/T
Bogart Racing rear with M/T 315 ET Street Pro Drag Radial
(Different wheels shown in some pictures from 2020)
All carbon fiber interior

While this car is heavily modified from stock form, there is no way for a Hellcat Challenger to run in the 6-second range without this extensive level of modification inside and out.

First to 6s

In the video below from Helmicks YouTube channel, you can watch his Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat blitz down the track. The car gets to the 60-foot mark in just 1.183 seconds while the eighth mile only takes 4.595 seconds with a speed of 164.23 miles per hour. The thousand-foot mark came and went in 5.886 seconds and on the big end, Helmick stopped the timers with a 6.991 at 200.05 miles per hour.

This run secures Helmick’s title as the world’s quickest and fastest Hellcat car on a quarter mile drag strip (and the eighth mile), but more importantly, Helmick and Grumpy Cat were the first to get a 6-second slip.

Patrick Rall

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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