Demon Runs 10.30s on First Real-World Track Rips with Race Gas

Now that customers are getting their hands on the 100-octane tune, the track times are speaking volumes.

Today we bring you what we believe to be the first look at a privately-owned 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon making a quarter mile run with the race gas PCM. This is the owner’s first trip to the track with the newly-installed 100-octane race gas PCM from the Demon Crate, while also being his first time down a quarter-mile track with the supercharged Mopar monster. He has made some roll-runs on an airstrip with the stock PCM, but this is his first time at the track with all 840 horsepower.

The Man Behind the Demon

Before getting into the detail of this run, here are some notes on the car and the driver. This bright-yellow Demon is owned by Craig Belevender, who received his supercharged Challenger a few weeks back. After a couple of weeks, he received his Demon Crate, so he headed to the dealership to have the race gas PCM installed (thus protecting his factory warranty).

Once he had unlocked the full 840-horsepower potential of his 2018 Challenger Demon, Belevender headed to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. His goal was to get a feel for the unique TransBrake launch control system and over the course of the evening, he made six passes down the quarter-mile dragstrip. The car has the wide front wheels/tires and the full interior, along with the race gas PCM and a tank full of 100-octane fuel.

Learning the TransBrake

When we tested the Demon last summer, we were happy to run a 10.50 with the TransBrake system with only a handful of runs. The TransBrake is a unique tool, and while it unlocks the Demon’s ability to run in the 9s, it takes some practice to get the hang of this high-tech launch system. This is not a car that everyone is going to get in, mash the pedal, and run 9s, but based on Belevender’s first trip to the track with all 840 horsepower, 9s aren’t far away.

Belevender made six runs and his best pass of the evening was a 10.378 at 134.7 miles per hour. On that run, he had a 1.625 short time and eighth mile figures of 6.721 at 106.86. Critics will point out that this is about seven tenths of a second off of the 9.65 record for the Demon, but there are a few things to keep in mind here.

Breaking Down the Runs

First, the Demon’s record runs were made in the best possible conditions possible, running in southern Florida at night in late November. Density Altitude (DA) during the 9.65 run was well below 0. During Belevender’s 10.378, the DA was around 1,500 feet, so there was a huge difference in air quality.

Second, when the Dodge team got their test Demon into the 9.60s, the driver had made hundreds upon hundreds of runs down the track. Craig Belevender has made six runs, so with the Demon being a car that requires some seat time in order to run the best numbers, he has a few hundred runs worth of practice to catch up to the Dodge test team.

We will continue to monitor Craig Belevender’s Demon as he gets more seat time, but for now, he is running in the low 10s.

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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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