Dodge Challenger 1320 World Record Set by a Rookie Racer

Challenger 1320 driven by Kenzie Peterson set the quarter mile record on her third trip to the track with an 11.37.

The 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack was introduced as the world’s quickest factory-stock, quarter-mile machine with an official time of 11.7. Several owners have already run better numbers with seat time and a swap to a better drag radial tire, but none of them have gotten down the track as quickly as 22-year old Kenzie Peterson. With three simple changes, her Challenger 1320 ran an 11.37 at 118.76 miles per hour, but making it even more impressive is the fact that Peterson began racing earlier this year and she set this record on her third-ever trip to the track with her Mopar muscle car.

That record-setting run was captured and brought to you by the YouTube channel of yours truly.

Holmberg Motorsports 1320

You might recognize the Dodge Challenger 1320 in the video above, as we have featured it before here on DodgeForum.com when Peterson’s step-father Tim Holmberg ran an 11.48. Under the colors of Holmberg Motorsports, Tim races his 2018 Demon and made some break-in runs with Peterson’s 1320 prior to introducing her to the sport.

Holmberg explained to me that when the 1320 package was introduced, he and his wife, Laura, went to Kenzie and asked if she was interested in getting involved with drag racing. The parents explained that if she was serious about learning the sport, they would buy the car and Tim would show her the ropes. She agreed and after her step-dad had the car broken-in, she began her time in the Challenger 1320.

While this Challenger 1320 is stock, it is nearly stock, running on stock power. Like the Dodge test car that ran 11.70s, this muscle car has the single-seat interior layout, but Holmberg wanted to get more weight out of the car. He did so by installing a lightweight Darrel Cox Racing battery, skinny front wheels and tires and lighter rear wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street R drag radials. As a result, this 1320 weighs just 3,960 pounds without the driver, but it also features a superior drag radial to the Nexen tires that come on the car.

Everything else in this Challenger 1320 is stock.

Record Run

The video above, Kenzie Peterson is making a run during her third trip to the track as a driver, piloting her Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 against a Chevrolet Camaro. The Chevy gets the better reaction time, but the Dodge is a whole lot quicker, immediately catching, passing and blowing away the Camaro.

More importantly than winning the race is the elapsed time, as with an 11.517 at 118.76 miles per hour, Peterson set the world record for the new Challenger 1320. With a lighter battery, wheels and tires, this Challenger is nearly as quick as a stock Hellcat car, and with the young woman still learning the car, we could see quicker times from Peterson in the future.

In the meantime, crank up your speakers and enjoy this footage of Kenzie Peterson setting the world record.

Join the Dodge Forums now!

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

Facebook   Twitter