Dodge Challenger Hellcat Runs a 7.07-second Quarter-Mile

Dodge Challenger is the quickest Hellcat car in the world, nearly running as fast as NHRA Pro Stock cars.

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat made a big splash in the performance world back in the summer of 2014 when it was made official that the supercharged Mopar muscle car would have 707 horsepower. That made it the most powerful American production car ever while a stock quarter mile time of 11.2 made it the quickest American production car ever.

Earlier this month, the heavily modified Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat called “Grumpy Cat,” owned and driven by Kevin Helmick, ran a 7.07 quarter mile.

You read that right – it cover the quarter mile in just 7.07 seconds, reaching 184 miles per hour in that time. That makes it the quickest quarter mile Hellcat car in the world, jumping ahead of the “007” Hellcat Challenger from the Epling Garage race team, which has held the title of the world’s quickest Hellcat in the quarter mile for several years.

Below, we have all of the details on how to transform a stock Hellcat Challenger in a quarter mile machine that runs low 7s at almost 200 miles per hour.

GRMPYCAT Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

As you can surely tell by looking at the pictures here, Helmick’s Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is heavily modified in just about every way. However, this did begin its life as a normal production Hellcat Challenger in black. Helmick raced it in factory-looking form for some time, then the car went under the knife for the transformation into the beast that you see here. The car is commonly called “Grumpy Cat” online, but Helmick pointed out that it is technically GRMPYCAT, with the “M” being the Mopar logo. No matter what you call it, it is one wicked Dodge Challenger.

In most cases, we will discuss the modifications to a vehicle, but in this case, they are so extensive that it is easier to display them all as a list.

Engine and Transmission:
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

ATI big shaft full T400
Moroso pan
Neal Chance converter
Trans brake
M&M shifter

Chassis, body and interior:
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 4.11
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

Team Details:
Owner/Driver- TC2 Motorsports– Kevin Helmick
Fabricator: Brazzel Performance Fabrication- Jason Brazzel
Engine: Demon Performance-Sujal Patel and TKM- Kevin Mullins
Tuner: TKM- The Kevin Mullins
Crew Chief- Bill Quay
Technician- Curtis Creel

Race for the Record

Over the course of the past two years or so, the quickest Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in the world was the car called “007” from the Epling Garage family race team. They were the first Hellcat to the 8s, the first to the 7s and their most recent record was 7.33 at 186 miles per hour. Over the course of the past year or so, Helmick has been closing in on the Epling’s numbers, but on Monday, September 13, the Grumpy Cat Challenger laid down a series of runs to claim the title of the world’s quickest Hellcat car in the quarter mile. The still below shows Helmick in the near lane and the Epling car in the far lane from the Modern Street Hemi Shootout Hemi’Nsanity event earlier this season.

On his best run, which you can watch in the video below, Helmick pulls a 1.155 60-foot time with a 4.589 at 162.7 miles per hour at the eighth mile. After the 1000-foot mark passed at 5.902 seconds, the Grumpy Cat Challenger stopped the timers with a 7.07 at 184.98 miles per hour. Later on in the video, he runs a 7.19 at 187.23 miles per hour and a 7.13 at 190.14 miles per hour to secure his record as both the quickest and the fastest Hellcat car in the quarter mile.

Yes, it is heavily modified, but this began life as a full production Hellcat Challenger and, like the other record-setters, this car has been built into a monstrous racing machine.

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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