Watch a pair of modified Dodge Challengers go head to head for the $5,000 cash prize in the Modern Street Hemi Shootout King of the Hill class at Maple Grove.
The Modern Street Hemi Shootout (MSHS) features many of the quickest and strongest modern Hemi-powered vehicles in the world and at each event, the winners from each racing class go head to head for the King of the Hill shootout. At the MSHS event at Maple Grove earlier this season, the King of the Hill finals featured a battle between two Dodge Challengers – one sporting a mild build with nitrous while the other has a big supercharger build.
To be more specific, this video from the YouTube account of Gary Rhudy shows the Maple Grove King of the Hill finals between Gary Rhudy in his red 2014 Dodge Challenger R/T and Chris Dufresne in his bronze 2007 Dodge Challenger R/T. We don’t have the full details on each of these cars, but having seen them both in person, I know that Rhudy’s car is more of a street car with some nitrous and a good High Horse Performance tune while Dufresne’s car has a pretty significant supercharged build. As a result, Rhudy dials a 12.55 in the finals while Dufresne dials a 10.50 – giving the red Challenger a head start of roughly 2 seconds.
On the launch, Gary Rhudy and his Challenger got out cleanly, but when Dufresne launched his supercharged Mopar muscle car, it spun the tires a bit before making strong progress down the track. Because of those traction issues, Dufresne ran a 10.74 on his 10.50 dial while Gary Rhudy – who has proven to be a beast in the bracket classes – took home the King of the Hill win and the $5,000 prize with a 12.55 run on his 12.55 dial.
Crank up your speakers and enjoy this clash of two modified modern Mopar muscle cars.
Also, if you are a fan of modern Mopar performance and you haven’t been to a Modern Street Hemi Shootout event, you are missing out. This season is well underway, but with the series growing each year, there are bound to be plenty of locations within driving distance for folks on the east coast and in the Midwest.
"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.
