Optional VBOX Motorsports display on the Demon shows driver, the track and a variety of key metrics.
This week’s Track Time Tuesday video comes to us from the YouTube channel of adam muellerand it features a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon making a 9-second run down the quarter mile. This action is captured by the VBOX camera system that is an optional feature of the 840-horsepower Mopar muscle car. This system incorporates two different camera, a built-in accelerometer and the status of the vehicle controls, showing throttle and brake input, wheelspin, vehicle speed and more.
VBOX Details
If you are unfamiliar with the VBOX system, here is a quick rundown. Dodge Demon owners can pay $3,680 for a vehicle-specific version of the VBOX video recorder system. This includes a front-facing camera that shows the track, an in-car camera that shows the driver and a datalogging system that records all sorts of metrics from the run. The system also has the playback feature with all of the information displayed on the screen, resulting in the video above.
Across the top, you will see the timing bar, with markers for 60, 330, 660, 1,000 and 1,320 feet, trap speeds for the 660-foot and quarter mile, and a spot for the 0-60 and 0-100 timer. Along the bottom, we have the in-car view, the gear selector, a round tachometer, a digital speedometer, brake input, throttle input, left and right wheelspin G-forces and an area with four bits of information in one area – air temperature outside, altitude and whether the TransBrake or Launch Control systems are being used.
9-second Blast
In the video above, we can ride along with Adam Mueller, owner and driver of 2018 Demon #2727, as he makes a run at Houston Raceway. After heating up the tires, Mueller stages his Challenger and launches with the brake pedal only, running without the Launch Control or TransBrake systems. This particular car is stock with the exception of different wheels and tires, with Mickey Thompson Street ET R tires helping with the launch.
On the launch, Mueller’s Demon rips away from the line, registering 1.5 on the axial G-force meter, reaching the 660-foot mark in just 6.28 seconds while stopping the top-end timer at 9.84. The time on the slip was a 9.81, so the VBOX system is very accurate, recording a quarter mile trap speed of 138.4 miles per hour. This is Mueller’s best quarter mile time to date and he is able to review the run with all sorts of information from his high tech camera system.
"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.
