Epling Garage Challenger Drops the Hellcat Quarter Mile Record to 9.06

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Watch a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat run a pair of record-setting 9.0X quarter mile passes.

While racing at the first stop on the 2017 Modern Street Hemi Shootout schedule, the Epling Garage Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat set a new overall record for the quickest Hellcat car in the world. Coming into the MSHS Rockingham event, the High Horse Performance Challenger better known as the TopCat held the record with a run of 9.15 at 158 miles per hour, but as the first team to run in the 9.0X range – the father and son duo of Leon and Jason Epling have claimed the title of the world’s quickest Hellcat car.

Epling Garage Challenger Drops the Hellcat Quarter Mile Record to 9.06

Earlier this month, the Epling Garage Hellcat Challenger set the record as the world’s fastest Hellcat with a manual transmission when Jason drove the car down the quarter mile in just 9.27 seconds, but at Rockingham this past weekend, they destroyed their own manual transmission record and they took the overall Hellcat record as well.

Here is the most incredible part of this record – the engine of the Epling Garage Hellcat Challenger is stock. Nothing inside of the engine has been changed and the only exterior changes are a new upper pulley for more boost, bigger injectors, a Boost-A-Pump and a Q16 race fuel tune from High Horse Performance. Oh, he also has a huge nitrous setup, pipping in an extra 200+ horsepower, but other than the added fuel flow, the added boost and the nitrous – this is the same supercharged Hemi in a stock Hellcat car.

Of course, there are big changes elsewhere. The Epling Garage Challenger has a custom build 6-speed manual racing transmission with a pro stock style clutch, a prototype shifter, a prototype slave cylinder/housing, a Knoxville Driveline 1 piece steel driveshaft, a 9” rear end from the Driveshaft Shop, 35 spline axles from the Driveshaft Shop, smaller brakes (front and rear) to make space for the lightweight Holeshot 15” wheels and 29 inch Hoosier slicks.

That built driveline coupled with the nitrous-fed, supercharged Hemi allows the Epling Challenger to build enough power that when it is expertly driven by Jason Epling, it is the quickest Hellcat car in the world.

Epling Garage Challenger Drops the Hellcat Quarter Mile Record to 9.06

When running at the Rockingham MSHS event this past weekend, Jason started off by laying down a 9.08 at 153 and change, making it the quickest Hellcat car in the world, beating the 9.15 record held by the HHP TopCat Challenger. At that point, the Epling Hellcat was the quickest in the world, but later that day, Jason backed up that run with an even quicker pass – running a 9.06 at 154.88 miles per hour. The 9.06 run is available at the top of this piece and you can watch the 9.08 run below.

No Hellcat car has ever been this close to the 8-second range, and the father and son Epling Garage team did it with an engine that is stock from blower body and valve covers to the exhaust manifolds.

"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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