Epling Garage Hellcat Challenger Runs an 8.05: Track Time Tuesday

Hellcat Challenger with a manual transmission is nearly in the 7s in the heat with the wheels in the air.

This week’s Track Time Tuesday comes to us from the Epling Garage YouTube channel and it features the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat owned by Leon Epling and driven here by his son, Jason. If you know the Epling name, you know that articles about the family team of racers generally announces a world record and this piece is no different.

Earlier this month, Jason Epling hit the track in the built Hellcat Challenger with the hopes of getting into the 7-second range. This same car ran an 8.15 on a hotter day earlier this year, so after making some tuning adjustments to the engine and suspension, the family team knew that they were close to becoming the first to put a Hellcat car into the 7s. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get that 7-second slip, but they went faster and reset the quarter mile world record for a Dodge Hellcat car with an 8.05.

Epling Garage Hellcat Challenger

As you should expect, getting a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat into the 7-second range takes a tremendous amount of work, so while this car has the body, chassis, engine block and VIN of a Hellcat car, many of the other components have been upgraded or replaced with aftermarket components.

Under the hood is an Epling Garage/Hensley 426-cubic inch Hemi that is based on a 6.2-liter Hellcat block, bored and stroked to 7.0 liters and packed with a set of custom pistons. This enlarged Hemi is fitted with a 4.9-liter Kenne Bell supercharger, Thitek cylinder heads sporting with custom port work, Jesel rockers, a custom Comp Cams camshaft and a Holley EFI system similar to what the NHRA Mopar Drag Pak cars run. The engine also features a Snow Performance water injection system, dual Magnaflow fuel pumps, a nitrous oxide system and a tune for Q16 racing fuel, all of which Leon Epling believes yields around 1,500 horsepower.

That Hellcat power is sent to the ground by a Liberty 5-speed manual transmission with a Ram triple-disc clutch, a Strange 9-inch rear differential, Bogart rear wheels and 28-inch Mickey Thompson drag radials. This combination allows Jason Epling to launch with the wheels in the air, often keeping them up during the shift into second gear.

Shooting for 7s

In the video above and the other videos in this piece, we get to watch as Jason Epling sets the world record for the quickest Hellcat Challenger on the drag strip, running an 8.05 at 173.5 miles per hour. Each of the three videos is captured from a different angle, giving us a chance to watch from the starting line, from mid-track and from the side of the car, where we can watch him bang through the gears.

Even with the front wheels up in the air, the Epling Garage Challenger runs an 8.05 in the August heat, showing that it has 7-second capabilities. If the Epling team can continue to tune the suspension to keep the front wheels down a bit more, this Hellcat will definitely go into the 7s in the heat. Even with the wheels up, better air will lead to a 7-second run, so this isn’t a matter of “if”, it is “when” the Epling Garage Challenger get that 7-second slip.

In the meantime, crank up your speakers and enjoy these three videos of the Epling Garage Challenger resetting the record for the quickest Hellcat car in the world.

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