Go Racing for Free with the NMCA Hemi Shootout

Entry fee will be covered for the first 75 racers to sign up with a Dodge with Hemi power.

It was announced today that Mopar and Dodge//SRT are teaming up for the fourth-straight year to present the Hemi Shootout class of the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA). There will be a Hemi Shootout class at each of the six, with the first being the 19th annual Muscle Car Mayhem, this weekend at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. The automaker announced today that the series is back and the first actual class run-off of the Hemi Shootout is tomorrow, so there isn’t a whole lot of advanced notice. Fortunately, this is only the first of six events this season, with stops planned in Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

The bad news is that this program is not open to Ram trucks, but if you own a 2005-and-newer Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep with a Hemi V8 – or if you own a Dodge Viper – you can sign up to race for free at all six of the 2021 NMCA events. However, the Hemi Shootout is only free to the first 75 racers who sign up, so if you are interested in getting into this program, you will want to sign up right away.

Hemi Shootout Details

While the Hemi Shootout presented by Mopar and Dodge//SRT consists of side-by-side racing, this isn’t a head-to-head racing class. Each entry in the class will make three runs down the quarter mile and their official time is the average of those three runs. There are winners the driver whose average is closest to 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15-seconds-flat. In other words, if you have a Hellcat Challenger that makes 3 runs in the 11.0X range, there is a good chance that you will win the 11-second class. If you have a Demon that makes several low-10-second runs, you could win the 10-second class, etc. Realistically, if you are running in a specific time range and there are only a couple other cars in that class, you may not need a number that is very close the even number of that time-based bracket to win.

Winners in each time-based class get $100 and an “award”, but there are also awards for the overall winner and runner-up. The overall winner gets $250 and an NMCA class winner trophy while the overall runner-up gets $100.

The eligibility rules are simple. Racers must have a 2005-and-newer Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep vehicle with a Hemi V8. The vehicles must be licensed, insurance and street driven and for the event, they must be on a street-legal tire. Since this class technically applies to Dodge and SRT models, the Ram trucks with Hemi power aren’t included, but oddly, the Dodge Viper is included – even though it doesn’t have a Hemi engine.

Other Event Attractions

Mopar and Dodge//SRT are presenting the Hemi Shootout and covering the $175 entry fee for the first 75 eligible vehicles to register for each event. There is also dedicated tent for Hemi Shootout competitors to sign-in, receive their gift bags and hang out with other Mopar enthusiasts. The Mopar Dodge//SRT tent will also have tablets with instructional videos on how to do burnouts, how to stage the vehicle at the starting line and how to use some of the vehicle-specific features of the modern Mopar performance vehicles.

There will also be NMCA officials on-and-near the starting line to help rookie racers learn the ropes of organized drag racing. The idea is to give inexperienced Mopar owners a chance to push their Hemi-powered vehicles to the limit in a safe environment, but it is definitely not open only to new racers.

If you live near Bradenton, Florida, you may still be able to sign up for one of the 75 free entry spots for the Hemi Shootout at the NMCA opener. The class is being run tomorrow and you can click here for more information.

Photos: Stellantis

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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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