This Flashback Friday video takes us back to February 11th, 2015, when this video of the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat racing a Corvette Z06 and a Mustang GT500 hit the internet. It isn’t all that old, but it is a pretty awesome video – so it seemed worth featuring.
When the Hellcat Challenger and C7 Corvette Z06 first hit the streets, we were privy to a video of the 707 horsepower Mopar muscle car slaughtering the 650 horsepower Chevy supercar. This time, we have a video of the Corvette putting up a much better fight – and even winning a couple runs – before the Challenger hands a healthy beating to a 662 horsepower Mustang GT500.
Although the first matchup showing the Hellcat Challenger and the Z06 featured a beat down by the Mopar muscle car. Even though the Corvette has 57 less horsepower, the Z06 is considerably lighter than the Challenger, so I expected that the race would have been a little closer than that first video. This time, the Corvette is being driven by someone who is far more competent with the clutch and shifter, and that leads to a slightly different outcome.
The Corvette and Challenger go back and forth, trading wins as the drivers of the two manually shifted American sports cars take turns being the better driver. This video doesn’t have the decisive winner, but it shows that when well driven, the heavier Hellcat Challenger can beat the new super Vette.
Also, after fighting with the Corvette, the Hellcat Challenger lined up with a Mustang Shelby GT500. The 662 horsepower Mustang is the closest competitor to the Hellcat, but the race between the two was over in a hurry. The Challenger slaughtered the Mustang, but the GT500 owner insisted that he had traction issues so they dropped some air pressure and lined up again. Unfortunately, the pair passed a cop at speed and the Mustang took off.
"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.
