The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful stock American muscle car ever, but some people are always looking for more power and more performance. One of those people is Sumit Goyal, who has built up his B5 Blue Challenger to shine even brighter in a high speed, ½-mile drag race.
Sumit’s Hellcat Challenger has been modified by adding a 2.75 upper pullet, an ATI 10% lower pulley, and ID1000 fuel injectors along with removing the catalytic convertors. The modified engine was then tuned for Q16 race fuel by the Hellcat experts at High Horse Performance, making this Mopar monster an even meaner machine.
Once Sumit Goyal got his Hellcat Challenger beefed up and tuned, he headed to the WannaGoFat ½ mile drag races in Georgia where, in this video, he would take on a previous generation Cadillac CTS-V sedan.
The video begins with a big, nasty burnout as the B5 Blue Hellcat heats up the MT ET R tires out back. Even with sticky Mickey Thompson drag radials on lightweight wheels and a very healthy burnout, Sumit runs into traction issues on launch. Technically, he launched alright, but about 50 feet or so from the starting line, the back tires light up and smoke pours from the rear end while the Hellcat Challenger kicks sideways.
This allows the Cadillac to close the gap a bit, but Sumit is able to reel the back end in, straighten out his Dodge Challenger and put the hammer down to stay ahead of the supercharged CTS-V.
On this run, Sumit hit around 163 miles per hour in the half mile, but afterwards, he found out that the blower belt was slipping badly, so he was able to beat this Cadillac and turn in a 163 mph run without full boost.
"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.
