Hoonigan Host Gets Racing License in Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye

The 797-horsepower Challenger Hellcat Redeye is fast through the quarter-mile, but how much speed can it build up over a mile?

Trucks have a reputation for being four-wheeled tools. There are plenty of good reasons for that. They help get work done. Need to pick up some shingles for a roofing job? Fire up the Ram 1500. Is that order of sheetrock ready to be picked up? Load it into the back of a Ram 2500. Does that hotshot freight need to be taken from Texas to Florida as soon as possible? Crank up the Cummins in a Ram 3500 dually and take care of business. But muscle cars can be used as tools, too. One of the guys from the YouTube channel Hoonigan used a 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye to get his competition license.

Host Zac Mertens, Dan Sommer (aka “Danger Dan”), and other Hoonigans were recently in Blytheville, Arkansas, which happens to be home to a retired military base. The East Coast Timing Association (ECTA), the official sanctioning body for Land Speed Racing in the Eastern United States, set up an event on one of its runways. The guys head there not just to watch drivers try to set one-mile speed records, but to see if Sommer can get his Competition License. Luckily, a man named Paul is kind enough to lend Sommer his stock Redeye Widebody to use in his quest for legitimate speed demon status.

The Redeye falls into the ECTA’s Modern Street category, which includes street-legal production cars from the 2004 model year and later. Fuel injection, turbos, superchargers, and even nitrous and water-methanol injection are permitted. Sommer plans to hit at least 175 mph at the end of a mile to get his Category B license, which covers speeds of 175 to 199 mph.

Before Sommer can make the run all the way to the end of the mile, he has to work his way up to it. He tells Mertens, “First, I’ve got to do half mile, then got to let them know about where I know the markers are for half mile, three quarter, and mile, and then we’ll make a full pull.” Mertens advises him, “Just give it hell all the way through.” Sommer shouldn’t have too hard a time doing that considering the machine he’ll be driving.

Once the rain on the runway dries up enough, Sommer sets off on his half mile run. When he passes the mark, he’s flying at 146 mph. He gets up to 149 mph in the half mile when he blasts through the 3/4-mile.

Soon after Sommer launches into his one-mile attempt, the Redeye’s back tires seem to spin. As fun as that may seem, it can only hurt the final trap speed. Sommer tells Mertens, “Everything about this is all in the first 60 feet – for that car.”

Luckily for Sommer, those first 60 feet and the 5,220 after them go well. He clears the threshold for his Category B license with a final speed of 175.4 mph. But just as Dodge has shown with the Challenger’s output and performance, there’s always more to accomplish, another level to get to. Sommer tells Mertens, “So now we can go to 199.”

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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