Privately-Owned Demon Runs 9.94

Only a few examples of the new Demon have been seen at the drag strip, but one is already silencing critics.

The dealership rollout of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has been a slow one, with many owners only taking delivery in the past couple months. A brutal winter and the fact that most of the drag strips around the United State are closed until spring has made for a lack of posted track times and glorious footage. However, a few new Demon owners have found drag strips that are open year-round and one of those owners has already driven his way into the 9-second club.

Facing the Haters

When the members of the media invited to test the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon failed to break into the 9-second range, a great many self-proclaimed experts online insisted that the car was a fraud. Those clueless commenters were quick to claim that because the media could only muster a time in the mid-10s, there was no way that private owners would be able to run 9s without modifications or unrealistic track conditions.

That negativity aimed at the new Demons and their owners intensified as the first track times for privately-owned 840-horsepower Challengers hit the internet. Critics of the new Demon expected that owners would struggle to reach the high-9s on their early trips to the track, falling short of all of the hype surrounding the car. But this past weekend, a major blow was dealt to the internet naysayers when Ron Silva turned in a handful of solid 9-second quarter mile times.

Ron Silva’s Demon Goes 9s

An essential component for the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon to run in the 9s is the race gas PCM from the Demon Crate. After Silva received his car, he had to wait a few weeks for the crate to arrive, but when he got his box of go-fast goodies last week, he was quick to get the key components installed.

Five days after getting the crate, Silva and his Demon headed out to Auto Club Famoso Raceway in McFarland, California. He may not have known it at the time, but he was about to make history as the first private Demon owner to break into the 9-second range.

During his trip to the California quarter-mile track, Silva’s Demon was fitted with the race gas PCM, the skinny front wheels and the non-essential seats had been removed along with the contents of the trunk. The fuel tank was filled with a mix of 100-octane and MS109 race gas to ensure that the high-performance PCM tune had the necessary octane rating to make all 840 horsepower.

After breaking into the 9s with a 9.97 earlier in the day, Silva adjusted some settings and accidentally shifted the car back into the 808-horsepower mode. However, once the settings were corrected and the Demon had all 840 horsepower and 770 lb-ft of torque on tap, he was ready to dip further into the 9s. Later in the day, in positive Density Altitude, Silva’s Demon ran a best time of 9.94 at 136.47 miles per hour with a 1.419 short time.

Better Times to Come

While Silva’s Demon was able to crush the negativity of the haters and lay down a 9-second quarter mile time in positive DA without any modifications, there is still plenty of room for improvement. When Dodge made their record 9.65 runs, the team was using the full spread of high-performance gadgets including the TransBrake and the integrated Torque Reserve system. When Silva ran his 9-second passes, he did so without the use of the TransBrake system, launching strictly with the brake pedal. More importantly, even without the TransBrake, his Demon ripped the front wheels off of the ground on launch! In the video below of a slower run, we can clearly see the front tires leave the ground when the green lights drop. Each of these videos come from Silva’s own YouTube channel and they might just be the most important Demon videos online right now.

We are sure to see quicker times for the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon from Ron Silva and other owners once the weather clears up. But in the meantime, we are grateful that one of the few owners with a Demon in an area where tracks are still open has already proven the doubters wrong.

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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