Watch as a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat participating in the Crown Rally knocks off a C7 Corvette and a Pontiac G8 on the quarter-mile.
Cross country rally events have become a popular way for automotive enthusiasts to see the country, show off their vehicles and in many cases, support a good cause and the Crown Rally is one of those events. This event begins in Minneapolis and over the course of three days, the drivers make their way to Chicago, stopping at various locations along the way – all while raising money for epilepsy research and treatment.
One of the participants in the 2017 Crown Rally Brandon Jason Neider, who spent three days rumbling across America in his Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. During the rally, one of the stops was a drag strip, where Neider got to let his Hellcat flex its Mopar muscles against a couple outmatched GM products. His Challenger is stock with the exception of a set of 315/35/20 Nitto NT05R drag radials, but as you can see in the videos here – the stock power of Neider’s Hellcat is more than enough to keep these two GM performance vehicles in his mirrors as they storm down the track.
In the video above, the Hellcat Challenger goes head to head with a C7 Corvette and while the supercharged Mopar doesn’t stomp the Vette – Neider’s Dodge grabs the advantage at the starting line and that is as close as the Corvette gets as the Hellcat walks to an 11.79 win.
In the second video, the Hellcat Challenger battles what appears to be a Pontiac G8 (although the video description says that it is a GTO – it is not) and on this run, it is pure Mopar domination. The Hellcat is a bit slower on this second run, but he still obliterates the big GM sedan.
"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.
