Stock Demon Runs 9.80s on E85 at Mission Raceway in Canada

Only changes made to this Demon are different drag radials and an E85 fuel blend.

This 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is getting close to the official quarter mile time of 9.65 set by FCA in testing. Some people will cry foul due to the fact that this car is not running the factory Nitto drag radials and it is powered by E85 ethanol rather than 100-octane racing fuel, but for a car without any power-adding changes, these are some solid runs. Best of all, these runs were made with the driver footbraking rather than using the TransBrake, so there is still more to be had from this Mopar muscle car.

Details on the Demon

The information in the video from the Wheels YouTube channel states that this Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is stock aside from the tires, but that isn’t exactly true. Fortunately, owner and driver Doug Redd posted on the Modern Street Hemi Shootout Facebook page that the car is tuned to run on E85 rather than MS109 to help keep costs down. MS109 race gas is very expensive while the ethanol blend is not, but to safely run the E85, this Demon has a unique engine tune.

Also, we should point out that the stock rear Demon wheels and Nitto tires have been replaced with Mickey Thompson ET Street R 315/50R17 tires on Weld 17-inch wheels. However, no other components of the vehicle have been changed, so unlike many of the other Demons that are running nitrous or more boost, this car simply has different rear wheels and tires, along with a tune for the E85 rather than race gas.

Running in Good Air

These runs were filmed at Mission Raceway in British Columbia, where the track elevation is very near sea level. Combine that with some cool end-of-summer air and this Demon has pretty good conditions for making big power.

On the first run, the supercharged Challenger lines up against an older compact pickup with a big, supercharged engine. In what might have been a wheels-up launch, the Dodge gets away from the line much better than the truck and it just keeps on pulling away, running a 9.84 at 136.6 miles per hour.

In the second run, the Demon takes on a Chevy II, and when the Dodge driver sleeps at the line, the classic Chevrolet gets out to a big head start. However, the supercharged Challenger runs him down and takes the win, running a 9.83 at 136.19 to the Nova’s 10.17 at 129.

As we get further into fall and temperatures drop, there is a good chance that we could see this Challenger running into the mid-9s without any other changes. Also, the driver is not using the TransBrake and in speaking with the SRT engineers who tested the Demon and who ran 9.60s in stock form, the TransBrake is a sure-fire way to cut a few tenths once the driver gets the hang of the system.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy.

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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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