During media preview for Roadkill Nights in Detroit, Dodge Demon demonstrates how it converts 840 HP to smoke.
The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is the baddest American muscle car of all time and anyone who questions that is clearly biased towards some other Big 3 brand. With 840 horsepower, there has never been a production, road-going muscle car with more power than the new Demon and with an NHRA-certified stock quarter mile time of 9.65, no muscle car has ever been able to get down the drag strip as quickly as the newest Challenger trim line.
Part of the quarter mile success of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is the drag suspension mode coupled with the factory-equipped Nitto NT05R drag radials which were made specifically for the new Mopar muscle car, as the combination of the perfect amount of weight transfer and the sticky tires allow the Demon to make use of all 840 horses.
That being said, while the new Dodge Demon launches harder than any other factory build, road-going muscle car, it takes a certain level of skill to get away from the starting line. When you launch the Demon without care, the available 840 horsepower and 770 lb-ft of torque will easily smoke the sticky drag radial tires like few other vehicles ever made for road use.
Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis knows how to launch the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, but he also knows how to smoke the tires like a drift champ. At the recent media preview day for the Roadkill Nights by Dodge event in Pontiac, Michigan, Kuniskis spent a few hours doing interviews in front of a bright yellow Dodge Demon and at the end of one of those interviews, he climbed into the supercharged Hemi Challenger for some wicked tire smoking action.
"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.
