Viper Driver Hits Brakes, Still Beats a C6 Z06: Track Time Tuesday

Battle between supercars built for the road course goes to the V10-powered Dodge Viper.

This week’s Track Time Tuesday video comes to us from the Wheels YouTube channel and it features a Gen V Dodge Viper taking on a C6 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 at Mission Raceway Park in Canada. While both of these cars are built to rocket along a curvy road course, we can see that the handle themselves pretty well on the drag strip, but even with some glaring driver errors, the V10-powered Mopar monster runs significantly quicker elapsed times.

Dueling Supercars

This quarter mile drag race pits a C6 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 against the latest iteration of the Dodge Viper. The Z06 is powered by an LS7 V8, sending 505 horsepower towards the rear wheels with help from a manual transmission. The Viper is, of course, powered by an 8.4-liter V10 that delivers 645 horsepower and like the Z06, the Dodge supercar is only offered with an automatic transmission.

While the Dodge has a significant power advantage, the Corvette is a couple hundred pounds lighter. Without the driver, the Z06 tips the scales right around 3,130 pounds while the Viper weighs close to 3,400 pounds. That gives the Viper a power-to-weight ratio of 5.3 pounds-per-horsepower while the Z06 sits at 6.2 pounds-per-horsepower.

In other words, the Viper has the clear advantage on paper, but with both cars being traction-limited and requiring skill to get through the gears, the driver plays a key role here. You might be wondering if a poorly-driven Dodge could be beaten by a C6 Z06 and the footage above answers that question emphatically.

Track Action

The video begins with all of the makings of a Viper beat-down. The Corvette does a proper burnout while the Dodge struggles to get the tires hot. The driver of the Mopar supercar starts to back up like he might try another burnout, but he quickly reverses direction and heads to the starting line. However, when the green lights drop, the silver snake gets a solid launch, jumping out to a quick early advantage and pulling away when the driver appears to hit the brake pedal when shifting. Even with little mid-track hesitation, the Dodge still cruises to the win, running an 11.72 at 120 miles per hour while the Corvette runs a 12.06 at 123 miles per hour.

The second run begins in a similar fashion to the first, with the Chevy putting together a better burnout, but the actual start of the race goes a little differently. The Corvette appears to get a big starting line advantage, but as the two head down-track, we can see that the Z06 has a negative reaction time. That indicates a red light start and with that improper launch, the Corvette does get to the finish line first, but the Viper is once again much quicker even with another pump of the brakes around mid-track.

In the second race, the Dodge runs an 11.69 at 122.06 while the Corvette runs an 11.98 at 122.53, and if the Viper driver could avoid hitting the brake pedal on his early shifts, the car would likely get into the lower 11-second range.

In the meantime, 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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