Blind Man Shreds Track In SRT Super Stock at Alaska Raceway Park
Completely blind, Sheldon Wilson takes a few passes down a drag strip in his 2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock.
Originally posted to the 1320video channel on YouTube is a video of a man who took his Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock to a drag strip in Alaska. Though, the man behind the wheel and doing the burnouts, is completely blind. Sheldon Wilson, who was on the channel previously running his friend’s TRX, returned to run his own car down the strip.
Wilson’s car, though a Super Stock, isn’t completely stock. He had an aftermarket air intake installed and tuned it to add a few horses. He also added proper drag radial tires to the equation, and a mid-muffler delete to help air flow and rile up his neighbors.
When asked about the outcome of a celebratory burnout post-exhaust install, he said he’d “melted the driveway a little bit.”
Sheldon’s Need for Speed
Wilson’s goals became more refined after doing some research on the world’s quickest blind racers. He mentioned Dan Parker, who broke the world record as the “Fastest Speed for a Car Driven Blindfolded.” Though, he obviously didn’t need a blindfold, since he was completely blind. He’d gone 211.043 mph in a custom built Corvette early last year.
Parker is also a good friend of Wilson’s, and is determined to be the world’s quickest blind man down a quarter mile strip. With the 6.2 liter supercharged V8 that’s under the hood, no one would be shocked to see him earn that title.
In an exclusive interview with Dodge Forum, Sheldon revealed he had plans to upgrade his Super Stock to have over 1,000 horsepower — which would bring him that much closer to his goal.
“It might not be tomorrow, it might not be next week,” Wilson said. “But it’s going to happen.”
Hitting the Strip Behind the Wheel
Wilson’s need for speed began when he was young, but it was heightened working as a detailer at his local dealership, Gene’s Chrysler. There is where he had the chance to sit in a Dodge Challenger Hellcat and experience the supercharger whine in all its glory.
“There’s just something about that supercharger whine,” Wilson told Dodge Forum. “You hear it whine and it just chills you right to the bone.”
Having both a taste for speed and a newfound love for Dodge muscle, he knew he’d own a Hellcat (or two) before long. Sure enough, he owned and raced a 2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat before taking home his 2022 Super Stock.
Wilson races at Alaska’s only drag strip, the Alaska Raceway Park — and was able to race his own car during a private event.
“I know the owner of the track, Michelle Maynor, she’s great,” he said. “She came up to me and said, ‘Hey Sheldon, you can take your car down the strip as long as you have someone with you,’ and that’s where it all started. Since then I’ve had many passengers, though I like to call them copilots.”
With a few passes under his belt, Wilson says that his blindness may even give him an edge when behind the wheel, as his other senses are heightened.
“Being able to hear and feel the vehicle better than I can see it definitely gives me an advantage, I think,” he said. “I can feel the rear end start to kick out before it actually does, and I can ease off the accelerator and regain control, because that’s how you end up in the wall.”
Method Behind His Madness
When flooring it down the strip, he always has a person in the passenger’s seat to ensure he travels in a straight line and brakes on time. Since he hadn’t been behind the wheel of a car going down the strip for two years, Wilson enlisted the help of his co-pilot, Mike. Mike drove the Hellcat down the strip for the first pass, to help boost his confidence in his car.
His first pass behind the wheel of the Super Stock was slow, but it was his way of feeling out the beast under the hood. Once he was confident, his first official pass was a 11.52 at 123.18 mph. Not what he was shooting for, but better than what he expected.
He hasn’t beat his own record, which was a 10.90 at 128 mph in his 2018 Challenger Hellcat. Though, Wilson will do whatever it takes to do so.
When he’s not burning rubber at the drag strip, he’s is detailing cars out of his garage as his business, Special Touch Detailing, continues to grow. Wilson has a long list of people he wishes to thank for their support, starting with his mother.
His copilots, racing enablers and mechanics have been acknowledged as such: Mike, Chad Devore, Brandon Reason, Rick Nissen, Robert Vandenberg, John Matthews, Alex Van Nice, Karl Greninger, Daniel Martin, and Lane Nichols Sr. He especially wanted to thank Michelle Maynor for fostering his love, Luke and Jade Kincaide.
Watch the video and see Sheldon in action.
Photos: Sheldon Wilson
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