Now, that’s some muscle.
In just two weeks’ time, the ¼-mile record for the modern-day Dodge Challenger fell twice.
First up, Al Gennarelli’s 2009 Dodge Challenger with the Drag Pack kit broke the 8-second barrier Sept. 28 at Virginia Motorsports Park. Driven by Brent Hughes, the Challenger topped out at 176 mph in a 7.85-second run. (Video below) That beat the previous record of 8.51.
But Genneralli’s record didn’t stand for long.
On Oct. 11, Rob Goss drove his 2009 Dodge Challenger, also with a Drag Pack kit, a hair faster with a ¼-mile time of 7.84 seconds, topping out at 180 mph at Lucas Oil Raceway during a NMCA Muscle Car Nationals stop. (Top video)
Goss said he wasn’t too surprised by his run, which was just the second run of the car in its inaugural race hat weekend. “I expected as much, but, for the second time, it’s still nice to have success right away,” he told us.
Goss is the second owner of the Challenger, which he bought in September 2012. He had been racing his 2010 Dodge Challenger on the track and even ran a 10.3 or 10.4 quarter-mile in it.
“I got into trouble at the racetracks because it was too fast,” he said. It was then he decided to really jump into racing with the higher performance and safety features.
Goss’ record-setting Challenger is powered by a HHP/BES 404c.i. aluminum race engine and custom race cam. It also features Thitek Cylinder Heads ported by BES, with a Powerglide transmission and ATF Torque Converter.
Gennarelli’s Challenger was powered by an all-aluminum 449 HEMI engine with a Twin Turbo Kit, courtesy of Arrington Performance. Paramount Performance supplied the converter-transmission combination.
Like Goss, Gennarelli said he’s confident he can go faster and will be working on his 2008 Dodge Challenger this winter: “We’re aiming for the 6s.”
