The new Dodge Dart Pro Stock race car that debuts at the NHRA Gatornationals in Florida this weekend has a bit more of the DNA from the street-legal Dart than you might expect.
Race team engineers used the same computerized design tools Chrysler Group engineers used to create the production Dart to develop the Dart Pro Stock that Mopar racers Allen Johnson and Jeg Coughlin Jr. will use this weekend. Fellow Mopar Driver Vieri Gaines will have his new Dart race car ready in a few weeks.
Chrysler Group and race team engineers worked together on the race car project. Using Chrysler Group’s computerized vehicle development tools enabled the race teams to design, test and refine their cars in a virtual environment and make changes quickly and inexpensively. Only after engineers were satisfied with the virtual design was a physical body created and mounted to the race car. (The Pro Stock car that the Dodge Dart replaces, the Dodge Avenger R/T, was developed with the same process.)
One important area for both the street Dart and the race car is aerodynamics. In quarter-mile races where the cars top 200 mph and the winner is sometimes decided on a difference of one-hundred-thousandths of a second, every advantage is key. On the street, a car that slips through the air will burn less fuel and maintains a quieter cabin for the occupants.
To help hone the Dart race car, it was rolled into the Aero Acoustic Wind Tunnel at Chrysler Group’s technical center in suburban Detroit for testing. It’s the same wind tunnel used for testing production cars and prototypes. The wind tunnel’s 12-bladed fan (powered by a 6,300-hp electric motor) can generate wind speed of more than 160 mph. A smoke trace helps engineers observe airflow over and around the car’s body and turbulence generated in the car’s wake.
Of course, the real test comes at the track. The new Dodge Dart Pro Stock race cars made their first test runs in Florida earlier this week and will get into the game this weekend. Given that the Pro Stock Avenger collected 27 NHRA national titles and a record 28 No. 1-qualifer positions during its run, the Pro Stock Dart has quite an act to follow.
