Mopar rolled out its Dodge Challenge drag racing package in grand style. After an unveiling on the starting line, drag racing icons “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Judy Lily squared off in a debut match race.

Lily snagged big on the starting line and appeared on her way to the win but Garlits caught her in the lights with an impressive “street legal” 11.248 elapsed time at 121.52 miles per hour. Lily had run a 7.114, 96.96 to the eighth mile.

 

Mopar rolled out its Dodge Challenge drag racing package in grand style. After an unveiling on the starting line, drag racing icons “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Judy Lily squared off in a debut match race.

Lily snagged big on the starting line and appeared on her way to the win but Garlits caught her in the lights with an impressive “street legal” 11.248 elapsed time at 121.52 miles per hour. Lily had run a 7.114, 96.96 to the eighth mile.

The new Dodge Challengers will come equipped with either a 5.7 or 6.1 Hemi. The first drag-race-only, factory-prepped package car built in 40 years, the new Challenger Drag Race Package Car by Mopar builds on the heritage of the 1968 HEMI®-powered Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas. The limited-edition ’68 package cars represented a significant point in Mopar’s history – solidifying the brand as a quarter-mile force. A watershed moment in drag racing history, they were also a major milestone in the evolution of the second-generation HEMI powerplant (426 HEMI engine). Some of drag racing’s biggest names drove the crowd-favorite ’68 package cars – like Ronnie Sox, “Dandy” Dick Landy and Jack Werst, just to name a few. Mopar’s popular HEMI Challenge racing series, operated in conjunction with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), features these ‘68 package cars in quarter-mile competition all over the country today.

Based on the Challenger SRT8®, Mopar’s modern, factory-prepped Challenger Drag Race Package Car will begin with a special Body-in-White (BIW) from Chrysler’s Brampton, Ontario, Canada assembly plant. It has been updated for modern racing conditions. Special weight-reduction modifications were made by eliminating unnecessary components and systems. To accentuate the weight savings, it will also feature added composite, polycarbonate and lightweight components designed for drag racing. The engine was repositioned and the wheelbase was shortened to improve the driveline angle/clearance and weight distribution.