• Mopar HEMI Challenge one-race shootout at Mac Tools U.S Nationals to feature $15,000 winner’s purse
• $18,000 total purse up for grabs at Mopar HEMI Challenge event
• Super Stock/A-HEMI (SS/AH) Mopar HEMI Challenge drivers to do battle for 11th-consecutive year at Indy

May 16, 2011 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Mopar® announced today that the 11th Annual Mopar HEMI® Challenge will feature Mopar-powered Super Stock/A-HEMI (SS/AH) competitors battling it out in a one-race shootout at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 1–2. Drivers competing in the popular National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sportsman event will vie for the $15,000 winner’s purse and a total event purse of $18,000, both the largest in the history of the Mopar HEMI Challenge.

“Grassroots racers who compete in the Mopar HEMI Challenge are the foundation of drag racing, and the reason why Mopar is involved in the NHRA,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “These enthusiast drivers spend a great deal of time and money preparing their Mopar HEMI-powered race cars for battle, and purchase many Mopar parts from their local Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, or Ram dealerships. They have a passion for the Mopar brand that reflects positively throughout the drag-racing world. This is why we recognize this passion supporting the HEMI Challenge.” Read more!

Dave Thomas Sets NHRA AA/SA ET, MPH Records in Mopar Challenger V-10 Drag Pak

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 8, 2011

* Thomas sets record with a 9.43/143.90 pass in his 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak
* Mopar Challenger V-10 Drag Pak built for sanctioned NHRA Stock and Super Stock configurations
* Mopar offers the only factory-built, V-10 powered race-ready package car

Less than one month after making its competition debut, the 2011 Mopar® Challenger V-10 Drag Pak is already rewriting the NHRA record books.

Dave Thomas, of Westchester, Pa., powered his 2011 Mopar Challenger V-10 Drag Pak to a record-setting 9.43-second elapsed time (ET) at 143.90 mph during a test session on Thursday, April 7 at the NHRA Division 1 National Open event at Atco (N.J.) Raceway (the test session allowed for record attempts). Thomas captured both the ET and mph records in the AA/SA class just two weeks after taking ownership of his Mopar Drag Pak, and with only a few passes under his belt in the new V-10-powered beast. Read more!

Dodge has prepared an extreme, drag strip-orientated incarnation of the 2011 Challenger.

Dubbed the Challenger Drag Pak, the vehicle drops its 6.1-liter V8 engine in order to use the Viper’s 8.4-liter V10 powerplant, which is mated to a drag racing two-speed automatic transmission. The power is sent to the road via a solid rear axle and a set of special tires. The racer can be ordered in Stock Eliminator or Super Stock versions.

Many systems and parts that added weight to the vehicle have been removed. We are talking about the HVAC system, the windshield wiper assembly, the rear seats, the power steering and the underbody heat shields.

The vehicle has been fitted with special parts such as polycarbonate door windows, lightweight racing seats that are six-point harness-ready, custom drag-race only front brakes, manual rack and pinion steering and others.

Mopar (the Chrysler Group’s parts division) will only build 70 units of the car, each one set to retail for a price of $85,512. Read more!

Just a bit of history to begin with – The 2009 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak program commemorated the 40th anniversary of the iconic 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart and Plymouth Hemi Barracuda package muscle cars. And despite the fact these cars were sold as road legal, the modern ones are not allowed on the public roads.

And here it is nowadays – Mopar introduced its 2010 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak program. This is a non-street legal V8 powered, racing version of the Dodge Challenger. This racing muscle car has a 6.1L Hemi V8 and a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission. The base model is the 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and finished in a Stock Eliminator configuration. It means that a lot of components have been replaced due to reduce weight.

The muscle car has some cool features as composite lift-off hood with functional scoop, Dodge Viper-style front seats, polycarbonate door windows, a lightweight cooling system, no power steering, bespoke lightweight front-brake assemblies and others.

The paint job is outstanding – retro Stone White paint and is eligible for NHRA Stock, Super Stock and Comp Eliminator drag racing. The price is about $39,999 and the muscle car will be available this summer.