2019 Dodge HEMI® Challenge Champion

2019 Dodge HEMI® Challenge Champion

On August 30 2019 second-generation racer Jimmy Daniels won his fourth straight Dodge Hemi Challenge at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis in this vintage 1968 Dodge Dart equipped with a HEMI® engine from Ray Barton Racing Engines.  Dodge displayed the winning car, the specially designed Dodge trophy, which is a cylinder head from a Mopar HEMI® Engine, and the $15,000 winner’s check from Dodge at the 2019 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For the past nineteen years the Challenge has featured heads-up competition between HEMI®-powered Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda factory race cars built specifically for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Super Stock competition in 1968. The factory-built lightweight, purpose-built package cars dominated Super Stock class competition over five decades ago with their high-compression 426-cubic inch  HEMI® engines equipped with a pair of Holley carburetors.

Dodge Production code L023 denoted the model designed specifically for competition in Super Stock racing. Only 80 HEMI® Darts were built, and they differed substantially from regular production models- it was more than an engine swap. Partially assembled Dart chassis were shipped to the Hurst Performance facility in Madison Heights, Michigan, to complete the transformation. Hurst technicians had to literally hammer out the shock tower sheet metal to create clearance for the valve covers.

1968 factory photo courtesy FCA US LLC

Other modifications included metal work on the rear fenders to accommodate the big rear slick tires, fiberglass hoods and front fenders, light weight front and rear bumpers and Plexiglas™ windows for secured by seat belt straps rather than window cranks. Although the cars in theory were street legal, the vehicles were delivered in primer sans warranty with a sticker that stated the car’s    “intended only for use in supervised acceleration trials.”

The 23-year old Daniels is unbeaten in the special event since his debut in 2016 and now has an unblemished 19-0 record in elimination rounds.  Daniels  the number one qualifier for the Challenge with an run with an elapsed time of 8.473 seconds, defeated first-time finalist Rich Locker’s 1968 SS/AH Plymouth Barracuda with an ¼-mile elapsed time run of 8.576 seconds to Locker’s 8.629 seconds in the finale.  

All color photos by the author