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
