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  

TEAM PENSKE DISPLAY AT THE ENTRANCE OF PRI 2019

TEAM PENSKE AT PRI 2019 

Team Penske’s display of two championship INDYCARS at the 2019 Performance Industry show in Indianapolis Indiana gave attendees a new perspective on the Chevrolet-powered Dallara DW12 chassis fitted with the UAK 18 universal aerokit.

The neon yellow Menard’s sponsored #22 was driven by Simon Pagenuad during the 2019 NTT INDYCAR season. After he went winless in the 2018 INDYCAR season, the Frenchman swept the races in the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  

Simon passed Scott Dixon and led the final two laps to win the INDYCAR Grand Prix held on May 11 on the Indianapolis road course, then on May 19, he won the Firestone Fast Nine Shootout to capture the pole position for the Indianapolis 500-mile race.  

On May 26, Pagenaud led a race-high 116 laps in a dominant win to record Team Penske’s 18^th Indianapolis ’500’ win.   Pagenaud finished second to his teammate Josef Newgarden in the 2019 NTT INDYCAR Series championship.

The red, white and black Hitachi sponsored #2 was driven by Josef Newgarden during the 2019 NTT INDYCAR season. Newgarden started the 2019 season with a win at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and was in the championship hunt all season long. With three pole position starts, three additional wins at Alabama, Toronto and Mid-Ohio along with eight top five finishes in 17 starts, Newgarden claimed his second INDYCAR championship, as he previously won the 2017 Verizon INDYCAR Series title.

All photos by the author 

Chevy II Much altered wheelbase drag car

Chevy 2 Much II

The Doug's Headers booth at the 2019 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show featured the "Chevy 2 Much II" a replica of the original 1964 Chevy II A/FX altered wheelbase drag racer. 

The original “Chevy 2 Much” was built in 1964 before the Funny Car class was created, so it raced as a match racer powered by an alcohol-injected 396 Chevrolet engine and ran 9-second elapsed times at over 150 miles per hour. Initially plagued by wheel stands the “Chevy 2 Much” was one of the first cars to be equipped with wheelie bars.

This version built by Doug Thorley in the early 2000's is powered by a Hilborn injected 496-cubic inch Chevrolet "big block" engine  outfitted with Doug's Headers and a Turbo-Hydramatic 400 transmission. 

All photos by the author