Epling Garage Dodge Challenger Sets a New Hellcat Overall World Record

Last week, we brought you the news that the Epling Garage Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat had set the record for the quickest manual transmission Hellcat car in the world when Jason Epling rocketed down the quarter mile in just 9.272 seconds. This past weekend at the Rockingham drag strip, the Epling Garage Challenger was back in action, setting a new world record, but this time, it isn’t just the manual transmission record.

With a run of 9.06 at 154.88 miles per hour, Jason Epling drove the black Hellcat Challenger to the overall world record for the quickest Hellcat car of any kind – marking the first time that a manual transmission car has held that record over the 8-speed automatic Hellcat cars.

The World’s Quickest Hellcat
In case you missed the details on the Epling Garage “007” Dodge Challenger, the Hellcat Hemi engine of this car is surprisingly stock-ish. All of the engine internals are stock, with only a smaller upper pulley, larger fuel injectors, a Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump, a massive nitrous setup and a High Horse Performance tune for Q16 racing fuel lifting the engine output.

While the engine of the Epling Garage isn’t heavily modified, the rest of the drivetrain has been built to handle the loads handed out by that 1,000+ horsepower Hemi. The stock 6-speed transmission has been replacing with a fully built, custom 6-speed manual racing transmission, but it should be noted that there are no electronics aiding in the launch. That custom-built transmission is mated with a prototype shifter, a prototype slave cylinder/housing and an externally weighted, externally adjusted pro stock clutch.

Behind that race-ready manual transmission is a Knoxville Driveline 1 piece steel driveshaft, a 9” rearend from the Driveshaft Shop, 35 spline axles from the Driveshaft Shop and lightweight Holeshot 15” wheels wrapped in 29 inch Hoosier slicks.
So an unopened engine with nitrous, extra boost and a racing fuel tune from High Horse Performance, a custom transmission setup, a heavy duty rear axle setup, smaller brakes (to let the 15 inch wheels fit), a good set of slicks and a skilled driver allowed the Epling Garage Challenger to set the record as the world’s quickest Hellcat car in the quarter mile.(More on the Next Page)

The Record Runs
The Epling Garage Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat set the record this past weekend at the first event of the 2017 Modern Street Hemi Shootout Series, which took place in Rockingham, North Carolina. With Jason behind the wheel, this incredible Mopar muscle car set the record early in the day with a run of 9.08 at 153mph – marking the first time that any Hellcat car has run in the 9.0 range. The previous record was the 9.15 by the TopCat Challenger from High Horse Performance, but when Jason Epling ran a 9.08 on Saturday, the Epling team went from owning the manual transmission Hellcat record to holding the overall Hellcat record.

Later that day, Jason took to the track once more and once again, history was about to be made. The Epling Garage Challenger made a single run so Jason had endless time to prepare for the perfect launch without having to worry about winning or losing the race. After waiting for a few seconds after the green light dropped, the Hellcat Challenger roared out of the hole (with some wheel spin) and stormed down the quarter mile to a new world record – 9.062 at 154.88 miles per hour.

So there you have it – the quickest Hellcat car in the world is the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat from the Epling Garage and unlike the other record-holders – this monster Mopar muscle car grabbed the record with a manual transmission.