Those that proudly drive autos with the Mopar M appear to march to the beat of their very own drummer. Need an instance? How about three race vehicles from the SCCA Time Trials Nationals at NCM Motorsports Park?
A just about bone-stock, non-turbo Chrysler PT Cruiser.
A Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat.
A 1970 Dodge Challenger physique on a Viper chassis with a Hellcat engine.
“We’re simply higher driving, higher trying, general cooler individuals,” says Robert Ellsworth, proprietor of the Challenger. “Once we roll into the paddock, everybody’s simply wishing they introduced a Dodge. We simply ooze cool.”
Mopar homeowners might not possess a lot humility, however a Mopar fan doesn’t simply love their very own automotive–they love different Mopars, too.
“That’s candy,” Robert says of the PT Cruiser. “That’s a superb piece of engineering proper there. I don’t suppose anybody can hate on the PT Cruiser for what it’s–it’s a great little automotive.”
Flower Energy: Chrysler PT Cruiser
Photograph by Tradd Slayton/Racing for ALS
Alan Lani needed to go racing on the SCCA Time Trials Nats, so he borrowed his girlfriend Layla’s PT Cruiser. If you happen to’re pondering he had a extra typical time trials automotive within the works, suppose once more: It was one other PT Cruiser.
“If you happen to bear in mind when these got here out, they have been the most well liked factor going,” Alan says. “Then, sort of like Nickelback, they bought overplayed and overexposed. Then it turned one thing that was very simple to hate on.”
The hate for PT Cruisers didn’t deter Alan, clearly. He put in a number of go-fast elements on the automotive Layla makes use of for her gardening enterprise. That included urethane bushings, KYB struts, Hawk brakes and Kumho tires. Aside from that, and some stickers, the automotive’s similar to what Layla makes use of, together with remnants of potting soil within the trunk.
Alan Lani. Photograph by J.A. Ackley.
“Layla’s completely down with it,” says Alan. “That comes with a bit of disclaimer. I requested her, ‘Aren’t you afraid if one thing occurs to it?’ Her response was, ‘Nicely, you’re leaving your F-150 with me when you’re gone. You get your truck again after I get my automotive again.’”
Hey, it’s only a Ford, Alan. Nevertheless, did Layla’s PT Cruiser survive the Time Trials Nationals? Sure. Was it quick? No. Removed from it. It timed final, with a 2:58.492 lap.
“The automated transmission is an issue, so it doesn’t have detents, so you may even manually shift,” Alan says. “This explicit automotive has drum brakes within the again, nevertheless it’s Hawk blues up entrance on SRT4 calipers. I’ve bought like 90% of the brake bias within the entrance. The issue with that’s that as you push the automotive tougher and brake tougher and later, it upsets the rear finish extra–it begins to unload that rear axle.”
Alan hasn’t raced Mopars completely, however he encourages individuals to drive gradual, unconventional race vehicles such because the PT Cruiser.
“It actually pushes you as a driver to determine issues out,” says Alan. “I can’t lean on energy. I can’t lean on efficiency. Any beneficial properties have to return from me.”
One Lap and One Quick Lap: Dodge Durango
Photograph by Tradd Slayton/Racing for ALS
What drives one to trace a Dodge Durango? Immediately’s BMW M3.
“We’ve been operating BMWs for a very long time and when the brand new M3 got here out, the design was simply horrible,” says Alex Shchipkov, who co-drives the automotive with Eric Campbell.
“Dodge introduced the SRT Hellcat in 2021, and mentioned it was solely going to be one 12 months, so I figured I’d get one. I used to be at a marriage with a man who does One Lap, and began speaking about One Lap, so I bought one with no choices. Just about rode again from the supplier and began taking it aside.”
Alex Shchipkov. Photograph by J.A. Ackley.
Alex threw out all of the pointless stuff from the inside. He then upgraded the suspension, brakes and tires. Aside from that, the Durango stays inventory.
“We weighed it at the start of One Lap in 2022,” Alex says. “It was about 600 to 800 kilos lighter than once we began.”
The Durango SRT Hellcat got here from the showroom at 5710 kilos. Alex says the Durango weighs about 4600 kilos now. Alex didn’t contact the V8 engine–it’s manufacturing facility rated at 710 horsepower. He did take away a muffler for the Time Trials Nats.
“Eric got here again in from his session and the [bumper] was melting off,” says Alex of the experiment.
Hey, that’s much less weight proper there. The Durango does supply a bonus when touring from monitor to trace on One Lap of America.
“It was surprisingly comfy,” Alex says. “The a/c sort of works. On a sizzling day, particularly within the passenger seat, you may really feel the warmth coming in.”
As a monitor automotive, seems to be may be deceiving. It completed the 2022 One Lap of America twentieth of 84 vehicles, topping the truck/SUV class. Eric Campbell ran a 2:20 lap on the Time Trials Nats, inserting 52nd of 171 entrants.
“It’s surprisingly effectively behaved,” says Alex. “It doesn’t do something foolish. When it overheats, it begins doing bizarre issues, prefer it goes again to avenue mode from monitor or race mode.”
Aside from that, Alex says the Dodge Durango may very well be actually a power to be reckoned with, if for just one factor.
“If there was a approach to scale back weight by 1000 kilos, it could be golden,” Alex says.
This Automotive has Fangs: Dodge Challenger
Photograph by Tradd Slayton/Racing for ALS
As Robert’s Challenger thunders onto the monitor, onlookers describe it with phrases like “menacing,” “sinister,” and “evil.”
It’s as quick because it’s intimidating, too. Within the Tire Rack Final Monitor Automotive Problem, it positioned thirteenth, operating a time rivaling a Toyota Supra and beating a number of Corvettes. If others solely knew the true chunk this automotive has beneath its pores and skin.
Sure, it’s a traditional Challenger, however that’s solely skin-deep. Beneath it’s a modified second-gen Viper chassis. Below the hood, a supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8.
All three are established platforms. Nevertheless, mixing the three could be a problem for even skilled automotive builders. This was the primary main automotive construct for Robert and his twin brother Ray and older brother Josh.
They’d some assist from his in-laws, Heather and Mitch Janusch of Hemi AutoWorks (Hemi being a portmanteau of their first names) and help from “their brother from one other mom” Bodey Melendrez of Hilltop Velocity Store. Nonetheless, that is new territory for these consultants, too.
The staff prolonged the Viper body so the wheels would line up with the Challenger’s physique. They widened the physique so it could match the Viper chassis.
So far as the ability plant, most Hellcat tuners work within the drag racing world. Robert estimates the Challenger is able to 1000 horsepower on the wheels because of its SDG Motorsports supercharger and ethanol gas.
“Making that [engine] work on a street course is fairly freakin’ robust,” says Robert. “We get numerous warmth points. We’re pondering of dialing it down … to 700 to 800 horsepower on the wheel, and it’s far more than sufficient for what we do.”
Robert Ellsworth. Photograph by J.A. Ackley.
Weight-wise, it’s surprisingly simply 3200 kilos. Nevertheless, it got here with fairly the hassle to shed these kilos. The staff by no means earlier than made carbon fiber, however they did so with this automotive. That included crafting a carbon-fiber hood and trunk, handmaking fiberglass doorways, and putting in polycarbonate home windows.
“It provides me numerous satisfaction within the automotive,” says Robert of what his staff did to create the automotive. “We have been capable of put this collectively and it runs fairly dang good. As soon as we get it tuned in, it’s going to be a contender.”
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