1972 Plymouth Road Runner Drag Races Modern Chevy Camaro SS, Someone Gets Walked

Not surprisingly, the second-generation Road Runner is nowhere near as popular as its predecessor. Sure, the final-year HEMI variants get a lot of attention, but with only 55 units built, you won't see them on the road very often. On the other hand, some non-HEMI examples have survived and enjoy being paraded at local cars show. Others are also being raced as stock-appearing classics with various upgrades under the hood.

You'll see many of these cars revving their engines in the annual Factory Appearing Stock Tire (FAST) championship, but a couple of hot-rodded Road Runners recently burned rubber at Byron Dragway.

One is a very stock-looking 1971 example in yellow. Even though it was made during the Road Runner's last year with HEMI and Six Pack engines, it left the factory with a 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) B-block mill. But that's irrelevant here because the owner swapped it out for a stroked 440 V8. Displacing 498 cubic inches (8.2 liters), the V8 hits the pavement through a 4.30 rear end and fat rear tires, a combo that enables the coupe to cover the quarter-mile in less than 12 seconds.

The 1972 Road Runner you'll also see below is not quite as extreme. It also rocks a 440 V8 but appears to be a regular-production Magnum with milder upgrades. I think this basically makes it a GTX since Plymouth's fancied-up muscle car became a package option on the Road Runner in 1972. Anyway, it's also notably quicker than its factory-stock counterpart and fast enough to outgun a modern Chevrolet Camaro SS.

The first run is far from impressive with the 1972 Road Runner covering the distance in 16 seconds, almost five clicks slower than its 1971 rival. But you can clearly see that the driver wasn't pushing it. However, that changes during the second run when the Road Runner blasts through the quarter-mile in 12.5 clicks. In the other lane, a 2018 Camaro SS falls behind by more than a half-second. That's somewhat unexpected given all the modern gear and the Chevy's 455-horsepower rating.

The vid ends with a re-run of the Road Runner battle, this time around with the 1972 car doing much better than the first time. It still loses against the better-prepped 1971 car but sprints to the finish line in 13 seconds. That's almost two seconds quicker than a standard 1972 Road Runner 440.