Dodge Challenger Drag Races Larger Durango SRT Brother, Someone Might Feel Ashamed

We have known it for months – Dodge (along with other members of the Stellantis family like Ram and Chrysler) is saying goodbye to the Hemi V8 engines. They also retired the L-bodied Charger sedan and Challenger coupe late last year after first making them collectibles through no less than seven 'Last Call' special editions. Also, the novel EV lifestyle is upon us, along with a Hurricane or two.

The entire world knows how Dodge intends to treat the American muscle car sector – with both ICE-powered and EV Chargers in traditional two-door fastback coupe and four-door sedan guises. Interestingly, the gasoline-fed variants are now the 'lower' tier, whereas the EVs represent the flagship variants in their respective categories. Wait, wait, though – don't bury the Challenger just yet.

There is still inventory at various dealerships, and everyone is doing their part in keeping the Challenger spirit alive – especially at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. However, not everyone is blessed with a 1,025-hp (on E85) Last Call 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, so even a stock Challenger R/T might have to do the trick, especially when embarking on a fraternal battle.

For example, the videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube is a big fan of The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Mission Raceway Park but also loves Bandimere Speedway. While on call for feisty quarter-mile dragstrip skirmishes, he also noticed an interesting blue Dodge Challenger R/T preparing to do battle with a larger (and all-wheel drive) Dodge Durango SRT 392. They sure didn't look like two peas in the same pod – one blue with subtle black accents and the other black with conspicuous red stripes, plus red brake calipers and red lug nuts on the black wheels.

Initially, one of them looked like they were out of their world and had no idea what to do at the local quarter-mile dragstrip – there was no pre-race burnout to warm up the tires (well, it didn't need to, because of AWD) and also the driver had no idea how to position the SUV for the launch procedures. However, the Challenger's driver should feel a bit ashamed in the end because he botched the launch (according to the electronic scoreboard) and ended up winning the race by a whisker – 14.64s versus 14.75s!

By the way, if you want more Challenger action to ensure you'll remember it for a long time, we also embedded a few more videos featuring feisty Dodges from previous encounters filmed for this YouTube channel. Enjoy!