Nothing beats a dream lineup at the dragstrip when it is of the traditional Mopar vs. Blue Oval vs. GM variety. However, one can always assume some plot-meddling twists.
Such as the fact that we are not dealing with a Dodge Charger/Challenger vs. Ford Mustang vs. Chevy Camaro/Corvette type of brawl. Instead, the triumvirate is tiered both across the model roster and across time. Maybe, that way, everyone will find something to their liking.
So, the videographer behind the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube has the skirmishes from a night of cool action at the Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida. The video embedded below (uploaded on March 2nd, 2022) puts the spotlight on a beautiful, blue Ram 1500 TRX. And although we are dealing with a 702-horsepower pickup truck, there is more than meets the eye.
Or less, considering the lack of a bed tailgate... Anyway, as per the D.R.A.C.S. description and an informed fan’s comment, we are dealing with a heavily modified TRX owned and operated by TNA Motorsports of Queens, New York. The upgrades include a “ported blower, 10% o.d. lower pulley, smaller blower pulley and nitrous,” allegedly.
Anyway, that prepared us for some very cool action, as it was adamantly clear the Ram meant quarter-mile business... at over133 mph/214 kph. Those are not some trap speeds anyone would expect from a brick of a four-door pickup truck, right? However, they are just the tip of the dragstrip iceberg.
The first skirmish put everything into perspective as the modern Ram TRX met the pony car darling of the 1980s. Ford’s Fox Body Mustang has remained a highly coveted drag strip apparition precisely because of such custom builds like the one that spanked this Mopar with a flawless 9.83s victory against the TRX’s 10.18s pass. Although, the latter has nothing to be ashamed of.
And it also got the chance to deliver payback the very next skirmish. Thus, round two of the Mopar vs. Fox Body brawls involved an all-black example instead of a white-and-black-stripes unit. This time around, that wheelie certainly did not help, so the TRX minded its own business and delivered the gap: 10.03s versus 10.31s.
Just imagine a Ram just shy of the fabled nines! And it was monumentally close to that iconic threshold when it went classic against what appeared to be a third-generation Chevy Nova, complete with a 10.01s run!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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