Blind Drag Racer Pushes Dodge Challenger Hellcat to 11.5-Second Quarter-Mile
The young racer would like to battle the world’s fastest blind man one day. In order to beat him, he’d have to hit over 211 mph.
An 11.5-second quarter-mile is fast. However, in today's era of stock muscle cars and EVs with triple-digit horsepower figures, it can often seem a bit slow. The Dodge Challenger Hellcat Super Stock featured in this 1320 Video clip is remarkable not because of its mods, but because of its driver. He's blind.
Meet Sheldon, a charismatic car enthusiast who regularly drag races his cars despite being blind. His newest car is a 2023 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Super Stock and he's made some minor modifications to it, with more planned for the future. This video shows you Sheldon's first-ever attempt to drag race his new Hellcat at the Alaska Raceway Park drag strip.
The Hellcat Super Stock is essentially a Challenger Demon by a different name. Its 6.2-liter supercharged V8 makes 807 horsepower and 707 lb-ft of torque. Since Sheldon only has a couple of minor engine mods like a mid-pipe delete and carbon fiber air intake, it's still making close to its stock power. Still, that's enough. Plus, the Super Stock is one of the lightest factory Challenger Hellcats Dodge ever made, tipping the scales at around 4,450 pounds. Dodge did offer a $1 passenger seat-delete option but Sheldon didn't go for that, as he needs a passenger in the car to help guide him down the track during his runs.
Sheldon took it easy on his first run to get used to the way the car felt, though it seemed as if traction control limited his ability to launch properly. After warming up and turning off the driver aids, Sheldon was able to fire off an 11.5-second quarter-mile time. During the run, his passenger held the steering wheel gently, just to make sure it stayed straight for the duration of the run. Even a minor steering wheel error can cause a crash when you're running a 123 mph trap speed.
Can you imagine the courage it takes to strap yourself into an 800-horsepower missile without being able to see and then go full throttle? Sheldon truly has to trust both his car and his passenger's assistance. Absolutely commendable.
The video is definitely worth a watch in its entirety. This isn't the end of Sheldon's adventures with his Hellcat, either. With future mods, he hopes to be in the ten-second range next year and one day race a man named Dan Parker, who he claims is the world's fastest blind man after taking his Chevy Corvette to 211 mph. I sincerely hope he gets there.
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