Center Line, Mich., Jul 7, 2008  -  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the factory-built drag race package cars from Dodge and Plymouth. To commemorate those HEMI®-powered drag cars, Mopar® announced it will unveil its new Dodge Challenger Drag Race Package Car at the 29th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. on Sunday, July 13.

Above: Pro Stock Challenger concept from 2007 Mopar Nationals.

Featuring separate paint schemes, the first two Challenger Drag Race Package Cars built by Mopar will be revealed at approximately 2 p.m. MDT, following Sunday’s Mile-High race eliminations and before the final rounds. Mopar, Chrysler LLC’s original equipment parts manufacturer and distributor, announced its Challenger Drag Race Package Car at the 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Oct. 2007.

The first drag-race-only, factory-prepped package car built in 40 years, the new Challenger Drag Race Package Car by Mopar builds on the heritage of the 1968 HEMI®-powered Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas. The limited-edition ’68 package cars represented a significant point in Mopar’s history—solidifying the brand as a quarter-mile force. A watershed moment in drag racing history, they were also a major milestone in the evolution of the second-generation HEMI powerplant (426 HEMI engine). Some of drag racing’s biggest names drove the crowd-favorite ’68 package cars —like Ronnie Sox, “Dandy” Dick Landy and Jack Werst, just to name a few. Mopar’s popular HEMI Challenge racing series, operated in conjunction with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), features these ‘68 package cars in quarter-mile competition all over the country today.

Based on the Challenger SRT8®, Mopar’s modern, factory-prepped Challenger Drag Race Package Car will begin with a special Body-in-White (BIW) from Chrysler’s Brampton, Ontario, Canada assembly plant. It has been updated for modern racing conditions. Special weight-reduction modifications were made by eliminating unnecessary components and systems.