Stock Engine Hellcat Challenger Runs 10.71 by Patrick Rall on

A few weeks back we brought you videos of a Pennsylvania-based 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat making its first trip to the drag strip, garnering no less than three 10-second runs. That Challenger was back in action this past weekend, and the results are even more impressive – turning out figures that could be a record for a Hellcat Challenger with so few modifications.

If you missed our first piece a few weeks back, this 2015 Hellcat Challenger is owned by Ricci Cavallaro. Ricci is not a professional racer, but he is an experienced sportsman with decades of experience under his belt. When he got his 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, he quickly bought a proper set of drag tires which helped him turn out very impressive times on his first time at the track. Ricci’s black Challenger made all three passes down the track in the 10.90 range, which is very good for a stock car with nothing more than a sticky set of tires.

Since that first time to the track, Mr. Cavallaro invested in a stronger driveshaft after seeing the carnage caused by other Hellcat Challengers with the same sticky Nitto tires and the stock driveshaft.

On his first run of the day, the Hellcat Challenger ran a stunning 10.76 at 130.21 miles per hour.

When he went out for his second run of the day, Mr. Cavallaro’s wicked Mopar muscle car tripped the timer at 10.724 seconds with a trap speed of 129.5. On that second run, the Hellcat Challenger – a car accused by some of being unable to use all of that power – pulled a 60 foot time of 1.5848 seconds. For those unsure, pulling a sub 1.6 second 60 foot time is difficult for a street car on street legal tires.

Those first runs were solid, but Ricci Cavallaro and his Hellcat Challenger saved the best for last. He pulled a 60 foot time of just 1.5782 seconds to cover the first span of the track, and when the times came up on the big board, he had turned a stunning 10.7129 at 129.53 miles per hour.

That is a 10.71 second quarter mile run for a Dodge Challenger with nothing but a stronger driveshaft and sticky street tires. Mr. Cavallaro could likely have run these same numbers with the stock driveshaft, but he didn’t want to risk tearing up the car.

This isn’t an official quarter mile record for the Hellcat Challenger, but I have not seen a car with this little work done get down the quarter mile that quickly. There are rumors about cars that ran in the 10.60s, but there has been no proof that I have seen (or that Ricci has seen) of a Hellcat Challenger with only street legal drag radial tires and a tougher driveshaft running a 10.71.

The video below shows the possible record run with commentary provided by one of Cavallaro’s children. You cannot read the numbers on the board, but if you listen, you can clearly hear the announced spell out the 10.71 run.

Until another video surfaces showing a similar car turning better numbers, it looks like Ricci Cavallaro is the quickest stock engine Hellcat Challenger driver in the country.

If you know of a faster Hellcat, feel free to send me a link via our contact form and I will happily check it out.

Patrick Rall was raised a Mopar boy, spending years racing a Dodge Mirada while working his way through college. After spending a few years post-college in the tax accounting field, Patrick made the jump to the world of journalism and his work has been published in magazines and websites around the world.