Back in March of 2024, Colby Davis ran a 7.35 at 186 miles per hour, allowing him to claim the title for the World’s Quickest Dodge Charger SRT® Hellcat – a record that he has held since then. During that time, he has repeatedly run quicker times with his black four-door SRT Hellcat, allowing him to continue to reset his own record; but recently, Davis did something that no other modern Dodge Charger has done. In laying down a 6.984 at 197.1 miles per hour, Colby Davis is the first person to ever make a 6-second quarter-mile pass with a modern Dodge Charger and today, we bring you a look at that record run and what went into getting into the 6s.
When Colby Davis ran that 7.35 at 186 back in March of 2024, making well over 2,000 wheel horsepower with his twin-turbocharged, 411-cubic-inch HEMI® engine on ethanol, he bent every valve in the engine when exhaust gas temperatures climbed over 1,900 degrees. To address the issues and make more power, he worked with ThiTek, who provided new valves and stronger valve springs, but he also switched to running methanol fuel. To do so, he switched to an Aeromotive 25 gpm fuel pump, which provided enough of the new fuel to allow his SRT Hellcat Charger to make even more power than when he ran 7.35.
While testing that new setup, the added torque damaged the rear differential, so Davis partnered with Innovative Machining Solutions, adding their full spool and 35-spline axles in April of 2024. With the new rearend in place, he headed to his first event of that season, but he broke the reluctor wheel in testing, ending that trip early. Nicolas Performance fixed that a short time later and they put the car back on the dyno for more tuning before the next event. During that dyno session, Davis’ Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat made 2,255 horsepower at the rear wheels, which is the most wheel horsepower ever produced with a Dodge Mopar® BGR engine block. Davis explained that the car had more in it at that point, but they only showed 2,255 horsepower before heading to Street Car Braggin Rights.
While at Street Car Braggin Rights, Colby Davis reset his record with a 7.27 while doing well at the event, making it all of the way to the semifinals before losing. During that event, the parachute did not open and Davis was concerned about how the car was moving around at big speed, so he spent some time focusing on safety. Davis partnered with Prestige Fabrication to build the first-ever Drag Wing for a Dodge Charger, followed by a catch tank in the trunk, a reworked safety cage, a sunroof delete was completed, the fuel tank was moved from the trunk to the front bumper area and a dual parachute launcher with two CO2 parachutes from Holley/Simpson was installed out back.
Next, Davis wanted to remove some weight from the car, so he had Travis Tucker install lightweight front brakes from Strange and lightweight control arms from AAD Performance, along with the lightest front wheel-and-tire combo available – RC Comp wheels with Mickey Thompson front runners. On his first time out with this setup, he broke an axle on the third pass, so he also added G-Force Outlaw axles around the same time.
By October of 2024, racing at his level and working to break records got to be too intense and Davis found that he wasn’t enjoying the car as much. To address this, he bought a spot at Caffeine and Octane – touted as the largest car show in the United States – and spent time in October and November showing the car and hanging out with other enthusiasts in a relaxing environment. By mid-November, he was feeling refreshed and ready to make a run at the 6-second barrier, so he got back to the track with all of the items that he felt were needed to get his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to hit that big number. He reset the world record once again, running a 7.18, along with a 7.19 and 7.20, but then he broke the transmission. Nicolas Performance got it fixed within a few days, but as winter set in, Colby Davis ran out of time in the 2024 calendar year to get his 6-second slip.
In mid-January, Davis headed to Bradenton with his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for a private testing session with a mixed field of vehicles of all makes and models. For his first pass, Nicholas Performance bumped up the timing and boost level, installing a “hot tune” with the hopes of rocketing the car into the 6s. What happened next is best put in Davis’ own words.
“We stage, let go of the button… car is on a line and moving! It’s a different feeling in the car… more power, more g-forces. Go across the line, throw the parachutes, get out of the gas… NO PARACHUTES AGAIN! I forgot to turn on the CO2 to the chutes. OH NO… here comes the end of the track. Go off the track at over 125 mph and car launches into the air… flying 40 yards into a strawberry field. Thank you, lord, for soft pillowy dirt. The only thought in my mind: Get out of the car NOW!
“I get out of the car in frustration and start screaming and maybe swearing… maybe. Then Bradenton’s staffing crew is right there and making sure I’m ok. Wade is yelling at me, ‘You ok!?’
“Then here comes my team yelling, ‘You did it, you got your 6!!!’ Then, I see my wife and she’s visibly shaken up, crying and I tell her, ‘I’m ok, I’m ok, I’m ok.’ She calms down and says, ‘You know you cannot park there?’ I started laughing and hugging her a little too hard!
“That quarter-mile pass encapsulated the 2024 season. Pushing for world records and wanting to run the first 6-second pass. The disappointment and then the joy, excitement and euphoria all in one quarter-mile pass.”
While the run nearly ended in disaster and the car sustained some damage, Colby Davis had done it – he was the first modern Dodge Charger driver/owner to run in the 6-second range. On that run, Davis’ Charger got to the 60-foot mark in just 1.136 seconds, the 8th mile took just 4.517 seconds (159 mph) and he crossed the quarter-mile stripe in just 6.984 seconds, with a speed of 197.1 miles per hour. You can watch the record run in the video below.
In closing, Colby Davis provided the following message for those who have helped and supported him along the way.
“Want to send a huge thank you to everyone that called, texted and sent messages on Instagram and Facebook. Thank you for checking on me and lending your support. It means the world to us.
“Special shoutout to Travis Tucker, Nicolas Felciano, Clint McKnight and Brandon Lewis, Jake and Katie Sampson, Dustin Hart and Roger Conley, Rodd Thayer, Anderson Dick and Luis de Leon, Trevor Manton, Parker Bender, Craig Thibeau, Devin Watson, Tanner Roll and Jesse Martin, just to name a few. We could not have done this without you!”
Below is a comprehensive list of all of the people and companies that were involved with this record-setting Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat build.
PARTNERS/SPONSORS:
- Nicolas Performance @nicolas_perfomance – Shop and tuner and racing coach
- Sampson Racing Engines @sampsonracingengineshemi – Engine builder
- Prestige Fabrication @prestigefab – Fabrication shop
- Harts Turbos @hartsturbo – Turbos
- Fuel Tech FT600 @fueltechusa – ECU and racing support
- Holley @holleyperformance – Safety equipment from helmet to 5-point harness, hybrid and racing clothing
- Manton Pushrods @manton_pushrods – Values covers, push rods, rockers
- Next Level Detailing @nextleveldetailingatl – Detailing shop
- Aeromotive @aeromotive – Fuel pump, fuel cable, fuel filter
- AAD Performance @aadperformance – Suspension parts, 4,250 lbs car cutting 1.13 sixty foot
- ThiTek Heads @thitek_heads – Heads
- Innovation Machining Solutions @innovative_machining_solutions – Differential full spool and 35-spline stubs
- Wrap Atlanta @wrapatlanta – Car wrapping
VENDOR PARTNERS:
- Gforce @gforce1320 – Axels
- Rossler Transmissions @rosslertransmissions – TH400
- Dailey Engineering Dry Sump @daileyengineering – Dry Sump
- Demon Performance @demonperformance – Intake
- Precision Driveshaft Solution @precisionshafttechnologies – Fiberglass Driveshaft
- Menscer Coilovers @menscermotorsports – Coilovers
- Mickey Thompson Wheels @mickeythompsontires – Tires ET Street R 315/60/15
- RC Comp www.shoprccomponents.com – Wheels
- Weld Wheels @weldwheels – Wheels
- Motion Raceworks @motionraceworks – Throttle body and clamps
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