Supercharged Camaro SS beats another Chevy muscle car before walking away from a bottled Viper.
This drag race video comes to us from the StreetScienceTXYouTube account and it features an LS3-powered Camaro, an LS9-powered Camaro and a pair of nitrous-injected Dodge Vipers. Surprisingly, the engine that came with the least power from the factory proves to be the quickest of this group thanks a blower and a bottle.
The Competitors
The video above includes four cars – an orange fifth-gen Camaro SS with a built LS3, a silver Hennessey Camaro with a built LS9 from a Corvette ZR1, a silver Dodge Viper with nitrous and a red Dodge Viper with nitrous.
The orange Camaro has an LS3 that has been worked to 416 cubic inches and fitted with a ProCharger F1A supercharger and a nitrous setup that lifts the output into the 900-horsepower range.
The Silver Chevy muscle car is powered by an LS9 with custom heads, camshaft and intake, delivering 900 horsepower on the blower only and 1000+ with the bottle. We would guess that in these runs, the nitrous system isn’t set up.
Finally, there are two Dodge Vipers with nitrous – a silver car that is said to have 775 horsepower and another that doesn’t come with any power figures. In any case, it doesn’t have enough power to beat the ProCharged Camaro.
The Races
The first three runs take place between the two Camaros. You might expect the LS9-powered car to win, but you will be disappointed, as the orange ProCharged SS walks out in all three runs. In fact, the Hennessey-built car is barely competitive.
Next, the Hennessey car takes on the silver Viper and after the Dodge makes short work of the Chevy, there appears to be some sort of mechanical issue with the LS9.
Finally, the orange Camaro SS takes on the dark red Viper, quickly walking away from the bottled supercar without much trouble.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
