Utter the word "Hemi" to any red-blooded American gearhead, and it immediately conjures up an air of confidence and supremacy. When factory Hemi SuperCars rolled out of dealerships in the late '60s, they appeared bland and somewhat stark, often sporting dog-dish hubcaps. However, the engine compartments were stuffed with the most impressive motors known to man.

The "race within a race" that quickly became known as the Hemi Shootout began at the U.S. Nationals, when the number of impressive SS/AA Hemi Dart and Barracuda entries escalated. There was a considerable buzz going through the pits as bragging rights lead to the establishment of an "underground" purse for the rare and powerful muscle cars - a purse established by the competitors at first. One thing lead to another and direct sponsorship from Mopar became a reality for this special contest - and that came six years ago. After all, who doesn't like seeing mid eight-second door cars thunder from the starting line, yanking the front wheels, and running heads-up towards the finish stripe? Welcome to the Mopar HEMI Challenge.

In the beginning there was a certain Hemi-powered contingent that was left out of all the fun. And those were the racers who chose to run SS/A - stick-shift Hemi cars that were every bit as exciting as their automatically-shifted cousins. Hence, the class designation was changed to SS/AH, where both transmissions lived in the same Eliminator. How cool was that? Aside from the similarly rare, big-block Corvettes that occupy our Super Stock entry lists, we can't think of any other factory muscle car that's as impressive as a Hemi Cuda or Dart.

This year, Mopar has renewed its sponsorship of the wildly popular Mopar HEMI Challenge at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals for the seventh consecutive year. Better yet, it's been expanded by two races. By the time the 2007 racing season has concluded, these magnificent factory muscle cars will have competed at the JEGS.com NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals, the JEG'S Northern SPORTSnationals and Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Even more action is planned for 2008.

Last year's champion, Charlie Westcott Jr., pocketed the $10,000 bonus from Mopar for taking home the HEMI Challenge U.S. Nationals win after he piloted his 1968 Plymouth Barracuda through a tough field of 25 SS/AH drivers. This contest has raised so much excitement, it's even attracted two-time Pro Stock champion, Jeg Coughlin Jr., who's proven he can drive anything with wheels. A past champion of the HEMI Challenge, Jeg's name is in good company, with fellow champions Bucky Hess, Richard Beshore, Jerry Jenkins, and Charlie Westcott.

David Hakim, marketing manager of Mopar Performance Parts, commented, "The expansion of the Mopar HEMI Challenge represents Mopar's commitment to the growth of this event. The 1968 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts that compete in the Mopar HEMI Challenge represent the high water mark of production Super Stock package cars. This event helps to preserve the legendary status of these machines, while at the same time, implementing modern technology to further their status in the sport of drag racing." Amen to that! DR