2019 Dodge Challenger RT Scat Pack 1320 First Drive Review
On the 1320 with the 1320
Normally, when a manufacturer allows journalists on track with their cars, there is a massive safety briefing and a lot of legal red tape to clear. Dodge skipped most of that, with the SRT team chucking helmets into people’s laps and asking who wanted to go first. I jumped at the opportunity.
The SRT team always had one person riding shotgun in the cars, to answer any questions, or explain more about the cars. Perhaps because of this, the only rule was that drivers had to lift at the 1/8th mile mark, and coast through to the finish. Safety first, after all. However, running the 1/8th at full tilt should certainly give us all a feel for the car’s capabilities.
How to Drag Race the RT Scat Pack 1320
Every good run at the drag strip starts with a burnout, and the Scat Pack 1320 is happy to oblige. Put the car in Drag Mode, via the center infotainment screen. That gets the adaptive suspension ready for drag racing. It also pops up the prompt to engage the line lock.
Once the car is in the burnout box, tap the line lock button on the screen. From there, the center screen in the driver’s gauge cluster will show brake pedal pressure in PSI. Stomp down hard on the brake and bring that figure above 1,000 PSI. From there, press and hold the “OK” button on the steering wheel. The front brakes are now locked, and you can let go of the brake pedal entirely and get on the throttle. This results in a nice smokey burnout. The line lock will be engaged until the driver let’s go of the OK button, so I took my time here, ensuring that the rear hides were sufficiently smoked. When ready, just let go of the OK button and front brakes will release, allowing the car to roll forward. From there, it’s time to creep up to the starting line.
Once the car is staged at the tree, and ready to launch, it’s time to engage the transbrake. Pull back simultaneously on both of the steering wheel-mounted shift paddles. This will bring up a prompt on that same center screen to bring up engine RPM. So, with your left foot on the brake and the right on the accelerator, bring the engine revs up to about 2000 RPM. After a second or so, the car will engage the transbrake. Release one paddle, it doesn’t matter which, and then you can release the brake pedal, altogether. The transbrake is now fully active, so you can adjust your launch RPM via the throttle. When you’re ready, just let go of that other shift paddle, and hang on.
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