Like Father – Like Son!

2 years ago Gallery Owners + Clubs

Brett Smith loves fast Mopar_® vehicles. As a 32-year-old gearhead from Lake Orion, Michigan, whose “real job” during the work week is an OEM automotive analyst, it’s no mystery why he followed his father’s footsteps. Brett wanted to pursue a hobby of going wide open a quarter-mile at a time while strapped into some high-horsepower machine. Brett’s father, Kevin Smith, just happens to own a 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak that constantly clicks off 7.90-second elapsed times in its basic “as delivered” form. Kevin also owns a Challenger SRT^® Demon and a host of legendary vintage Mopar muscle that never lets Kevin or Brett forget the brand’s deep roots that are embedded in the drag strips across the country and on the Main Streets throughout the United States.

For young Brett, he and his father built an early 1960s small-block Plymouth Barracuda. But he dipped his toe into the HEMI^® engine world a few years ago when he bought his Charger Scat Pak. While the 485-horsepower 392 HEMI V8 engine would be enough to satisfy most speed freaks, the Scat Pack did teach Brett the nuances about racing a late-model HEMI engine-powered machine. His Charger ran consistent 12.09 seconds in the quarter-mile, but like many of us bitten by the horsepower bug, Brett wanted more. He eventually sold the Scat and bought a Cat, a brand-new 2018 Challenger SRT Hellcat that is. With its blinding Go Mango paint and stain black hood, Brett’s car screams “I dare you to mess with me!” But how he ended up with the SRT Hellcat is quite interesting. “Essentially, I was taking the Charger in to trade for a Ram 1500 at Al Serra Chrysler/Jeep_®/Dodge/Ram in Grand Blanc, Michigan. My fiancé was pregnant with our second child, and I needed something with more room for my growing family. After looking at a Go Mango Challenger Scat Pack in the showroom, something inside just snapped. Maybe it was the color or how the car sat, but I knew right then and there, and I wanted a new Challenger but since I already had the Scat Pack Charger, I went all the way and ordered an SRT Hellcat since it came with the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI engine standard. Since I passed on the Ram, I ended up getting a ride home from the dealership from my dad but had an order sheet for a brand-new Challenger SRT Hellcat. My fiancé didn’t believe me and was upset at first, but she got over it and things just worked out,” laughed Brett!

There were many factors that fateful day when Brett pulled the trigger and ordered his dream car. Maybe it was seeing the fun his dad was having in his Challenger SRT Demon, maybe it was the sights, sounds and smells of the old-school Mopar muscle Brett grew up with. Either way, his dad’s influence had an impact on Brett’s decision to buy his Challenger SRT Hellcat. “My dad has been my biggest role model and motivator my whole life. He also knows these cars are fast and to truly appreciate their power and potential, a drag strip is the only place go. He eventually got me into NMCA racing and competing in the Dodge//Mopar HEMI Shootout,” noted Brett. However, it was still a learning curve for the young drag racer. “Since my first race in Indy, I knew that I wanted to race in an NMCA event, but I was missing two important components, a roll cage and my NHRA license. Now that those are covered, I’m excited to start this class and possibly race his Drag Pak as well,” said Brett.

Like any other young enthusiasts, they never leave their performance cars alone and quickly begin modifying them because as the man says, you can never have too much power. “I kept my Challenger basically stock for the first 500 miles but soon began changing pullies and tunes. My best pass so far has been 9.21 at 140 miles-per-hour and I did this at Lapeer Dragway,” smiled Brett as he lifted up his hood and showed us his engine mods. “I love racing the Modern Street HEMI events and my ultimate goal is to run 8.50s in street trim and compete in those Drag and Drive events that Tom Bailey runs and get featured in Sick Magazine.”

From the perspective of watching his offspring grow and mature in the world of fast cars, high-horsepower engines, burnouts and nine-second times, Kevin Smith knows he taught his son well. “Brett was interested in the high-horse Mopars at any early age. He and I worked hand-in-hand with me on restoring old Mopar muscle street and drag cars like my 1968 Plymouth HEMI Road Runner, 1969 Dodge Super Bee, and Brett’s first car, a 1964 ½ Barracuda,” said Kevin. “We spent a lot of time at the drag strip where Brett learned the right way to set the car up for competition. I taught him to never cut corners, be safe and bring your ‘A Game’ every time. Brett is on his way to big things with his next build and getting his Challenger SRT Hellcat in the low eight-second range. I’m very proud of how he took to these fast cars and the respect he has when going nine-second ETs and low eights. Brett has also been a great help this year running our Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak at NHRA events.”

For Kevin and Brett Smith, the future looks very bright and being a father of two young boys, you just know Brett will pass his passion for fast Mopar vehicles on to them while Grandpa Kevin teaches them the proper way to set up a Challenger for drag racing competition. The die is set for the next generation of Dodge gearheads!