The Legion of Demons Goes Racing in Houston One Last Time

1 year ago Owners + Clubs

On the weekend of January 13-15, 2023, the fifth annual Legion of Demons event was held at Houston Raceway Park in Texas. Organizer Byron Godbee started this association five years ago as a way for 2018 Challenger SRT® Demon owners to meet and properly learn how to run in the 9s with their Dodge Brand muscle car. Since then, it has grown to include all sorts of Mopar® race vehicles, but it is still Dodge-heavy, with the majority of the field being composed of Challengers along with some Chargers, Durangos and Vipers. As the event has been expanded to include more types of vehicles, the racing program has grown to four classes and it is accompanied by a peer-judged car show, test-and-tune racing and NHRA licensing – making for three great days of Dodge drag racing in Texas.

“There is a difference of owning a Dodge and racing a Dodge, less than 1% of Dodge owners have raced their Dodge down the track,” said Bo Gentile, racer and owner of TG Motorsports. “Less than 1% want to race the best of the best and make the journey to the Legion of Demons event. It’s a racer’s event!”

The 2023 Legion of Demons event at Houston Raceway Park drew a total of 75 racers – 30 of which were piloting a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. Other vehicles in the field included Challenger Super Stocks, Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats, Challenger and Charger Redeyes, Challenger 1320s, Vipers, Durangos and Ram 1500 TRXs. Over the course of three days, attendees had more than 30 hours of track time, allowing some racers to make more than 50 passes down the drag strip while some made around 70 quarter-mile runs. It is truly a “racer’s race”.

“The Legions of Demons event in Houston was one of the most well-organized events I have attended to date. Fortunately, the track prep and weather were so on point that I reset the stock motor/stock blower Hellcat record and won the 8.50 index,” said racer Chris Thomas. “Drivers and teams were sharing parts, data and advice as if we were all on the same team. I will certainly attend this event again.”

The Demon Focus

When Godbee began holding these Legion of Demon events back in 2019, they were only open to owners of a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. The SRT Demon has features that were never before offered on any production road car, such as the TransBrake, Line Lock and the Launch Control system with Torque Reserve. Since many people had never used any of these systems before, many owners simply weren’t familiar with how to make use of the 2018 SRT Demon’s full performance capabilities. That was why Godbee began the Legion of Demons events, as he wanted to provide a setting where owners could learn how to drive these cars on the track without the normal pressure of an open racing event with thousands of impatient people watching.

Owners who are not familiar with the track-purposed gadgets in the 2018 SRT Demon can work with experienced racers before hitting the track and even once they take to the track, there are other racers on hand to help. As a result, Godbee and his team have helped scores of Challenger SRT Demon owners get their personal best track times, often well into the 9-second range. Even in this, the fifth year, there were still SRT Demon owners who got to make their first-ever 9-second pass with the help of the other racers on hand.

While the event was initially intended to help 2018 SRT Demon owners – and that is still a key aspect five years later – it isn’t just SRT Demon owners who are helping and being helped. The entire group of racers talk during down time, sharing input to help each other run the best times possible. More importantly, Godbee and his team work with those racers who are unfortunate enough to break components to help them find replacement parts and people who are willing to help make the repairs. As a result, far fewer racers go home early due to a broken racecar.

Legion of Demons founder Byron Godbee had this to say about the first event of 2023:

“If it weren’t for my wife and best friend, Sue Ellen, our events wouldn’t be as well thought out and put together as they are. She not only creates all Legion logos, designs, awards, posters, hats and shirts for www.fastestmoparsonearth.com but she also creates all of the Legion Family of websites and content. She is lead photographer for all Legion events, she coordinates and plans pretty much everything other than the actual racing schedule. That is my main focus – keeping our driver’s happy moving on the dragstrip.

“Our events may only be 3 days long, but on average, they take about 6 months to plan and create. Our longtime Legion friend, Jerome Stone, has been right there with us since the beginning. Jerome is everyone’s friend and truly helps at getting the word out to the racing community about all Legion Racing events.

“We were able to give 21 passenger rides to crew members who have never experienced drag racing before. This was basically a burnout, stage, launch and a hard pull for about 500 feet then on the brakes so we stayed well within the 14-sec. 1/4-mile requirement. This year, we were excited to have so many of our family members and friends join us as crew members and share in our unique event. We hope that Shelby, Gracen, Cole, Jada, Tracy, Jaiy, Gary and Trey are looking forward to our next big Texas-sized event in 2024!”

Racing Program Results

The Legion of Demons event in Houston had four racing classes – the Legion Racing Unlimited class, the Simon Phast HEMI® Memorial 8.5 Index class, the Sipple Speed & Performance 9.0 Index class and the Jarvis Tire Pros Bracket class.

In the Legion Racing Unlimited class, Jon Sipple took the win and Chris Shawver finished second. In the Simon Phast HEMI 8.50 Memorial Index class, Christopher Thomas won and Jerome Stone finished second. In the Sipple Speed & Performance 9.0 Index class, Lonnie Bartley won and Tom Kassebaum was runner-up, and in the Jarvis Tire Pros Bracket class, Chris Ulanowicz won and Rob Cripe finished second.

“I’ve been to many racing events over the last 5 years, but this was the most organized and well-driven event. Test and tune to qualifications to eliminations, it was flawless,” said Sumit Goyal, racer and co-owner of IG Chiller. “I loved the way Byron Godbee had a separate area for racers to sit together during lunch time and have fun. I can’t wait to attend next year and so on.”

The next Legion of Demons event for 2023 will be held April 6 and 7 at Rockingham Dragway, and like the Houston event, it is open to all Mopar racers, with special emphasis on those who have a 2018 Challenger SRT Demon. Also, registration for the Legion of Demons event in April includes admission for Mopars at the Rock on April 8, so as was the case in Houston, the next event has three days of racing. Tickets for that event go on sale on February 1.


Images courtesy of Sue Ellen Ross-Godbee for Legion of Demons Racing and Jaiy Braulick for Legion of Demons Racing.

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