Since the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® engine was introduced for the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT® Hellcat, the blown V8 has become the most popular engine in the American performance market. The introduction of the 707-horsepower SRT Hellcat variant of the Challenger and Charger led to the initial boom in high-performance Dodge Brand vehicles, followed by the 840-horsepower SRT Demon in 2018 and the 797-horsepower Redeye models in 2019. Of course, the Durango SRT Hellcat model was added along the way, as were the Jeep® Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Ram 1500 TRX, both of which rely on the same engine architecture as the Dodge SRT Hellcat models.
The supercharged HEMI engine has been featured in a wide variety of vehicles, leading many modern Mopar® fans to shift from one to another over the past eight years. When talking to members of the SRT Hellcat owners community, it is common to meet people who have owned multiple vehicles with the blown HEMI engine, as many gearheads have tried to experience the engine in multiple forms. However, I met one man who has owned almost every SRT Hellcat-powered vehicle – and he still has most of them with more on order from the dealership.
Lucus Kirkpatrick got his start in the world of Dodge performance with his 1998 Dodge 1500 4×4 Laramie, but after building a couple trucks with four-figure power numbers, he made the move to performance cars. His first modern performance car was a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and from that vehicle stemmed a passion for vehicles powered by the supercharged HEMI engine. Today, he owns two 2016 Charger SRT Hellcats, a 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat, a 2018 Challenger SRT Demon, a 2020 Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye and a 2021 Ram 1500 TRX, along with having a 2023 Durango SRT Hellcat on order. In the past few years, he also owned and sold a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, a 2021 Challenger SRT Super Stock and several Vipers, so once his SRT Hellcat Durango arrives, Kirkpatrick will have owned at least one example of almost every modern Dodge performance vehicle.
Upon learning of his collection and the vehicles that he owned in the past, I reached out to Lucus Kirkpatrick to ask how his fleet came to life.
His entry into the world of Mopar performance came in 2006 in the form of a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 with a modified Magnum 360 V8 and an 8-inch lift. As time went on, he built a 1,200-horsepower 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 race truck, but as time went on, he realized that if he really wanted to go fast, heavy diesel trucks were not ideal.
That led to Kirkpatrick buying his first SRT Hellcat in 2017, which was also the first car that he raced heavily. This 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat was the car that led him to fall in love with this engine platform. He still has that car today and in the near future, it may undergo an elaborate “pro mod build” with an induction system from Taylor’s Insane Turbo Systems.
“I went and drove the 2017 Mustang GT350, 2017 Corvette z06, 2018 ZL1 Camaro, and then the Hellcat,” said Kirkpatrick. “Once I drove the Hellcat, I was absolutely hooked on the powerband. The car’s powerband was like nothing I had experienced before. I knew immediately this car was different from anything I had ever driven before. I loved it and that car is the reason I have made countless other Mopar purchases and was the birth of my racing program.”
Kirkpatrick wanted to buy a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon in the used market in 2018, but due to the big early private prices, he ordered the then-new Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. As luck would have it, after placing the order for the Challenger Redeye, Kirkpatrick found a 2018 SRT Demon in his price range, so he bought that as well. He had initially planned to cancel the order on the Redeye, but when the Indigo Blue Widebody Challenger arrived, he couldn’t turn it down. He would take that Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye to a Legion of Demons event with just drag radial tires and ran a 10.39, which was the quickest number at the time for a Redeye with just a tire change.
As for the SRT Demon, Lucus Kirkpatrick explains that it is a sentimental vehicle for him.
“The car has my Grandfather’s initials on the Demon plaque: ‘Built for: I.M.O. HRK (Hubert Ray Kirkpatrick)’. He and my Father are the two biggest influences for who I am today. I would not be who I am today without them,” said Kirkpatrick. “When Mopar called me for the crate and the plaque, I asked if they would do that for me and they agreed! This is my favorite part about the car.”
As time went on, Kirkpatrick purchased a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk that he calls “one of the most fun street vehicles you can own”, but he eventually sold that SUV. In June of 2019, Sulphur Springs Dodge found him a 2016 Dodge Viper GTS, which he had until mid-2020, when his dealership found him a 2016 Viper ACR. Kirkpatrick had been looking for a more track-purposed car that he could enjoy at Circuit of the Americas, and that ACR fit the bill perfectly.
In late 2019, Kirkpatrick ordered a 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye narrow body in Indigo Blue for his father. That car is still used for a daily driver and a racer in the local daily driver class.
“It was very hard to get him to answer what he would want in a Hellcat without giving away that I was buying a car for him,” said Kirkpatrick. “I eventually got the fact he liked narrow bodies more than widebody and he loved Indigo Blue with black stripe cars. That car arrived in march of 2020 and doubles as one of our racecars and R&D rig and backup racecar to this date.”
Next, Lucus Kirkpatrick ordered a 2021 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock in Octane Red with the intention of it being another racecar, but he sold it before he got to racing or modifying it. A Ram 1500 TRX followed that car, coming in early 2022, with the Level 2 Equipment Group.
“This is my daily,” said Kirkpatrick. “It’s done everything from haul feed, to confront poachers, to haul deer out of the field. It’s one of my favorite Hellcat-powered vehicles and probably the most practical one.”
Most recently, Kirkpatrick bought his two SRT Hellcat Chargers in 2022, starting with the red car that was previously owned by Zdung Ho.
“Zdung Ho and I were actually talking about possibly purchasing a 2021 Drag Pak,” said Kirkpatrick. “That’s when Zdung expressed interest in selling Dan Smith’s old 2016 Charger. I jumped on that opportunity because I knew it was well built. It’s way cheaper to buy these cars than it is to build them. This was my first Charger. I took that car to a race in July and went to the finals with Chris Bailey in the very first event we put it in. Since then, we have put a 5th gen Whipple on it and made some suspension adjustments. The car is an absolute animal.”
In September of 2022, Kirkpatrick bought a turbocharged B5 Blue Charger SRT Hellcat, previously owned by Brian Bos. Due to a questionable compression test with the factory engine, Kirkpatrick is in the process of installing an OEM Redeye engine. The Red Charger is set up for Heavyweight racing and the B6 Blue Charger is being built for No Prep racing.
Finally, he has a Durango SRT Hellcat on order, which will be added to his lineup once it arrives.
I also asked Lucus Kirkpatrick if he set out to own every SRT Hellcat-powered vehicle.
“Well… actually, no. I enjoyed them and I worked with them every day in software development and some were just practical for my needs and essential to our racing program,” said Kirkpatrick. “It’s funny now to have all the experience I’ve gained in the HEMI platform. I could never have guessed I would be retired at my age or be able to afford this many cars. We have been blessed. Mopar just puts out a superior car for the type of racing I do. There’s no other car brand that can hold a candle to them on the drag strip. I have raced GM, Mopar and Fords. Mopar is king on the drag strip.”
Also, since he has sold several cool vehicles over the years, I asked him if there are any that he plans to keep.
“Yes, the Demon, Dan’s Red Charger and Black Challenger (first Hellcat) are safe. I won’t say I would never sell them but it would take a very good offer to do it,” said Kirkpatrick. “I also plan to add an older Drag Pak to our race fleet since we are looking hard into more NHRA Racing.”
I closed our discussion by asking what he thinks of the upcoming shift to electric performance by Dodge.
“I hope we can keep moving forward with the HEMI platform and the new electric age excites me. I do hope that ICE doesn’t end but electric is a whole new level of performance and is here to stay. I do not think they will ever offer the same excitement, but in the end, I am loyal to speed and performance. Dodge has always made giant leaps in the drag racing industry and I do not think they will leave us disappointed. I definitely am different compared to some of my gearhead friends there. I look at it as everyone once hated fuel injection too. New technology is scary until we understand it. Once electric is ironed out, it will be able to outperform ICE, no questions asked. I do hope Mopar will work more with the aftermarket to develop ways of making the car faster and not push the small time shops out. Without that opportunity, I am not sure I would have ever owned as many Mopars as I have. I also hope the RPM Act passes for the sake of the guys still doing aftermarket work. I feel that without it, the law will be ‘reinterpreted’ to fit every situation and we will see the death of an entire industry (that generated billions in tax rev). I just want to see those guys have a clear way forward.
“In summary, I would like to thank Dodge for building the best cars on the market,” said Kirkpatrick. “Ignite Fuel, ZHTunes, Gforce engineering, Demon Performance, Bailys Hyperperformance, Sulphur Springs Dodge and all who have made my race program work and listen to me bounce off-the-wall ideas their way at 11 p.m.”
I’m in awe.