During the generation of the Dodge Challenger, which ran from 2008 through 2023, the brand built some of the most powerful street cars that the U.S. market had ever seen, and they also built some pretty wicked racecars for factory-based drag racing in the form of the Challenger Drag Pak. The Drag Pak was introduced to provide Mopar® racers with a turnkey option to go racing with the likes of the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet and the Chevrolet Camaro COPO in classes such as the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown.
While production of the full Dodge Challenger lineup ended after the 2023 model year, production of the Challenger Drag Pak came to an end back in 2021 (after they quickly sold out). However, before the generation ended, Direct Connection introduced an alternative to the turnkey 2021 Drag Pak – the 2023 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak Rolling Chassis. These were built in addition to the 50 turnkey 2021 Drag Pak cars, but unlike those turnkey models that came with an engine and transmission, the Rolling Chassis allows buyers to pick their own engine and transmission combination.
As production of the Dodge Challenger at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada was coming close to an end, so too was production of Drag Pak Rolling Chassis with Rolling Chassis #4. However, as May rolled around, there was one more person who was eager to get one of the final Drag Pak Rolling Chassis vehicles of that generation. That man is Craig Eisenhut. When Eisenhut made the decision to buy #5, he reached out to Power Brokers Dealer Palmen Motors, and they coordinated with the Direct Connection Technical Team to plan the build. Once that late build was approved by the Direct Connection team, the Brampton Assembly Plant was sent the order for the last Dodge Challenger chassis of that generation to be used as a Drag Pak Rolling Chassis.
The Dodge Challenger Drag Pak Rolling Chassis #5 was delivered to Craig Eisenhut and his son, Sawyer, at the Watson Racing facility in Michigan with help from the Direct Connection team. The father-and-son duo were understandably excited to pick up their new Drag Pak Rolling Chassis, and Craig assured the Direct Connection team that “it will be no trailer queen!”, as they plan to build #5 into a competitive drag car. The delivery process ended with the installation of I.D. plate #005, at which point Eisenhut was officially the proud new owner.
I reached out to Craig Eisenhut and asked for some details on what he has planned, and he explained that although he’s in the process of building a new home – and Rolling Chassis #5 isn’t going to be hitting the track right away – he is definitely making plans for the future.
“My friend Clinton and Jim Kilpatrick (Kilpatrick Racing has a steel bodied “Bad Judgement” 4000 hp ‘63 Polara) have mentioned stuffing a big cube, big screw, old school HEMI® engine in my car. It would be insane, and obviously I’d be pushing the cage certification. As far as the body is concerned, I’d like to do a similar style wrap as one of Matt Hagan’s paint schemes he ran this past season. I’d like to change it up a little to identify it as the last Drag Pak Rolling Chassis, of course.”
No matter what drivetrain Eisenhut chooses, we are confident that Drag Pak Rolling Chassis #5 – the last purpose-built Drag Pak Rolling Chassis of the generation built at Brampton – will serve as a head-turning racecar, as well as a badass piece of Dodge history.
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