Drag Week: 5-Second Capable Cars Update
With Hot Rod Drag Week less than a month away, we wanted to touch base with the cars that are destined to run at the front. Get ready for updates from Larry Larson, as he makes his return after a 12 year break from HRDW, Ned Dunphy, the Quickest Man to ever do it with his Record Setting 6.17 Average from HRDW 2025, Dave Schroeder, whose nitrous Corvette has clocked the Quickest Pass of 2026 at 6.09, Ryan Hargett, who looks to debut a brand-new build that he feels can run up front with its Coyote powerplant, and hopefully Jeff Lutz, the man that held the Overall Record for nearly 10 years.
Ned Dunphy - 2013 Dodge Viper- Record Holder at 6.17 Average
Ned Dunphy's the racer to beat, and if you think his Viper is anywhere close to tapped out, buckle up, because he's telling us it's NOT. Pass #5 of this last test session: density altitude sitting at 4,100 feet, 84 degrees, 118 grains of water, full sun — about as ugly as air gets for a car this fast — and the Viper still ran a 6.358 at 183 mph, and that's WITH Ned clicking it into neutral and popping the chutes just past the 660'. He didn't even finish the pass flat out. Let that sink in.
Here's Ned in his own words on what's next:
"We are testing one more time on August 30 at Galot following the PDRA race and going to focus on full length passes. Based on conversations with lots of people in the know, you can subtract 6 to 10 numbers off a time slip from Bristol due to elevation so we want to get down and settle in at 3.95 in the eighth which we translate to a five second pass in the quarter. For me, the biggest challenge was switching from a screw blown car to a turbo car… It was like learning to ride a bike all over again lol." (Ned races a screw-blown Pro Mod Camaro in the PDRA Pro Boost category)
A FIVE SECOND PASS in the quarter mile, everyday, for 5 days, at four different tracks, while driving 800+ miles of Illinois and Iowa Highways is the goal. Last year's best 8-mile pass on Drag Week was only a 4.10, so this combo has already reset its own personal bests without being fully dialed in yet. Ned put it best:
"I think the best news is the car and the updates came together perfectly and we just need to get some fine-tuning done before we can call our shot, but we are going to show up more than ready."
Quickest street car ever, and it sounds like it's still leaving time on the table. That's the scary part.
Larry Larson — Back After 10 Years, Chasing the Fives
“70+ pounds of boost.” That's what Larry Larson says his new twin-turbo combo on the S10 is capable of, up from the hard 50-pound line he and Eric Gillard drew years ago to keep the bottom end alive — and Larson isn't shy about what he thinks it'll actually do once he leans on it: "You better be careful because it'll make... I guarantee it'll make 70 plus." He's headed back to Hot Rod Drag Week for the first time in a decade, and between now and then it's all prep — freshening the motor, packing the trailer, and squeezing in one more test session before the truck goes back together for good. At Drop the Hammer, his quickest pass of the event was a 4.30 on the final day after fighting track conditions most of the weekend, and he thinks that number could've come a lot sooner with a little more cooperation from the track. Don't expect him showing up with a trailer full of spares, either — his philosophy hasn't moved an inch: "My whole thing has always been, if my street car won't make it a thousand miles without pulling the heads off, that ain't no street car." We asked him what he actually wants out of the week, and the answer isn't records — it's simpler than that: "I mean, you know, I would love to run the fives... but first and foremost, I want to finish it."
I’ll give you a quick update as well, Larry went quicker to the ⅛ this weekend than he did at Havlik’s….. He has the tune to do it but can he do it when it counts?
Ryan Hargett — All-New Build, Same Bloodline
If the name Hargett rings a bell in drag-and-drive, it should — Him and wife Tammy campaigned a S550 Mustang in the Super Street Small Block Power Adder class, taking down a 10 year record with their 7.29 Average at HRDW 2023. But this year isn't that car at all. It's a brand new build, purpose-built from day one to chase the Quickest Average, and it's swapped the nitrous huge-block heritage for a twin-turbo Coyote. This car was originally campaigned by Ryan’s dad and is a perfect mix of racecar with street amenities.
The number that matters here: 900 pounds lighter than the Mustang, and Ryan didn't get there by gutting the thing into a track-only toy. In his words:
"We hit the goal of being 900 lbs lighter than the Mustang and didn't have to sacrifice the street stuff to do it. Fuel tank stays. Radiator stays. Trailer hitch and air filters come off at the track, but that's about the only big change from street to race trim."
That's the whole drag-and-drive promise in one sentence — light, fast, and still fully street legal without stripping the car down to a shell every time it rolls to the line. But, the HPT turbos have been upgraded to larger units, so much more power is on tap. Ryan's also leaning on a chassis that's more capable and more aerodynamic than what the Mustang was working with:
"The other great part is this car is built on a much more capable chassis and is way more aerodynamic than the Mustang. Lighter, better, and still a true drag-and-drive car was the goal from day one."
Lighter. Better. We feel that this car is a serious contender, but will it be tested and ready? Or is the thrash going to prevent us from seeing this new build run to its potential?
Dave Schroeder — 2017 Corvette, Still Chasing More
Dave's Corvette is already the Quickest Car of 2026, clocking the year’s quickest pass so far with the 6.097 on Day One of Sick Summer. The team said it’s not done yet and they are still working to go faster.
"We are happy with how the car is progressing, but we feel there is still more in it and will be testing a few times before we attend Drag Week. Putting the GearVendor back in is very straightforward and given its so light and located low and central in the car it should not require a suspension change. We added about 50 pounds on the nose to get the launch right and will be relocating our fire bottles to the nose from above the diff so we can hopefully reduce a lot of this. We also have another kit to fire once we get the first four happier."
Fifty pounds added up front just to fix the launch, and now they're chasing that same weight back out of the car by relocating the fire bottles instead of leaving it on the nose permanently. That's the kind of trade-off that separates a fast car from a fast AND consistent one.
Jeff Lutz — Will Mad Max be at Drag Week??
In Jeff’s most recent video about Roadkill Nights, he says “we’re getting ready to do Hot Rod Drag Week” as they are driving towards Rossler Transmission to drop off both transmissions for refreshes. He doesn’t specifically say they are for Mad Max but that is the way I am taking as he was testing the car a few weeks ago.
We have reached out for updates but haven’t heard back yet. We will update everyone as soon as we hear something.
There are other cars being built and repaired that could come in and make a splash. But, with less than a month before the event, do they have the time to get testing done??
Want the full breakdown on all of this? We're covering it in depth on Drag Drive Repeat Show, Episode 162, presented by Summit Racing. Go watch it for the whole story.
