NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Match began with eight automotive builders, a new muscle-car platform, and plenty of room to experiment. Each started with a 550-horsepower, twin-turbo Dodge Charger Scat Pack, then went to work finding out how much quicker the SIXPACK-powered combination could become.

Now, four remain, and the next test comes on an NHRA national event stage.

John O’Malley, Johnathan Rimbo, Adil Adams, and Rob Dahm will race for the Grudge Match championship Saturday, Oct. 31, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge. The showdown adds another attraction to a Saturday program built around qualifying for the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

The road to Las Vegas began in August at Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge in Pontiac, Mich., where O’Malley and his Boosted Motorsports entry won the opening phase during street-legal drag racing on Woodward Avenue. That victory secured the Tampa, Fla., builder an automatic berth in the Las Vegas semifinals.

For 2026, the competition extended beyond Roadkill Nights, with the remaining three semifinal positions determined by submitted test-and-tune timeslips. Texas-based Dodge Badassador Rimbo led that group with a 9.86-second run and will face O’Malley. Adams and the Orlando-based Titan Motorsports team qualified with a 10.42 and will meet California’s Dahm, who earned his place with a 10.70.

Although the four finalists began with the same basic platform, the development process has taken their cars in different directions. Turbocharger selection, engine management, transmission control, weight reduction, and all-wheel-drive operation have given the builders plenty of opportunities to pursue an advantage.

For O’Malley, one of the most interesting opportunities comes in the first 60 feet.

His 2026 Charger Scat Pack uses a single HPT 7175 turbocharger in place of the original twin-turbo arrangement on its 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six. A MoTeC engine management system handles the engine, while a separate TurboLamik controller operates the factory eight-speed automatic transmission.

O’Malley also developed his own controller for the front-drive system, allowing him to launch with all four tires driving before switching to rear-wheel drive once the car is moving.

“Part of the contest was you had to retain the all-wheel-drive functionality,” O’Malley explained. “Some people are locked in 100% all-wheel drive, and then some people are actively engaging and disengaging it.”

His approach uses the available traction at the starting line, then changes the combination as the car accelerates.

“I’m leaving it in all-wheel drive, and then I’m disconnecting it once I get 60 feet out,” he said. “It seems a little bit better that way. It seems like it pulls a little bit better.”

O’Malley has also worked to reduce weight, estimating the car was approximately 3,700 to 3,800 pounds before its roll cage and firewall modifications. He expects those additions to have added about 100 pounds, although he has not weighed the completed combination. As both builder and driver, he has a direct appreciation for the result.

“When the boost kicks in, it’s a monster,” he said.

His semifinal opponent has taken an equally ambitious approach to the Hurricane platform. Rimbo’s Charger features extensive engine and drivetrain development by Applied Torque Solutions, with the team reporting more than 1,000 horsepower at the wheels.

The engine combines upgraded pistons and connecting rods with sleeved cylinders, fire rings, and ARP 2000 head studs, while retaining the factory cylinder head, camshafts, and valve springs. A single Precision 7275 turbocharger supplies boost, supported by ECUMaster engine management, tuning by Jotech, and a Nitrous Express system.

Behind the engine, Applied Torque Solutions installed a modified ZF 8HP75 automatic controlled by a TurboLamik system. Connecting that transmission to the factory transfer case required a custom billet adapter plate, allowing the combination to retain all-wheel drive.

GForce rear axles and a one-piece, 4-inch driveshaft from East Coast Driveline complete additional driveline upgrades. Texas-based LG Motorsports fabricated carbon-fiber hood and rear hatch panels, while Mickey Thompson ET Street R tires provide traction.

That combination produced the quickest submitted qualifying run.

On the other side of the bracket, Adams and Titan Motorsports bring a build shaped by a tight schedule. The Orlando team had 46 days to transform its Charger into a contender, concentrating on weight reduction, a single-turbo conversion, and drivetrain upgrades.

“Dodge reached out to us, and we accepted the whole Grudge Match deal,” Adams said. “What we did was basically take weight out of the car, probably about 900 pounds. Then we converted it to a single-turbo setup.”

Adams estimates the combination produces approximately 900 horsepower. Unlike O’Malley’s standalone engine management approach, Titan retains the factory engine control unit, supplemented by a JB4 piggyback tuning system, with calibration handled by Burger Motorsports. A small nitrous oxide system provides additional assistance. The team also upgraded much of the drivetrain while preserving the Charger’s ability to operate in either all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive.

“We have pretty much upgraded the entire drivetrain,” Adams said. “All the factory features work, so I can run it in rear-wheel drive if I want, but we’ve mostly been running it in all-wheel drive.”

Partners including Precision Turbo, Pure Drivetrain Solutions, Nitrous Express, Aerospace Components, and Aeromotive helped Titan assemble the package. Completing the car, however, was only the beginning; the team still needed to turn the collection of parts into a repeatable combination on the dragstrip.

“After that, it’s just getting the whole recipe together and going down the track,” Adams said. “Honestly, it’s been tough as far as our timeline because we only had 46 days. But we were able to pull it off.”

Adil Adams runs 11.344 at 133.30 mph in Friday night qualifying at Dodge Grudge Match time trials

Adams recorded the quickest completed pass shown in the Dodge Grudge Race time-trial results at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, covering the quarter-mile in 11.344 seconds at 133.30 mph.

Running in the right lane, he posted a 1.865-second 60-foot time and reached the eighth-mile in 7.617 seconds at 104.57 mph. The car crossed the 1,000-foot mark in 9.644 seconds before completing the run.

In the left lane, Johnathan Rimbo recorded a 14.557 at 69.49 mph. Its early increments included a 2.309-second 60-foot time and an 8.832-second eighth-mile at 90.77 mph, with the lower finish-line speed indicating the car slowed during the second half of the run.

The results also showed two attempts by John O’Malley in the right lane, with 60-foot times of 3.808 and 2.829 seconds. Neither entry included timing increments beyond 60 feet because the car had too much power to hook up. 

Saturday’s winner will receive the championship trophy from Dodge CEO Matt McAlear, and the winning Charger will move on to the Mopar exhibit in the West Hall at the SEMA Show, Nov. 3-6, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

The SIXPACK showcase continues Sunday, Nov. 1, when Charger Scat Packs, including the Grudge Match entries, will participate in a parade before Professional eliminations. Leading the procession will be the 2027 Dodge Charger Super Bee Launch Edition, rated at an SAE-certified 600 horsepower and described by Dodge as the quickest, fastest, and most powerful SIXPACK Charger and the most powerful Super Bee ever.