Technology has taken over and, along with drag racing, there are more options than ever with ½ mile and mile racing available, but there is also a noticeable difference in the people and cars hitting the strip. Males, females and folks from many different backgrounds are coming together to do one simple thing; beat the car in the other lane! With such a diverse crowd, you’re bound to see the dynamic of the race vehicle change along with it and there are definitely more cars and trucks that you wouldn’t typical-
ly see going straight frequenting the dragstrip these days. And Ned Dunphy with his wild Viper are a part of that changing landscape.
Ned has had your typical late-model Chevys, but his 2014 Dodge Viper sticks out among the crowd wherever he goes. When Dodge released the Viper, its intentions were never to compete with today’s “muscle cars.” Instead, they geared it towards supercar territory and competing on a road course. The last years of the Viper ended with the fifth generation that Ned has, and it’s also the most impressive from the factory, sporting a naturally aspirated 640hp 8.4 liter V10 backed by a six-speed transmission.
Growing up, Ned’s father taught him and his brother the basics of maintaining things by getting them involved in go-carts. “Dad governed them down to 15mph and trained us on their required maintenance schedule including chain tension,
tire wear indicator, oil, spark plug, air filter, etc.” Dunphy said. “We drove these all over the streets of our quiet neighborhood until he let us take off the governors and run them at the full 35mph!”
Adding to his fast developing love for horsepower, Ned’s grandfather owned some land across the street from a local circle track where they spent many Saturday nights dreaming about going faster. Through college, he’d tinker with different cars, making them quicker, and after college he bought a brand new 2002 Camaro SS SLP and began going to test and tunes on Friday nights. This was the start of his attraction to drag racing.
It was after the Camaro that Ned bought the Orange 2014 Dodge Viper with only 4,000 miles on it, complete with the factory Trans Am package. He raced it stock for a good while, attending the local quarter-mile drag strip and would soon start going to
Over the past 15 years the world of fast cars and racing has changed significantly.
half-mile races where he met Ron Mowen, owner of Vengeance Racing. He was eager to start going faster in his Viper and approached Ron about a build – Vengeance specializes in late model GM performance and didn’t have experience with the Viper platform – but once Ron and Ned became close, Ned talked him into starting with a “small” build of 1000whp.
Dodge certainly likes to “go big or go home,” as the saying goes. With 8.4 liters and 10 cylinders, the poten-
tial is sky high for the Viper, and that was the goal; to reach the sky. The block was sent out to Late Model Engines for machine and assembly work, starting with some Darton sleeves for strength. Next, a Callies Ultra Billet custom-made crankshaft would start the rotating assembly, followed by BME billet connecting rods and boost-ready custom Diamond Racing forged pistons to spin inside the 513-inch short block. The big V10 heads were reused, but not before having
Ned talked him into starting with a “small” build of 1000whp.
some port and machine work to accept custom Jesel rockers, lifters, and Manley pushrods. Completing the long block is the factory dual runner intake paint matched with the Veneange logo.
Twin Precision Pro Mod 94mm Gen 2 CEA compressor wheel turbos force air into two Nick Willaims 102mm throttle bodies, while all plumbing for the kit was completed in-house. Fuel and oiling systems are pretty impressive and should be for a build of this caliber. Lubrication is handled by a Dailey dry-sump system, while fuel comes from a 10-gallon fuel cell through an Aeromotive 10 GPM pump and not ten, but twenty, LS1 Denso fuel injectors! Another unique aspect about this build is that
The interior is mostly factory aside from the cage, a single race seat with harness, a Motec display, race steering wheel, turbo cooler sitting where the passenger once was and a host of controls to deal with the business of racing.
Although nearly invisible, aftermarket coilover shocks reside on all 4 corners and the rear end is a 9-inch conversion with aftermarket shafts.
they don’t use anti-lag for halfmile roll racing like most of the field does. Instead, they use a Nitrous Outlet dry shot system to get the 94mm turbochargers lit. A Pro-EFI ECU controls the complete system. So what does all this equate to? How about 3000whp of streetable power, yes, Ned can
still drive his Viper on the street.“My initial goal was 1000 wheel horsepower and fire out of my exhaust…that was almost 7 years ago and now we have almost tripled that target!” he exclaimed. “When not at the shop getting ready for a race, the car lives in my garage at home and takes me to work
on Friday’s and out for some cruising fun on the weekends.”
Dodge used a Tremec TR-60620 six-speed transmission from the factory in the Viper, and for a while, Ned kept it and actually holds the Gen 5 Viper stick record to this day, going an impressive 8.66 at 176mph. But, for Ned’s goals, a swap needed to happen, and they turned to the tried and true TH400, but it wasn’t an easy swap by any means. Vengeance had to go in and widen the transmission tunnel for fitment and have a bell
housing made to get the combination to work. The guys over at RPM Transmissions built the TH400 set up for Ned’s Viper using billet internals and input shaft and a custom Pro Torque lock-up torque convertor with trans brake. The Driveshaft Shop set them up with their 9-inch center section conversion along with a trick set of half-shaft axles and driveshaft. Gearing comes in threes for Ned; depending on the track conditions, he’ll use a 2.75 or 3.0 gear for half-mile and a 3.55 for quarter-mile events.
Much of the chassis remains as it came off the dealership floor; Dodge did build the Viper for speed, after all. A certified cage was added for safety and additional bracing was installed for the dual chute deployment to slow the car from over 200mph. All factory body panels remain; and if the car doesn’t already do so, the color certainly gets your attention! The Dodge T/A orange is a rare color and only came on a handful of Vipers; Ned’s is number 46 of 93. The suspension also stays remarkably untouched; the
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What’s not to love about the factory nuances mixed with hardcore race parts?
addition of some MCS coilovers on all four corners helps with fine tuning for both half and quarter-mile racing.
If looks could kill a stock Viper would do it, but one with the addition of a “Drag Pack” is just insane. For the front, Ned had Forgeline make him a set of 17inch front runners and the choice for the rear is based on the event. He runs two sets of Belak 15x10 wheels, one with a set of 275 radials for quarter-mile racing, and the other has a pair of taller 315s on them. Wilwood disc brakes front and rear aid the dual parachutes in stopping power, but Ned’s favorite addition to the car goes right along with the drag car feel, and it’s those five-inch bull horns on each side that shoot flames out when staged and ready
Watch Ned Dunphy catch some air in this wild pass!
The Viper can be found at ¼-mile, ½-mile and full mile race events and holds multiple records to date, with the goal of being the world’s fastest Viper, “at everything”!
Ned Dunphy’s Street/Race 2014 SRT Viper TA
Body & Paint:
OEM Viper TA Orange. 100% stock exterior and body panels.
Chassis & Suspension/Modifications:
OEM original chassis/frame. MCS coilover shocks custom calibrated for desired travel/ rebound and dampering based on track conditions. Only significant modifications are addition of structural support to allow safe stopping from the dual parachutes, widened and reinforced transmission tunnel to fit the 400 automatic transmission.
Engine: Stock cast aluminum 513 CI V10 built by Late Model Engines (LME). Darton sleeves, Dailey Dry Sump Oil system, Braile 12V Lithium Battery, and VP Import fuel for Track use and E85 for Street use.
Rotating Assembly: Callies Ultra Billet custom crankshaft. BME aluminium connecting rods, Diamond custom forged pistons, custom ring and receiver with copper head gaskets.
Cylinder Heads: Stock cast aluminium heads that have been ported and polished, and machined to take advantage of the custom made Jesel rockers. Manley pushrods.
Induction & Fuel Delivery: 20 X 2000cc LS1 Denso Fuel Injectors. Aeromotive 10GPM brushless fuel pump. Nick Williams Boosted 102mm DBW dual throttle bodies.
Electronics: Pro-EFI Engine Management
Power Adder:
Twin Precision Pro Mod 94mm Gen II CEA turbochargers. Nitrous Outlet dry shot nitrous used for roll racing instead of anti-lag.
Transmission: RPM Transmissions Turbo 400 with lock-up, transbrake and double dumps, mated a custom Pro Torque converter.
Rear: Drive Shaft Shop 9-inch differential with custom made driveshaft and significantly upgraded halfshafts. We use 2.75 or 3.0 ratio gears for ½ mile format depending on track conditions and 3.55 for ¼ mile.
Tires & Wheels:
Fronts are custom made skinny front runners from Forgeline. Rears are 15” Belak Industries and we run both a 315 Radial and 275 depending of the classes we are competing in.
Interior: Motec display used inside stock dash cluster. Ultra Quick trans brake buttons installed on MPI removable steering wheel. C02 air-shifter. Integral fire suppression system, 12 point cage, Kirkey racing seat with 6 point Schroth Racing harness.
ET & MPH – Race Only:
½ Mile MPH best of 230.1 Current World Record for Gen V Viper. ¼ mile 7.064 at 200mph = Current World Record for Gen V Viper with automatic transmission.
Thanks To:
Stacey Dunphy - my wife and biggest supporter. Jillian and Claire Dunphy - my daughters and biggest fans.
Ron Mowen - owner / founder of Vengeance Racing
Jey Clegg - master fabricator, tuner, and shop foreman of Vengeance Racing
The entire crew of Vengeance Racing who pour their heart and soul into my experience as a Vengeance customer.
Additional Major contributors:
Jason Seibels – Owner of Pro-EFI
Bryan Neelan - Owner of Late Model Engines
Rodney Massengale and his team Jeremy, Todd and Shane of RPM Transmissions
Jose Gonzalez of Pro Torque
John Lamont - owner of Fastlane Import
Chuck & Alan Greer - Driven Collision for all my paint and body work including matching helmet.
It takes a village to build a dependable winning car at this level, and Ned Dunphy has a strong support team with him every step of the way.
for action.
Ned is housed in a 12 point cage, sits in a Kirkey race seat, and is strapped in by a sixpoint Schroth racing harness. He has trans brake and staging buttons on his MPI steering wheel and shifts via a co2 pressurized shifter. A Motec digital display monitors all engine vitals, and the intercooler and fire suppression system rides right beside him.
To date, along with his stick shift record, Ned now has the fastest Gen 5 half-mile record
of 230.1mph and the record for a 5th Gen with an auto at 7.064 at 200mph.
“I can bark flames 6 feet high out of the bull-horns at the track while still be able to drive it on the street safely,” said Dunphy. “But we are not done with upgrades and modifications to this car yet and our goal is to be the fasted and quickest Viper ever, at everything!” So, yes, we think most everyone will agree… this Viper has bite!
