The UTCC is an event open to just about anything that can be put on a track. It doesn\u2019t have to be street legal, but it does need to be fast. I spent a few minutes with Adam to find out just how fast his Challenger is.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt actually started life as a Hendrick Motorsports road course car,\u201d (from NASCAR) says Adam. That means it was originally bodied as a Chevrolet…but no worries, Adam points out that after he got it, he rebodied it as a Challenger and put in a Penske-built Dodge R5 NASCAR engine. Now making in the neighborhood of 850 horsepower, the car was the fastest thing all weekend at the UTCC. He competed against everything from highly modified street cars to hand-built one-off track day specials.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019d run the event a number of times,\u201d says Adam. \u201cFirst year, blew up the engine (in a Chevy), and every year it was either raining or something weird happened. This year, we had fuel problems and an ignition issue. We were down 15 or 20 miles per hour.\u201d In fact, Adam\u2019s Challenger can lap Virginia International Raceway\u2019s full course in 1:46 and some change. On Sunday, he turned a 1:50, but broke a weld on the rear end that allowed gear lube to leak out and burned up a rear gear. Officially, he turned a 1:51.537, two seconds faster than anything else in the competition! \u201cIt was bittersweet,\u201d says Adam, \u201cknowing the car can go a LOT faster.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s be honest, there aren\u2019t many Dodge Brand vehicles in road racing. We\u2019ve mentioned Marc Miller and his Dodge Challenger in the Trans Am series<\/a> before, and you\u2019ll see a handful of guys with their cars at track days, but generally speaking, we are in the minority. \u201cThere are so many spectators at UTCC and people swarmed around the Challenger all day long. They see the prototype racers and other cars, then see the Challenger going so fast and say, ‘Where did that thing come from?!’ It looks tame, then people scratch their heads and say, ‘We didn\u2019t expect to see that!’ It\u2019s surprising. Most people don\u2019t pay much attention until they see it run!\u201d In fact, even Bill Riley, the man behind Dodge\u2019s factory Viper IMSA program, has come over to check it out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n On top of winning at the track, Adam\u2019s day job is pretty unique as well: he lives in Nashville and is the bassist for country singer Cody Webb<\/a>. So what came first, music or racing? \u201cRacing!\u201d Adam says with a smile. He started in karts because it was something his family could do together. In fact, his mom has only missed two of his races in more than two decades of racing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Adam](\"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/interior-4-Adam-Romito-Dodge-Challenger-Interior.jpg\")
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