In 2017, I took part in the only parade I’ve ever taken a part in. Once it became clear that the weather was not going to cooperate with the racing schedule at Milan Dragway, the entirety of the Modern Street Hemi Shootout series on the property followed behind Ken Kimak’s Challenger down the strip as a soft rain fell upon the cars. The memorial service was for Bobbi Kimak, who did not survive a car accident on her way back from the Roadkill Nights event the year prior. I had met Bobbi. The best way I can explain her with the little time I got to spend with her was that she was everybody’s grandmother at a race. She was fiery, fun, and quick to heap praise on you for your accomplishments. She was also a hot-shoe, more than capable racing her own machine at events. Her loss was felt as a massive shockwave throughout the Modern Mopar community, especially in the Modern Street Hemi Shootout series, where everybody just expected her to be there at each and every race.

After being away from the MSHS for a while, my first trip back into the land of the familiar was like a homecoming when I attended the race at Clay City, Kentucky earlier this year. Dan VanHorn rolled out the red carpet, and people I hadn’t seen in what felt like years welcomed me back like I had only skipped one race. As I parked the rented pickup near Andy Wagner’s trailer, the orange and black-striped Challenger SRT sitting nearby warranted a look. It appeared to be one of the initial release of cars made when the Challenger was let loose on the market in 2008, and I was certain that they were numbered, and I wanted to see the badge. And the moment I looked under the hood, it hit me like a brick:

Yeah, that’ll hit you right in the gut. The Challenger belongs to Darla Kimak, and she’s taking up the mantle that was left behind. If you didn’t know Bobbi but met Darla, take it from someone who has had the opportunity to know both: the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. She’s just as spooled-up, just as wicked on the track, and just as full of life. But where Bobbi reminded you of a feisty grandmother, Darla will remind you of the sister who was always kicking your ass every time you turned your head. Not maliciously, mind you…it’s just the way things are.

Now, if you’re going to show up at an MSHS race, you’d better bring something worth mentioning. And in Kimak’s Challenger, there’s a solid recipe: a 426ci mill based off of a 6.1L block that was built by Erik Storms at BFNY Performance in Cleveland, Ohio uses Thitek heads (and surely, a lot of other fun stuff) and a 13:1 compression ratio to get the car up and moving out. The torque of that engine fights the weight of the car through the NAG-1 five-speed automatic that Ben Maniaci at Enhanced Transmission tweaked with. A 3.91-geared Getrag center section turns the tires and gets the big LY Mopar up and moving, while a 15″ Wilwood rear brake conversion hiding behind Weld wheels stops the show. And note the hollowed-out turn signal…that’s not a later-model piece, but a Jon Dalton-designed intake unit that preceeded the Hellcat/Demon inlet tube. Does the program work? Indeed, it does…mid-11s at about 115 MPH from a naturally-aspirated first-year Challenger is solid. Her reaction times will leave you wondering if you heard an axman chopping down a tree.

There is no replacing Bobbi Kimak. There just isn’t. But Darla learned plenty from her mother, and she’s right where she belongs: in one mean Challenger, lapping like it’s a job, and living it up in good company off of the track. On that day in Milan, when everybody seemed misty-eyed, the rain fell like tears. When I was at Clay City watching Darla run laps, the sun couldn’t have beamed any brighter.