The Unexpected Dodge Drag Car

The Dodge Shadow (and its fetchingly-named sibling, the Plymouth Sundance) were first produced in 1986, and though they lacked the muscle car looks, they were surprisingly quick. Factory turbocharged models were cutting 0-60mph times in the mid-sevens, putting them on pace with the five-liter Ford Mustangs of the same era. They were no slugs. 

We found Patrick Culkin’s diminutive Shadow at Summit Midwest Drags in 2021. He said he discovered the cult Mopar machines when his brother brought one home.

“I got into these by accident,” he said. “We started playing around with it and then I met a bunch of friends who were into these cars. I have had this one for 20 years and it has been an autocross car, it’s done land speed events, so it keeps coming back in different ways. I haven’t brought myself to get rid of it yet.”

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The original 2.2 liter motor was an eight valve, but Culkin has converted this one to a 16 valve. There’s a 58mm turbo, Microsquirt engine management, and a five-speed manual transmission. It makes about 500 horsepower at the wheels. 

“I built this motor in 2008, so it has seen a lot of passes. It is still holding together and I hope it makes it through one more event.” Culkin finished the week with a 10.875/132.42mph average, enough to place him 11th in the Street Machine class.