The first day of school is always a bag of emotions. At first there’s excitement to see classmates that paths didn’t cross over summer break. Then fear kicks in of bullies or x-friends, new teachers and a changing curriculum. Finally the sadness that your days are no longer free to your liking and now have a structured schedule each day. The emotions continue to cycle as you walk the hallways to your first class. By the end of the day the emotions start to settle. You realize that you are still in control of each day and that you decide it will be a better year than last. 

This is exactly what it was like walking into Performance Racing Industry Trade Show this year. Although we have been attending for many years, seeing a lot of the same faces, this last 2 years have created new changes good and bad. Missing one year due to the pandemic felt like it was 10. The roller coaster of emotions was great, but by the end of our couple days we felt right back at home.

Enough about us, the show was packed. Normally early Thursday and Friday the crowd is somewhat calm and loose, but not this year. We had to remind our selves a couple times that it was still Thursday and not Saturday.  

As we maneuvered around the crowds and booths, we were very pleased to see all of the Mopar specific products and vehicles. We are happy to report the Gen III HEMI is finally getting the aftermarket support it needs. 

There has been a good bit of support for the current LX platform since the relaunch of the Charger and Challenger. While, companies like Hurst, Hooker, JBA, Diablo, etc., have a catalog filled of modern Mopar parts, the support for swapping a Gen III HEMI into a classic Mopar has been very little. 

The last couple years the aftermarket has made the Gen III HEMI a priority and it is finally showing. Holley’s booth was littered with Gen III HEMI products. Indy Cylinder heads had their latest Mod Man HEMI intake on display, which will now accept a blower, yea you heard that right. 

What really made us weak in the knees is how many Hellcat products and cars we seen. The Hellcat is kinda in a league of its own and the support that motor is getting is incredible. We saw those waffle irons around every corner. The surprising part was almost every Mopar vehicle we encounter had a Hellcat motor. From Jeep Wranglers to a classic Challenger and then a few modern Chargers and Challengers, it was like someone was giving them away. 

We were able to stop at Powermaster and see their latest alternator for the Gen III HEMI. Their new alternator puts out 195 amps at idle and when spinning at speed it can put out 245 amps. That is a boat load of power. They understand there is more electronics that ever before that we are adding to our cars and without a proper alternator those electronics could malfunction. 

Although the Gen III HEMI is the cool guy on the block, our friends at Indy Cylinder Head is still finding ways of improving all Mopar motors. They just released their Mod Man intake for small block Mopar motors and allows you to easily add a blower. They are seeing incredible numbers by just adding a blower on a stock 318 or 360. They are still working out a few details and gathering data but this is going to change the game for small block Mopar. 

The show was a blast and we are grateful to be back in person meeting with our sponsors and hopefully adding some new ones for 2022. We have some big plans for 2022 and you do not want to miss them. Enjoy the giant gallery of all things Mopar from the show. 

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