Prepare to be sent back in time to your local drag strip in 1970. The crowd is roaring, the smell of popcorn, beer and burning gasoline fill the air as two local cackling street legends – a 1968 Plymouth Hemi Roadrunner and a 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda – face off in a winner-takes-all grudge match. The Christmas tree turns green and VROOOM! Both cars take off like a rocket.

Well, this isn’t 1970, but 2015 and a similar event happened. A drag race with the same cars was recently conducted by the quarter mile obsessed YouTube channel, Road Test TV. Both of these cackling, elephant powered Mopar machines staged and used their Hemi power to turn ETs in the high 11 second range. The Roadrunner came out on top by a fraction of a second with an ET of 11.85 seconds @ 121MPH while the Hemi ‘Cuda turned an ET of 11.98 @ 117 MPH. The 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner was one of Mopar’s ultimate no frills muscle car.

The Roadrunner’s exterior design was simple and its interior was spartan. It was largely plain and even had the option of an interior carpet delete. Its muscle is supplied by the legendary 426 cubic inch Hemi engine. Chrysler claimed this mill put out 425 horses, but with some tuning and modifications that number was a little weak. This elephant is mated to a 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission.

Only 1,009 Roadrunners rolled off the assembly line powered by a Hemi in 1968, making them rare. The 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda, was Chrysler’s answer to the growing pony car threat from the Camaro and the Mustang. While those cars were fast, the Cuda is an all out monster.

With its aggressive fighter plane like styling, and 426 Hemi mill, the ‘Cuda swallowed Mustangs and Camaros for lunch. Its 425 horsepower Hemi is tied to a 727 Torqueflite transmission. 1970 Hemi ‘Cudas are among the most scarce of all classic musclecars as only 652 hardtops were made – 368 of which had the automatic – making them American treasures.

During America’s golden age of drag racing during the late 1960s and early 1970s, grudge races among local legends were common. Often race promoters would seek out the two fastest guys on the street or at the track and organize a grudge match. Though this race was simple, the Hemi roaring and tire screeching down the 1320 was a nostalgic throwback to the good ol’ days.