Dodge CEO Tests New Viper At Texas World Speedway

[PapaG]

http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/86285882.html

You might not realize it, but Texas World Speedway is still the place to race.

The track brings in NASCAR teams testing new gear on a regular basis and recently it hosted one test vehicle that brought out one of the biggest names in the auto industry.

With only 50 Dodge Viper ACR-X planned for production, getting everything right on the car is a tall task.

That's why Ralph Gilles, the CEO of Dodge is personally testing it himself at the Texas World Speedway.

"This track is awesome," said Gilles.

Gilles has been the head of Dodge for just over a year now and the ACR-X is one of his biggest projects.

A lot of customers take the base car and they rip it apart, put stuff in it and go racing. We're kind of taking a shortcut for them. Making it turn key ready to go, it's already got a roll cage in it, it's got a safety system in it, seat belts and all that. And it is fast! For me, it's unusual. I'm usually sitting behind a desk by my computer so to do it out here is cool," said Gilles.

But why test a 640 horsepower car that can go over 170 miles an hour here in the Brazos Valley?

"This track has so much history to it. It's got a lot of regular surfaces, which we like because it puts the car into different moments that we wouldn't see in smooth, newer tracks," said Gilles.

The former designer has been with Dodge since 1992, when the Viper was first introduced and knows everything about his company's new toy.

"We kind of have an experimental paint job on it just to show owners what they can do themselves. The equipment you see here, these wings, these create down force and help keep the front end planted and help balance out the huge wing that's on the back. It almost has surreal grip, we have a very sticky tire. If you stick your fingernail in here, your fingers almost get stuck, these tires are incredible," said Gilles.

And all of these components will add up to one incredible piece of art tested right in our backyards.