An electric muscle car is a powerful car that runs on electricity instead of gas. It keeps the strong looks and speed of classic muscle cars but is better for the environment.
The Dodge Charger is a big car that looks tough and is known for being fast. Now, they're making a new version that runs on electricity instead of gas, which is exciting for fans of muscle cars.
An inline six-cylinder engine is a kind of engine that has six parts called cylinders lined up in a row. It runs smoothly and can provide a lot of power.
The R-Wing is a design element on some Dodge cars that helps air flow smoothly over the vehicle. This can make the car more aerodynamic, which means it can move through the air more easily.
Acoustic baffling is a way to change how sounds are heard in a car. It can make the engine sound cooler or quieter, depending on what the designers want.
A full-size hatch is a big car that has a back door that opens upwards, making it easier to load and unload things. It's great for carrying a lot of stuff.
A drag timer is a tool in some cars that tells you how fast the car can go from a stop to a certain speed. It's useful for checking how quickly a car can accelerate.
G-forces are the forces you feel in a car when it speeds up, slows down, or turns. They show how much pressure is acting on you compared to the force of gravity.
Aerodynamics is about how air flows around things. For cars, better aerodynamics means they can go faster and use less fuel because there's less air pushing against them.
An adjustable tail spoiler is a part at the back of the car that can be moved to help the car stay stable when driving fast. It can be changed to make the car perform better.
NASCAR stands for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, which organizes car races in the U.S. It's famous for its fast cars and exciting races.
ARCA is a racing series that helps drivers get ready for NASCAR. It includes a variety of races and is known for featuring both new and experienced drivers.
The Xfinity Series is a type of NASCAR race that features many younger drivers trying to make a name for themselves in racing. It's like a stepping stone to the bigger NASCAR races.
The Dodge Ram is a big truck that people use for work or to carry things. It's known for being tough and can pull heavy loads, making it a favorite among truck lovers.
Leith Cars is a car dealership that sells different types of vehicles. They are involved in promoting new cars, like the electric Dodge Charger.
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Welcome to the Zero to Sixty podcast by LeithCars.com.
I'm your host Mark Carson and you are listening to a special audio version of our Zero to Sixty TV series,
which you can watch on Facebook and our YouTube channel, LeithCarsNC.
So after you listen to this episode of the podcast, hop on over to at LeithCars on Facebook
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On today's episode of Zero to Sixty TV, we're going to show you a lot of firsts.
The world's first all-electric muscle car.
The first use of the frat side symbol in almost 50 years.
And the first time in over a decade that NASCAR will be racing in the Sandhills region of North Carolina.
That's a lot of firsts and they're coming up now on Zero to Sixty TV by LeithCars.com.
So here you have it, the 2025 all-new first ever all-electric muscle car.
The Dodge Charger, Daytona, RT, this is the stage one.
It comes in two trim levels, the stage one RT, which we brought here in Rockin' Amp Speedway.
And then there's a stage two optional, which you get the scat pack and even more power than this baby has.
But look at the styling of this thing.
I mean, they have taken the 68, 69, 70 Dodge Charger that Mike brought to the Speedway here today, the Bobby Isaac car.
And they've really brought it back to life in a modern form.
What I love about it the most is bringing the strong shoulders back on the car from the door to the core panels.
And of course, we have a two-door charger once again, although a four-door version will be coming out later this year.
And under this very cool styled hood is your Dodge plastic, not engine cover because there's no engine under here.
But that's what's cool about electric, right?
You got the battery pack down low for weight.
You got some of your electricals up here.
But again, when Dodge comes out with the inline six Hurricane engine, it will sit right here.
So that's another cool thing about this car.
You know, some folks were thinking, what is Dodge doing there?
They've turned the charger into electric car, but it's not just an electric car.
This platform will host the electric motor, which is up front and at the rear wheels.
But it will also host the inline six-cylinder Hurricane engine.
So you got the best of both worlds.
And that engine will be available in the near future.
One of the unique styling features that Dodge has put into this new design and again brings it into the modern current age is what they call the R-Wing.
That's what this is.
So this is actually an air pass through.
So air, as you're driving down the road, comes up, passes through, stays over the hood, over the roof and out the back for aerodynamics.
And then the rest of the air is taking around, you know, the sides and down the side of the car.
So it's all smooth.
And you're going to hear a lot about this little symbol right here.
The cool thing is that you'll also find it on Mike 69 charger Daytona.
It's called the Frat Dog.
It was created in the early 60s, first showed up on a 1962 Dodge lineup.
So Dodge decided to bring it back for this new electric age.
So you'll actually see it on some of their other vehicles that are coming out that are electrified in the coming model years.
And then when you come to the back of the charger, you got a slight duct tail like the original car in 1968.
But on the rear, you'll see the red lit Frat Dog symbol.
Also interesting besides the embossed Daytona name on the rear bumper here, right here it says Frat Zonic.
And you can actually hear, this is the artificial, some people like it, some people don't.
I think it's pretty cool actually, sound of a Hellcat Hemi V8 being put through acoustic baffling under the car.
So it's not coming through speakers in the interior.
It is electronically created, but those speakers go through baffling here and out the back.
So you actually feel it as you get that go pedal, some pressure when you mash it and you go like we did on the racetrack.
You can feel it a little bit inside the new Dodge Charger.
There hasn't been a Charger hatchback since the 1980s, but we won't talk about that one.
If you want a machine that really moves you, Charger leaves them all behind.
That was a subcompact.
This is a full-size hatch and that is a massive amount of cargo space.
Now if you're concerned about the Dodge Charger since it is a two-door coupe, not having enough rear leg room,
first of all, check that out, the seat moves ahead for you automatically and you pull it and it's going to go back.
So this same car, this same layout is what you're also going to find in the four-door version when it comes out later of the new Dodge Charger.
Now look at this, I'm six foot four with a hat on and I've got plenty of leg room in this car.
So we're going to start it up here and you get that wonderful, it's not just the sound.
It's also the rumble, the feel of the Hellcat engine and your electric Dodge Charger.
So being a modern Dodge, you've got full digital readouts here.
That's a 12.3 inch Uconnect system.
Uconnect is one of the best infotainment systems that's on the market today.
This is the part that I love.
Dodge back in the 60s and 70s was famous for the pistol grip shifter.
Now in an electric car, you don't really have gears.
This is a one speed car being electrified, but they have given you the feel of a mechanical shifter.
It actually notches into reverse neutral drives.
You've got paddles here which are for brake regeneration.
I used that a little bit coming up here from Leaf Dodge in Aberdeen.
It was about a 20 minute drive, setting some of the regenerative power from the braking back into the battery.
I was told that since this car has yet to be driven 500 miles, some of the performance features aren't turned on yet.
There's a drag timer. There's a lap timer.
You've got the braking distance.
You've got your G-forces to show how many center of gravity G's you're pulling, but very readable, easy to read.
And of course the steering wheel. A little bit different, right?
Flatten not just at the bottom, like in an F1 car, but flat across the top.
Mike, you know, I take a little bit to get used to, but it's actually kind of cool and very comfortable.
There's a good size to it.
The button here, power shot, that will give you an extra 40 horsepower for 10 seconds.
So it's almost like having nitrous oxide in your street car.
Mike, it is a pleasure to have you back with us and look at where we are.
I know, Rockin' Ham.
And your car just, oh my gosh, it fits so perfectly here.
Of course, you drive Rockin' Ham every once in a while in the Bobby Isaac car with your StarCard Classic, right?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
You know, we wanted to include your car here with our all new electric Dodge Charger is because this is the Daytona RT.
This is the Daytona RT, but this is the first one. Tell us a little bit about it.
69 Dodge wanted to run good in that car.
So they come up with an aerodynamic nose, the wing, put pressure on the back end, flush black glass, so they can run 200 mile an hour.
Oh yeah, that's right. So yeah, so when this car came out, this generation of Dodge Chargers, the second generation, I believe,
it had the vertical, I call it the snub nose, flat front, right?
And it did not perform well on these speedways.
Speedways over a mile.
Yeah, and this track is a mile, so it didn't perform well.
And you've had that, what are they?
Tunnel back.
Tunnel back, where the roof was almost like a sail and the window was sunken a little bit.
And, you know, as you mentioned, they put the pointed nose on the front of this.
They made the windshield pretty flush, and then they put this whopper of a tail spoiler wing, really, which I guess for an ask car, it's adjustable.
Oh yeah.
Right?
What do you think of the John Dodge has done with this new eighth generation Dodge Charger, and they've brought back the two door.
It's beautiful. Got beautiful body lines.
I didn't have to mash the go pedal, but so far, and it is ready to go.
Oh yeah.
Thanks for bringing your car out again.
Yes, sorry.
Have a little fun out there on the racetrack.
Yes, sorry.
All right, so I'm excited to introduce to you Dustin Russell, who is the track manager here at Rockingham Speedway.
Dustin, not only do we have this fantastic Dodge Charger Daytona RT Electrified here at your Speedway today, but man, you've got two big events coming to Rockingham.
Why don't you tell us a little bit about the return of NASCAR?
Yeah, so we are extremely excited.
Friday we have truck series that's going to be here, the 18th, and then on the 19th, we actually have a double header.
So we have Arca in the morning and Xfinity in the afternoon, and we are doing everything we can to get ready.
It's going to be a great time.
We have done a lot of construction. Everything's being remodeled, repainted, cleaned.
We're taking this track and flipping it back up to where it should be.
And Dustin, and for fans to know, this is not something that happened overnight.
This has been a process what years of the making?
Four years.
So we've been doing this for four years, and we finally sweet talk them into coming out and having a good time with us.
It's took a lot. They understood what the track had and what needed to be done, and we've done it.
So they brought it back to us.
So what are some of the work that has been going on here to get it ready for NASCAR's return in April?
So it's a lot of infrastructure, plumbing, electrical, all that fun stuff has been updated just because this track sat dormant for 20 years with nothing going on.
Everything's been completely remodeled throughout the suites, the race control, the track has been completely repaved, the infield has been repaved.
Everything's being painted, and then it's just pretty much there isn't anything out here that hasn't been touched or is not going to be touched by the time it's done.
But what's cool, I think, is that with the front stretch here, you've kind of taken it back to almost a little more seating capacity,
but almost what it was when it opened in 1965, right?
Absolutely.
Yeah, if you look at some of the old pictures from the late 60s, early 70s, you can see it's basically the same seating.
Like you said, it's a little more space, a little more seating capacity than what it was back then, but it's still that front stretch grand view,
and they're in a bad view on the front stretch here. You can see the whole track, so that's pretty awesome.
So when we're out on the track, what is the banking, what degree?
It is 25 degrees in the corners.
And man, does it feel like it. It is something.
It's a lot to walk up, that is for sure.
Yeah, it is really something. I love that you guys, are you going to keep that original lap board?
We are keeping it. It does work. We just had it on the other day. We just put all brand new LED bulbs throughout the whole thing,
and we're planning on using it for this race.
Alright, so obviously, you know, new NASCAR fans, you know, NASCAR fans will order like myself, or maybe like, you know, in between like Dustin.
You know, we're all familiar with rocking hand for the new fans that aren't. I mean, this is going to be one exciting weekend.
How do fans get tickets to the April 18th and 19th?
So if they go to the web page, racetherock.com, they can get their tickets.
There's still a little bit of a general mission seating left, but it is going fast.
Well, good luck for that weekend. Somehow we will be down here and support you guys, and we love all the support that is being shown, you know, to the rock.
But Dustin, I got to ask you, since we brought this brand new 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona RT, the world's first electric muscle car, what do you think of this thing?
I love it. The body lines, the interior, it's just very sleek. It's an amazing looking car.
So thanks to Mike Daugherty for bringing his 69 Dodge Charger Bobby Isaac car today.
Thank you, Dustin, for letting us run some laps at Rockin' Am Speedway, and especially, thank you, Leith Kreiser Dodge Jeep Ram and Aberdeen,
just about 20 minutes up the road from the racetrack for providing us with the first ever electric muscle car, the 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona RT.
I'm Mark Carson. Thank you for watching Zero to 60 TV by LeithCars.com.
You've been listening to an audio version of the Zero to 60 TV series, which we encourage you to go and find on our YouTube channel, LeithCars MC,
or Facebook at LeithCars and give that video a watch, a like, and a share.
I'm Mark Carson. Thanks for listening to the Zero to 60 podcast by LeithCars.com, a Holman automotive company.
About this episode
The latest episode dives into the groundbreaking 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T, the world's first all-electric muscle car, driven at Rockingham Speedway. Host Mark Carson highlights its retro-inspired design, featuring the iconic Frat Dog symbol and modern aerodynamics like the R-Wing. The episode also discusses the car's dual capabilities, housing both electric motors and a future inline six-cylinder engine. Guests include NASCAR track manager Dustin Russell, who shares insights on the Speedway's upcoming events and renovations, making for an exciting blend of automotive innovation and racing heritage.
Here's a special audio version of our Zero to 60TV video featuring the all-new 2025 Dodge Charger R/T Stage 1 at Rockingham Speedway right before the return of NASCAR. Be sure to watch, like, and share our video on this amazing electric muscle car and subscribe to our LeithCarsNC channel on YouTube.
