Hemi-swapped JL Rubicon Prevails in Crazy Jeep Drag Race
Heavily-modified JL Rubicon wins Jeep dominated off-road drag race but sustained some damage from the team’s journey.
Jeeps excel off-road. They also boast some very competitive powertrains. However, they’re not really designed for racing. Climbing up rocks and fording rivers? Heck yeah, a Jeep can handle that!. But a drag strip race isn’t really in the cards for dedicated off-roaders.
Or are they? Brittany and Kevin Williams are the proprietors of Lite Brite Studios, a YouTube channel dedicated to their off-road adventures. The husband-and-wife team have done some pretty crazy stuff with their 2018 JL Wrangler Rubicon named “Stepchild.” Aside from the off-road shenanigans, the duo swapped a 6.4 liter Hemi V8 into their Wrangler. As a result, their Jeep sounds beastly and goes fast. That explains why they won a drag strip race featuring a diverse lineup of off-road vehicles. But all the stuff they’ve done as a part of the Trail to SEMA series took a toll on their Jeep, which sustained some damage over the past month or so.
SRT Wrangler?
Spoiler alert: Lite Brite won the drag race. That’s possible thanks to their Hemi-equipped JL. They didn’t disclose the power output of their Jeep in this particular video, but the engine typically puts out at least 470 horsepower and 470 Ib-ft of torque. That’s a huge power advantage over any stock JL, to the tune of about 200 horsepower.
However, team Lite Brite wasn’t the only competitor who brought a modded vehicle to the race. Oddly enough, a Polaris RZR also participated in the race. Presumably that team equipped the Polaris with some aftermarket equipment as well, because not only did it keep up with the other Jeeps, it placed third. But the Williams were most concerned with “Booger,” a supercharged 2012 JK Rubicon piloted by Jay Payson. They didn’t even think they had a chance against him. “I know who’s going to win and it’s not going to be us,” says Kevin. “I think we stood a fairly decent chance until we had to load up the Jeep,” says Brittany. Their Jeep was loaded up with all the stuff they needed for the trip, plus a spare tire, which matched the four other 40 inch tires already on the JL. That’s a lot of additional weight. To make matters worse, no one else used a spare except for them.
One Bloodied Up Jeep
Team Lite Brite finished first, with the supercharged JK and Polaris close behind. But the couple’s recent adventures took a toll on their Hemi-powered Jeep. Perhaps the most serious damage involved one of their Metalcloak shocks. Turns out it bent while they performed some major rock crawling with their Jeep. “What was cool, is if you look, it didn’t break. It bent. Which means I still had a shock,” says Kevin. Seems like the company produces a good product. The duo headed to Dixie 4 Wheel Drive to have a new shock installed.
“Stepchild” also received a fair amount of cosmetic damage as well. All of the crazy rock crawling scratched up the Jeep’s sides. Fortunately, “Stepchild” was vinyl-wrapped not too long ago, which means the paint wasn’t affected. But the passenger side taillight didn’t fare so well. At this point they’ve just used silicone to piece the broken pieces together. Perhaps the worst damage involved the driver’s side rocker panels, which were pushed inwards when Kevin went nearly vertical with the Jeep. It’s possible it can’t even be repaired. “The Stepchild officially has its first every body damage but it has a really freaking amazing story to go along with it,” says Brittany.
Team Lite Brite busted up their Jeep quite a bit, but their Trail to SEMA has been filled with some pretty awesome stuff. Definitely check out their channel to see all the crazy stuff they’ve done. And make sure to watch the drag race. The Hemi sounds absolutely beastly in their Jeep!