Bright and early the next morning, with foreheads glistening under a 2-inch layer of SPF 40 and the epic guitar licks from the night before still reverberating in our skulls, we hit the track at Daytona for the first of two adrenaline-packed days. In tow was CarDomain’s Jen Dunnaway, whose fervent enthusiasm for NASCAR almost threatened to overshadow our own (hey, we said almost). In addition to the Dodge suits (by which we mean us, if Dodge brand active tee’s count as “suits”), hundreds of Dodge Challenger owners rallied at the VIP corral to celebrate the Challenger’s eventual run down victory lane. While some owners heatedly compared drag slips, others wandered around to check out the rest of the Challenger heard, which included the 1320 SEMA drag car, Ralph Gilles’ Targa Newfoundland, and the Air Force Vapor.

When they weren’t sweating off 30 lbs of water weight during the qualifying laps, even the drivers got swept up in the muscle car mayhem with free autograph sessions and impromptu meet-and-greets. On race day, Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., and Justin Allgaier took their passion to the track with their fierce defense of Dodge’s NASCAR dominance. Thundering around Daytona at speeds hurtling past 180 mph, the Dodge crew managed to wrap up Daytona on a respectable note. According to No. 26 Paul Kligerman, it was “A big day for Dodge to have the Challenger out here; the best looking car by far in the Nationwide Series.”

If you weren’t lucky enough to catch all of the action in person, don’t lose sleep. We had our cameras constantly at attention and finished the weekend with enough photos to put the Associated Press to shame. Check out all of our coverage from race weekend on the official Dodge Facebook page here.

Catch a quick preview of the coverage after the jump

This weekend at the Daytona International Speedway, the Dodge Challenger will return to the NASCAR track for the first time in almost 30 years. When the Subway Jalapeno 250 roars to life on Friday night, Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski and Justin Allgaier will be tearing it up behind the wheel of two Challengers. This will be the first of only four races the Challengers will run during the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, making this debut race all the more important. “Our new Dodge Challenger race car brings true brand identity back to NASCAR, so now the spotlight is going to be shared between the new car and our two star drivers from Penske Racing,” said Ralph Gilles, Dodge President and CEO. “We’ve been looking forward to this race weekend for quite some time, and our loyal owners and fans are going to have a lot of opportunities to celebrate the return of the Dodge Challenger.”

The excitement on the track will kick off at 1:05 pm on Friday with the official qualifying round, but the real action starts tonight! NYC-based rockers Atomic Tom will be performing at Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep, playing hits from their upcoming single “We Were Never Meant To Be.” Amongst the enthusiastic audience members will be your very own RLD editorial staff and over 50 Dodge Challenger owners. Since their cherry Challengers will be parked close by, not only will you be able to enjoy some awesome live music, you’ll also be able to gawk at some gleaming eye candy too. If you plan on catching all the Daytona action from the comfort of your living room, don’t sweat it. We’ll be on hand to cover everything from the first guitar lick to the last wave of the checkered flag, so be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Concert details: Concert begins at 7:15 p.m. Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep is located at 1450 North Tomoka Farms Road. Beach 92.7 FM will be on remote at Daytona Dodge from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday.

The final day of exclusive press access to the 2010 New York International Auto Show drew to a close this afternoon and tomorrow, the doors at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center will be flung open to the public. If you aren’t one of those lucky few who are able to attend this year, there’s no need to despair. We utilized our behind-the-scenes passes for more than just free breakfast this year and spent the last two days snapping high-res images of every piece of machinery bearing the Dodge logo.

Hope you enjoy!

Check out even more at our official Flickr feed.

Essentially a Challenger SRT8 on the juice, the Drag Pak features a composite lift-off hood with functional scoop, Viper-style front seats, polycarbonate door windows, a light-weight cooling module with electric fan, manual rack-and-pinion steering, a special cable-operated deck-lid release, special lightweight front-brake assemblies and special cable-operated throttle linkage and pedal assembly.

Although it’s not street legal, the Drag Pak is easy enough to order and can be purchased directly from Mopar through your local Dodge dealership for $39,999.

“We’re proud of our drag racing heritage at Mopar, and we will continue to support our drag-race customers where they compete,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and Chief Executive Officer – Mopar Service, Parts and Customer Care, Chrysler Group LLC. “The Dodge Challenger Drag Pak program was a success last year, and we’ll be carrying that momentum into our 2010 build.”

Full disclosure: as we mentioned briefly above, the Challenger Drag Pak is NOT street legal, which means we won’t accept responsibility for any damages, tickets or jail time you incur when cruising the streets for kids in tuned imports to shame.

The new accessory is available for order now from your local Dodge dealership and will officially hit the streets in April.

1968 Dodge Charger R/T in Bullitt (1968)

It starts off innocently enough, with a bad guy (Bill Hickman) tailing Bullitt (Steve McQueen) in a black 1968 Dodge Charger 440 through the up-and-down streets of San Francisco. But McQueen quickly turns the tables, Hickman buckles his waist-only seatbelt, floors it, and begins what’s possibly the most famous, and terrifying, car chase in movie history. There’s no dialogue, no music — just nearly 10 full minutes of the ungodly deep growl of the Charger’s engine careening down back roads and highways, before it runs off the road, crashes into a gas station, and goes out the only way a hero can — exploding in a flaming ball of cinematic glory.

Fun fact: The Charger was apparently so much faster than the Mustang that they had to put thinner wheels on to slow it down to film the chase.

1974 Dodge Monaco in The Blues Brothers (1980)

To be fair, pretty much every scene of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi driving in their battered former police car, a 1974 Dodge Monaco, is golden. But the one that pushes the car into the realm of cinematic immortality is when the two take the Bluesmoblie crashing through the Dixie Square Mall. After fleeing a state trooper, who pulled them over for running a yellow light, Aykroyd cooly tells Belushi not to worry: “They’re not going to catch us. We’re on a mission from God.” With two state troopers giving chase, the brothers rumble through a Toys ‘R Us and a clothing store, nudge a bakery and music store, and take out a few window displays before shooting out of a JC Penny — all while discussing the mall’s merits, which are manifold.

Fun fact: The movie used 13 different Bluesmobiles, two built specifically for speed and three (with one-gallon gas tanks) specifically for jumps. The Monaco that falls apart at the end of the Blues Brothers’ long chase took a mechanic months to correctly rig for that one shot.

1970 Dodge Challenger in Vanishing Point (1971)
A cult classic among muscle car lovers, the Challenger wastes no time getting into the action. The opening scene is set when two tractors make a road block in the middle of a desolate California highway, with cops in the wings and a helicopter in pursuit, as the white Challenger, manned by Kowalski (Barry Newman), barrels toward the blockade. (Keep in mind that this is a car that could go almost 150 mph and hit 60 in 5.8 seconds.) Newman sees the trap, reverses his ground, and for basically the next 90 minutes we see what havoc one man can wreak with a 1970 Dodge Challenger —which turns out to be quite a bit.
Fun fact: Look closely while watching the climactic crash scene — the film’s producers were apparently loathe to destroy the beautiful Challenger, so they crashed a Camaro instead.

1977 Dodge Monaco in Terminator (1984)
While ducking down in the front seat of a car, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) explains to Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) that her unborn son, John, is the one man who can save the human race from total destruction; meanwhile, a terrifyingly eyebrow-less Arnold Schwartzenegger quietly hunts them down, cruising through the parking garage in a Dodge Monaco police cruiser. The future Governator naturally sniffs them out, and the brutal chase begins. The unblinking Schwartzenegger fires shotgun blasts after shotgun blasts while hands-free driving before smashing the car head-on into a wall — and rising from the wreckage, of course.
Fun fact: If you look closely, you’ll see that in some scenes the car is a ’77 Monaco and in others it’s a ’78 Plymouth Fury — both somewhat old models for the LAPD to be using in 1984.

2008 Viper SRT-10 in Wanted (2008)
Any time you can have Angelina Jolie sprawled across the hood of a Viper, racing along tight-packed city streets as she fires guns back at pursuing vehicles, you know you’ve got a movie that should have been a contender for Best Picture. Add in Morgan Freeman, non-stop action, and stunts that effectively total one of the most valuable sports cars around, and who really needs a little thing called “plot”?
Fun fact: Keep watching for a bit of the Viper even after it’s destroyed — in a later chase, Angelina Jolie is seen changing gears with a Viper shifter, even though she’s no longer in a Viper.

The Runners Up:

1970 Dodge Charger R/T in The Fast and the Furious (2001)
In a movie crafted specifically for car nuts, it’s tough to stand out, but Vin Diesel’s black Charger, with the same body style as the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard, dominates until the final crash scene.

1978 Dodge Sportsman Van in The Cannonball Run (1981)
The ambulance gets extra points for historic significance: It’s the actual van that Brock Yates drove in the real Cannonball Run, and the DVD’s audio commentary claims he would have won the race if the transmission hadn’t given out in the desert.

1969 Dodge Charger in Death Proof (2007)
Stuntman Mike’s second “death proof” car is pursuit in a chase scene that lasts a whopping 20 minutes.

1982 Dodge Diplomat in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Sadly, this upstanding public servant would have to find out the hard way that Taggert is most assuredly NOT an excellent driver.

2001 Dodge Grand Caravan in Super Size Me (2004)
It may not be an action movie, but do you think it doesn’t take a lot of work to drive Morgan Spurlock in and out of drive-thrus three times a day every single day?

So who’s got your vote for the best Dodge performance in a motion picture? Tell us in the comments below! (And be sure to let us know if we left out your personal favorite!)

Dodge Super Bee Thermal Tee ($32.95)

This unisex long-sleeve shirt comes emblazoned with the classic Super Bee logo in gray on the front.

Women’s Studio “D” Tee ($23.95)

(shown above) This light blue fitted American Apparel all-cotton T-shirt boasts the Studio “D” logo on the front in green and black.

Dodge Charger Hoodie ($48.95)

(shown above) You can’t get much more classic than this: The iconic Charger logo on a kangaroo-pocket hoodie available in two timeless colors (heatehred red or heathered charcoal), made from soft and lightweight eco-fleece.

2003 Dodge Viper SRT-10 ($6.99)

This 1:43 scale metal Viper, limited to only 2,500 models, has detailed graphics, a hood that opens to reveal the engine, and rubber tires.

Dodge Challenger Collector Set ($150)

(shown above) This high-quality limited-edition set features a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T (in 1:24 scale) along with its offspring, the 2009 Challenger R/T Classic (in 1:18 scale), both with Hemi engine, factory-matched B5 Metallic Blue paint, opening hood, doors, and trunk, working suspension, and a detailed chassis.

A new Dodge has joined the force. The Broward County Sheriff’s Department in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, already well stocked with more than 200 Dodge Chargers, has now added several high-powered Challengers to its law enforcement fleet. For deputy Tom Sheridan, the choice was a no-brainer for the fleet’s Aggressive Driving Enforcement unit: “They’re a full-sized, rear-wheel drive V8-powered car that’s larger than the competition — the Chevy Camaro and the Ford Mustang — but they share a lot features and performance of the Charger,” he says. Among the features that this car does not have in common with everyday Challengers: front and rear radar systems, a higher top speed, and a Mopar Cold Air Intake system for improved performance and gas mileage.

For Deputy Sheridan, his love affair with Dodges goes back to 2006. “The Broward Sheriffs Office acquired 12 of the new Hemi Powered Chargers and I was issued one,” he says. “I just loved the performance and handling.” But he was even more thrilled when he was assigned the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T. “The Dodge Challenger naturally draws attention when it’s out on the road, no matter what,” Sheridan explains. “Now imagine that same car with police graphics, lights, and siren, and you get an instant double-take from the public. The car is a conversation piece no matter where it goes. I can’t tell you how many times a motorist will pull up alongside me while I’m operating the police car and give me a thumbs up — or my favorite: ‘Hey, that’s got a Hemi!’” Of course, that’s when they can see it — Sheridan’s ride is bit tougher to spot. Nicknamed “The Ghost” because of its stealthy appearance and hidden light and siren package, Sheridan’s Challenger is undoubtedly not a welcome sight for drivers pulled over by his Aggressive Driving Unit. But it would be difficult to find a car better suited to the task.

Deputy Sheridan was so impressed with the Dodge fleet’s on-the-job performance that he went out and bought himself a new red 2009 Challenger SRT (shown below) last April — a car that tends to get its own fair share of stares and second looks. He says he enjoys bringing the squad’s new Challengers to show off to the public at local auto shows, where deputies can then field questions on vehicle specifics along with traffic laws. His agency is lucky enough to have some of the most dedicated men and women in law enforcement, he boasts, and they’re eager to learn about local traffic problems that need attention. “And our vehicles reflect that professionalism,” he says. That makes us at Dodge proud, too.

Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

The performance brand’s continued involvement in the Sprint Cup Series will be expanded to include three Penske Racing entries: 20-time winner Kurt Busch and his No. 2 Miller Lite Charger will be joined by Sam Hornish, Jr. in the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, and now, for his first full season with Penske, Brad Keselowski in the No. 12 Dodge Charger. Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles was confident in his boys during the announcement. “The objective is clear,” Gilles declared. “We expect to win races, have drivers in The Chase and compete for the 2010 Sprint Cup Series championship.”

Dodge Racing’s formidable Nationwide Series roster will include Justin Allgaier (‘09 Rookie of the Year winner) in the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge Charger and Brad Keselowski (four-time Nationwide Series event winner) in his No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger. Both Penske teams will be running the complete Nationwide Series schedule. And yes, we’ve heard your vocal requests — the Dodge Challenger will also see some track time during the series, appearing in a number of “New Car” races. NASCAR fans, get ready for a golden year from a reenergized, committed Dodge Motorsports!

Think of it as the ultimate field trip for grown ups: Peter Carey and a video crew visited Chrysler’s Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario to get a true behind-the-scenes look at the assembly process for the Dodge Challenger. In this video, he learns that it takes about 24 hours to take a Challenger from framing to the end of the line, with more than 2,400 workers building Chrysler 300s, Dodge Chargers, and Challengers at the plant. Something is going on pretty much everywhere you look at Brampton — even above your head.