Horsepower has the unique ability to put a giant grin on a racers’ face every time they make a pass down the track — but it also can break parts on your car with ease. X275 heavy hitter Rob Goss has experienced each side of what horsepower can offer in his Gen III Hemi-powered Challenger, both in setting records and having some catastrophic engine failures.

After some time away from the track, Goss is set to make his return in X275 with a re-designed Gen III Hemi block that his team developed, and it could make him even more of a threat in one of drag racing’s most competitive eliminators.

Being one of the first people to really push the new Hemi has proven both challenging and rewarding for Goss since he started to campaign the car in 2012. The team suffered three block failures, two being aftermarket Mopar aluminum blocks, and the third a factory stock iron block.

“We used the factory iron block out of both necessity and just to try something different. There weren’t any aluminum blocks available to us, and they weren’t working anyway, so it was time for a change. The iron block actually did pretty well, and we were able to set records in X275 in the 1/8-mile with, running 4.39 at 164 and in the 1/4-mile running 6.92 at 203 with that combination,” Goss explains.

Soon after setting the records, though, the iron block gave out in spectacular fashion at Lights Out 7, breaking the gear drive, damaging the firewall, and hurting the transmission. Goss already had a plan in place for his next move since his team had started development of a new block in 2013 … and now they’re now ready to put it into service.

“Bruce Maichle, my partner and crew chief, is responsible for getting the new block started. He worked with Bill Mitchell, who designed the block and handles getting the castings. Gen3 Performance is the company that will be carrying the new line of blocks going forward,” Goss says.

Maichle and Mitchell’s creation has already been passed to BES Racing Engines, who made some undisclosed changes to the engine program that will produce even more ProCharged power. After Goss gets the motor back he plans on running at the Yellow Bullet Nationals, at No Mercy 7 at SGMP, and the World Cup Finals in November.

“Getting this new platform up to speed in these competitive heads-up classes has been a struggle. I didn’t go into it with the illusion of having no issues and immediate success, but it’s tested us in ways I hadn’t thought. As with all things, I took the setbacks in stride and made the best possible plan and kept moving forward,” Goss says.

Being able to taste success even in the face of so many obstacles has been a team effort according to Goss. “I’m very lucky to have Bruce Maichle on my team; his knowledge, expertise, and hard work are the reason we’ve had success so far,” Goss shares. “I can’t thank my family and friends enough for allowing me to race and the support they’ve shown me. I’m looking forward to being back on the track and I’m hoping for great things from this new engine.”

Look for Goss and his sinister Challenger to be back at the track testing and putting the rest of the X275 class on notice very soon.