In defense of the Hemi, we had a week (at our expense) to put together 3 motors, none of which are easy to get parts for. The hemi is an iron headed motor with steel rods, and a flat tappet cam. FAST motors make 850 and SS motors make over 900 now. Yes that motor has more work in it than it should, but we used what we had at the shop for motors in progress.

Remember television is for entertainment, much like the internet, so don't read too much into it. Also, it's not like it was a secret kept from the production.