Diesel News 1.14.19

Truck of the Week

2019 Ram Heavy Duty to Pack 1,000 LB-FT Cummins

With all three manufacturers’ engines over the 900 lb-ft of torque mark, it was only a matter of time before one of them released a 1,000 lb-ft version. It turns out that Ram’s 6.7L Cummins will be the first to market. This historic moment in the Big Three’s truck war is brought to you by a High Output Cummins with a compacted graphite iron (CGI) block, forged-steel connecting rods, lighter yet stronger cast-aluminum pistons, an upgraded cylinder head with new rocker arms, exhaust valves and valve springs, and an improved variable geometry turbo that makes 33 psi of boost right off the showroom floor. The H.O. Cummins twists out 1,000 lb-ft at 1,800 rpm and 400 hp at 2,800 rpm. On top of that, Ram claims its ’19 Ram 3500 will feature best-in-class payload and towing ratings (7,680 and 35,100 pounds, respectively).

Highlights

Orange Crush Duramax Making a Comeback?

Does anyone remember this blast from the past? Back when diesel drag racing was just picking up steam, Chris Calkins and his ’70 C10 were proving the Duramax/Allison combination could be made to go fast—real fast. In fact, the truck put up a 9.87-second pass at 139 mph way back in 2007. A recent repost of the truck making a hit on Track Lab Dyno’s chassis dyno (clearing 1,107 hp and 1,712 lb-ft) went viral on social media, where we also spotted the truck for sale for $60,000. If the truck still weighs in at the brisk 4,200 pounds it used to, the old-school Chevy could easily be good for 8’s in the quarter-mile.

Events

XDP’s Monster Truck—coming to a town near you

Haven’t had a chance to see the XDP 2.0 Monster truck in action yet? Now’s your chance. Beginning January 18 and 19 in Bossier City, Louisiana, the Cummins-powered behemoth will hit the road for the 2019 Winter Tour. With 11 shows penciled in across the south and west, don’t miss your chance to catch driver Dave Radzierez doing what he does best. The truck, once wrapped in an ’08 Super Duty body, now sports a ’17 Ram body and a D&J Precision Machine Enforcer Cummins mid-ship in the chassis. The common-rail, compound turbo’d power plant delivers an estimated 1,800 hp and runs as clean as any diesel you’ve ever seen.

Indiana Indoor Pulling

The NTPA Winter Nationals took place over the weekend at the C Bar C Expo Center in Cloverdale, Indiana. The facility boasts the largest indoor pulling track in the world at 320 feet in length, along with 50,000 square feet of tradeshow space. Among the classes performing in front of a standing-room-only crowd were the Pro Stock tractors, Super Semi’s, and Super Stock Diesel 4×4 Trucks. In the ladder class, Carl Atley took the win on Friday night, followed closely by Van Haisley, Kent Crowder, and Don Bowling. On Saturday, Kent Crowder would end up out front, with Van Haisley once again in hot pursuit, and Don Bowling in third.

2019 Gordyville Indoor Pull Jan. 17-19

Known by most as Gordyville USA but also coined the Midwest Winter Nationals, the annual tractor pull held in Gifford, Illinois begins this Thursday (January 17) and runs through Saturday (January 19). Under the roof of the 160,000 square foot Gordyville facility, more than half a dozen tractor classes will hook to the sled. Two pulling sessions are run each of the three days, and things culminate on Saturday night with the 10,200-pound Pro Stock, 8,500 and 9,500-pound Limited Pro Stocks, 9,300-pound Super Farm, 6,500-pound Limited Super Stock, and 8,700-pound Light Pro Stock categories. Some of the biggest names in tractor pulling use this affair as a test-run prior to the Championship Tractor Pull at the National Farm Machinery Show in February.