A built diesel truck, a real performance built, tuned-to-the-hilt truck that is much more than a monster exhaust pipe and clouds of smoke, is the most anti-sleeper thing there is. Big, loud, and unabashedly badass, for every parking lot princess that makes eyes roll, there is a four-figure power monster that simply needs a right foot on the loud pedal and a spooled up turbocharger to shut up the peanut gallery. KingSpeed Race and Repair knows diesels well: they build monster mills in just about every flavor possible and have a solid history with performance oil burners. Their drag-truck build Dodge Ram that they debuted in 2013 has a best of 8.66@167 MPH under it’s belt and there is no telling what their dragsters have in wait, but this black 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 is more in-tune with what we like…mainly, because it’s still street legal yet can easily hurt feelings if the need arises. Built for the Ultimate Callout Challenge in forty days, and slated to be a testbed for a while, this Ram is still a workhorse…it’s just not going to be hauling tons of dirt anytime soon.

There are many, many good parts about this black Dodge, so where do we begin? The mill, of course. This is the engine out of the drag-only truck, a 379 cubic inch KingSpeed Cummins build that is based off of a 6.7L common-rail engine. The Cummins is fed fuel via two Dynomite Diesel Performance 12mm CP3 pumps and Dynomite Diesel Performance “Super Mental” injectors, while a single 88mm S400 turbocharger fitted with twin Turbosmart 45mm wastegates supply the additional air. Diamond billet pistons, attached to KingSpeed billet rods, take the punishment while a KingSpeed girdle keeps the crank where it should be. And since all that together just isn’t enough, a mishmash of Nitrous Express pieces and parts found around the shop have been bolted together to give the Ram four stages of nitrous. At Ultimate Callout Challenge, the Dodge turned the rollers to the tune of 1,576 horsepower and 2,307 ft/lbs of torque. Yes, sir, there’s plenty of power on tap if you really want to try your luck. That power has to go to the tires somehow. A Redline Diesel 48RE automatic fitted with a Diesel Performance 4-disc torque converter handles shifting duties and feeds the power to Yukon axles front and rear. Holeshot wheels on M&H slicks do the gripping. Strange double-adjustable shocks and Caltracs handle everything out back, while QA1 double-adjustable shocks take care of the front. Weighing in at 6,500 pounds with a driver, the Ram has a current best of 9.36@149 MPH at Beech Bend, and that’s only the start of it. KingSpeed is hoping to get another 500 horsepower out of the engine before it’s all said and done. Five hundred horsepower. Most guys would be happy with that figure alone in their ride. And this is from a shop of guys who together, might average 25 years old. All young guns, all with their eyes on a target: more.