Back in early June I hung out with a group of cool trucks and cooler guys as they participated in the 2017 Diesel Power Challenge. This is an event put on by Diesel Power Magazine where they solicit entries from their readers and once they have a bunch of entires they allow the readership of the magazine to vote on which trucks get to participate. What makes this system cool is that the readers typically choose some interesting stuff that they want to see perform. Lots of late model style trucks made up the field this year with one exception.
That exception was McCoy Black who was in a 1990s era Dodge Ram powered by a non-intercooled Cummins that is both compound turbocharged and equipped with multiple stages of nitrous. Oh, did we mention that it has a mechanical P-pump feeding the engine fuel? Yes, because it does. This thing was epic on all levels and a fan favorite for sure.
Returning champion Charlie Keeter was back with his Power Stroke inspired Ford that has a triplicate of turbos on it, making big compound boost. Keeter was vying to become one of the few people who has ever managed to repeat as a winner in the history of the contest. Lavon Miller was the last guy to pull that off.
So here’s day one of competition on the dyno rollers at ATS diesel. as it is “Diesel Power Week” on the MotorTrend YouTube channel, I’ll be sharing these videos and some inside stories each day this week.
like Mr. Olympia in coveralls