What makes a truck pull so great, really? Is it the sled, dragging the tow vehicle down? Is it the volley of exhaust vented like a demonic locomotive the entire run? Is it the one-sided winner, the sled, and the fact that the tow vehicles can only do what the sled allows them to do before the true test begins? That’s what a sled pull is all about…it’s not about towing a heavy wheeled object. Even a properly prepared Toyota Tundra can drag a Space Shuttle around at a couple miles an hour. No, the fun truly begins when the weight shifts off of the wheels of the sled and over the front end. That’s when the engine loads down, the chassis feels the strain and the drivetrain comes closest to failing…that’s when the truck pull becomes good. The first few feet are mostly for the “rolling coal” crowd. It’s the last fifty or so feet of the run, no matter where the truck stops at. That’s what’s great about a truck pull.
This is a compilation of the 2.5 class and Limited Pro Stock class of trucks from the NHDRA Diesel Nationals in Ennis, Texas. We fawn over the Outlaw classes where multiple engines on purpose built tractors turn noise into unholy amounts of torque and violence, but these two classes are fan favorites for the same reason everybody likes Pro Stock in drag racing: They’re actual vehicles. You know that’s a 1990s Dodge Ram, or a Duramax Chevy, or the really awesome Ford dually that’s seen here. They might only have a little bit in common with a regular street truck under the sheetmetal, but on the surface, it looks like the trucks in the parking lot. Now, let’s see some of those trucks come onto the dirt and give the sled a shot…
