We live in a gearhead world where the idea of a high-performance diesel-powered truck is second nature, but such was not always the case. Tyrone Malone can rightfully be called one of the pioneers of diesel performance. He toured the world with a wild display of trucks for decades, even running at Bonneville and setting records.
For most of his traveling career Malone was backed by Bandag, the giant international tire recapping company. It was a match made in heaven as Malone would show the toughness and reliability of Bandag recaps by punishing the tires with burnouts, donuts, and whatever else he could think of to entertain crowds.
His “million dollar” fleet was comprised of the most powerful and ornate semi trucks in the world. That’s no exaggeration either, nothing else could touch them in both the power and looks departments. Two-stroke Detroit power was the order of the day for his “Super Boss” race truck which made a claimed 1,000 hp.
Our favorite piece of his was a fullsize, cab-over rig that had a 3,000hp Allison aircraft engine mounted in the rear and pulled wheelstands all day long. It would run over 80 mph with the front end about a half mile up in the air.
Malone was a great showman and actually started his career by towing a frozen whale around the country in a Kenworth charging 35 cents a person to check it out. It’s a wholly American story and the website that celebrates his life is awesome gearhead stuff.
Malone was ironically killed in a car accident. He fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a semi-truck while on business in the Southwest.
If you like big trucks and wild smoke shows you need to check this site out.
