OT, did you see ITPs "Monster 13 second Drag truck" in DW :rofl:
I saw that, when exactly is a 13 sec. truck a monster?
It never ceases to amaze me how critical people can be of other peoples rides (I’m guilty of it too, but I try hard not to). There are certainly trucks out there that deserve to be ragged on, I’ve seen some amazingly shoddy work on trucks that were touted as being “SEMA Quality” and I’ve seen trucks that I would be afraid to ride in or be around if they were driven over 5mph. While my may not be the fastest truck out there (now or ever for that matter), I’ve done my best to make sure that the work performed on my truck so far has been done “right” and to make sure that it represents my name and my company well. I certainly never expected it to be the subject of people jokes...maybe the magazine should just stick with publishing articles about trucks with more money in the paint, chrome and lift kit than the truck originally cost.
BTW...who called it a "monster". I don't recall that being in the article and I've certainly never made any big claims about the truck.
In ITP's defense, a 12.94 in a truck with 230,000 miles and just 400hp is pretty impressive. I'm sure that truck is just in the early stages of it's drag racing life. He wouldn't build a chassis that built specific for racing without plans of throwing a lot of power at it sometime down the road.
Everyone has to start somewhere, maybe he just decided to get chassis dialed first, then make horsepower later.
For what it’s worth, the article was very accurate when it described this truck as a former Cable Company truck. The pictures make it look nicer than it is. The body is dented and rough, the truck (including the engine) has a legitimate 223k miles on it and it shows. What DTMag said about me starting with the truck is correct, I’ve been around racing for over 20 years now and I know that sticking a big power engine in a vehicle that’s not setup for it is both dangerous and in many cases pointless. If the chassis and suspension can’t deal with the power and aren’t adjustable enough to dial in the combination you’ll never get it to work right and you might be risking your safety or someone else’s in the process. I started with a 2WD truck and chose to make sure that the TRUCK was ready before it ever sees any kind of big power, so a lot of attention and money have been put toward the suspension (primarily the rear). Typical racer tricks like removing weight (particularly unsprung) and relocating weight have been applied too. The truck will be getting a cage and additional frame stiffening too. All of that will be done BEFORE the race engine goes in the truck. Maybe you can laugh at me for having a cage in a 12sec truck too...that would be neat.
If anyone expects me to feel sheepish about the fact that this truck with all of this work has only run a 12.93, think again. I couldn't be happier with the performance of the truck right now, all I wanted with my current combo was a 12.999, that .93 was just plain exciting for me. I never set out to turn the racing world on its head with this truck, and I honestly could care less if it ever is the fastest Powerstroke or if it ever wins trophies or beats any particular trucks. It was purchased to be used as a test platform for my business and as a way for me to get back to the dragstrip doing what I love, racing. As long as I get to go racing and don’t kill myself in the process, nothing else matters. I am the most competitive with myself, so I will always be more concerned with beating myself, my previous times, my previous reaction times (which admittedly are TERRIBLE right now), improving my driving and hopefully making quicker and faster runs in the process. If the guy in the other lane wins, great…I still got to go racing and that’s what matters to me.
That said, the race engine for the truck has been started. It will still be a 7.3L Powerstroke and I have hopes for at least low 11s when it’s done. I ultimately want the setup to be tuned so that I can make pass after pass after pass without worry of breaking parts, so the engine will be way overbuilt and the tuning will be dialed in so we’re not running it at the ragged edge. I would be further along with the engine build, but the economic conditions significantly slowed business and I quit spending money on the engine build until I’m comfortable with the finances again. It might be another year before the new engine is done, I have no idea. In the meantime, if you happen to be at any of the tracks I decide to take the truck to, you’ll just have to put up with high 12s or low 13s from my lowly 223k mile powdered metal rod POS Powerstroke…sorry if that offends you.
Maybe someday my junker will be worthy of a nice comment from a Duramax owner (this is the 2nd time my truck has been publically criticized by Duramax owners)…but I won’t hold my breath. In my opinion though, if you really want to rag on someone, direct it toward all of the guys that run their mouth on interweb forums but don't have the guts to stick their truck on the track (check out the parking lot of the next race you go to). I may not be setting any records, but at least I'm racing.