Pickup trucks might not be as quick as full-blown dragsters down the quarter- or 1/8-mile, but they're just as exciting to watch. To me, it's the simple fact that a large and heavy hauler can be transformed into a drag strip rocket capable of covering the quarter-mile in less than 10 clicks. The truck you're looking at is only a 1/8-mile runner for the time being, but it's amazingly fast thanks to a beefed-up Cummins mill.
If you're a fan of diesel-powered trucks you should definitely check out Greg Alberalla's YouTube channel. He's currently working on quite a few projects, including newer and older pickups, but also semi trucks. But this modified Ram 1500 is by far the most interesting, mostly because it packs a 1,500-horsepower Cummins engine under the hood.
This truck has been a work in progress for many months now. It's all documented on YouTube if you have the time and patience to check out the lengthy videos. If you're here just for the drag strip action, the footage below shows the Cummins-powered Ram hitting the drag strip to pull a couple of five-second 1/8-mile runs.
This isn't the first time when Greg managed to cover the distance in less than six seconds. It happened about a month ago when he ran a 5.93-second sprint. But he's back to try and improve on that benchmark with new tweaks to the drivetrain and chassis.
Did he manage to pull a quicker sprint this around? Well, not really. But he was really close with a 5.94-second run at 119.9 mph (192.9 kph). His second attempt was just a tad slower at 5.95 clicks, so he went back under the truck for more tweaks. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and the third sprint resulted in a 6.17-second run.
But despite the lack of a new benchmark, this Cummins-powered truck is as fast as they get. And it stands as proof that diesel engines can still perform and that all this talk about oil burners having reached their peak is nonsense. Sure, they're far from clean and they gulp diesel like crazy, but that's not what drag racing is about. Click the play button below for diesel racing awesomeness. And make sure you hit the 21-minute mark to see a four-wheel burnout.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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