A smalltown sled pull that’s quickly becoming a hot spot for Work Stock diesel trucks.
Longtime Work Stock driver, Joe Dowson, is no stranger to the winner’s circle.
Between the end of planting season and the start of harvest, a typical Midwest summer is brimming with truck and tractor pulls. June through August, the dirt flies both day and night in places like Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Near the end of the 2018 summer event season, Nick Christy and his family and friends found a spot on the schedule to host a 15-class show in Lewistown, Illinois. Partnering with the local FFA chapter and area businesses, enough resources were acquired to pull it off—and the event has been growing ever since. Both parking and admission are free (a rarity these days), and the daytime show kicks off Sunday at noon.
The Lewistown Truck and Tractor Pull boasts an extensive class list that includes everything from 6,500-pound antique tractors to 15,000-pound Farm Stocks. On the truck side, three diesel-specific categories are available, along with an open gas vs. diesel shootout at the end. This year, we set up camp at the full-pull mark to watch the 900-plus horsepower Work Stock diesel trucks battle it out, but we also stuck around to watch the Stock Turbo diesel trucks and the 10,000-pound Pro Farm tractors dig through the dirt. For many folks living in this western Illinois swath of land, summer wouldn’t be summer without the Lewistown Truck and Tractor Pull—and we completely understand why.
General Rules & Weigh-In
The 8,500-pound Work Stock Diesel Truck class was the biggest draw for us. This particular class is sanctioned by the United Pullers of America and run in the greater Illinois and Missouri area. It’s undergone various rule revisions in the past, but its key requirements have been in place for a few years now, resulting in a class that’s both popular and powerful. The biggest rule relates to the turbocharger, where an open S300 BorgWarner with a T4 foot is permitted (no billet center sections or S400 parts are allowed). Stock-appearing 6.4L Power Stroke turbos can be run, complete with billet compressor wheels, and for a number of years that platform was often the one to beat. Here, the Work Stocks are waiting in line at the scale prior to being tech’d in.
Common-Rail Second-Gen
All told, 10 trucks showed up to compete in Work Stock, and the field of dedicated pullers included Bayley Wiese and his ’98 Dodge. Always a threat to take the win, Bayley turned down his first hook of 287 feet and on the second go-round his common-rail, Cummins-powered second-gen loaded up the sled and dug its way out to a 332.57-foot distance. His ground speed checked in at 26.5 mph, a pretty good clip. Unfortunately, he was fighting a boost leak that would cost him several feet. Bayley ended up taking Fourth Place on the day.
Ragged-Edge 5.9L
If the Cummins under the hood of Bayley Wiese’s ’98 Dodge looks serious, it’s because it is. He built the 5.9L common-rail himself—complete with Wagler Streetfighter rods, a polished factory crank, main studs and ARP Custom Age 625+ head studs—and you can bet it runs on the ragged edge of its horsepower capabilities every time it hooks to the sled. The velocity stack in front of the Tater Built ball bearing S300 says only the best air comes across the turbo’s compressor, and the copper line in the Steed Speed exhaust manifold is there to make sure drive pressure doesn’t get out of hand. The fuel system employs dual S&S CP3’s, Ordinance injectors and an SP3000 lift pump, while the engine is controlled thanks to a Bosch Motorsport stand-alone ECM.
A Big Head Of Steam
Longtime Work Stock driver, Joe Dowson, is no stranger to the winner’s circle. A hard-running common-rail built by Slayback’s Diesel Performance powers his ’06 standard cab Dodge, which seems right at home running the “hero gear.” In Lewistown, Joe’s third-gen would trap 27.2 mph on the ground speed monitor—a speed that matched what the 1,200 hp Pro Farm tractors were putting up! As things drew to a close in the Work Stock class, only one truck would top Joe’s 344.30-foot distance, earning him Second Place money.
More Than Luck
TJ Luck’s ’07 Dodge is somewhat of an anomaly in the Work Stock class. Even though dual rear wheels are allowed (and most competitors run them), his single rear wheel crew cab runs neck-and-neck with the dually’s. Maybe it’s the Mud Grapplers chewing up the track and spitting it out, or maybe it’s the LinCo Diesel Performance Cummins under the hood. Freshly built for this season, the 6.7L common-rail benefits from a Taterbuilt turbo and a whole lot of S&S fueling. Surprisingly, it’s also one of few manual transmission trucks in the class—and sporting a G56 at that. TJ leaves the line at a rowdy 4,900 rpm. He would claim Third Place with a 334.72-foot distance in Lewistown.
Winner, Winner
Talk about storming down the track. As the last truck to hook in the Work Stock class, Charlie Buss and his crew cab ’03 Dodge made it count. We didn’t get a look at Charlie’s exact ground speed, but all indications were that his third-gen was the closest to 30 mph on the day—and his final distance of 350 feet reflected it. Charlie receives help and support from Dermody Diesel, a shop whose owner (Kevin Dermody) is a former competitor and longtime student of the Work Stock category.
The All-Nighter
It goes without saying that if you built the pulling surface you deserve a chance to pull on it. That’s what Jeremy Haggerty did, but behind the scenes it almost didn’t happen. Just a few hours before we took this photo, Jeremy’s transmission was out of his ’03 Dodge. After a late-night converter swap, he took a quick nap and then headed to the track, where he helped work the same dirt he’d be pulling on a few hours later. While it wasn’t the exact outcome he was after, we’d say Jeremy’s Fifth Place, 312-foot effort was worth the late-night wrench session.
A New Lease On Life
Back in the spring, a tornado ripped through western Illinois, and the Christy family (who established the event back in 2018) lost their home, shop, and several vehicles. But they didn’t quite lose this one. The 6.4L-powered Super Duty survived the storm somehow and, wearing a few scars from that day, is now a contender in the Stock Turbo diesel truck class. It’s also fittingly called “Twisted Up” now. Here, it’s being driven by Christy family friend, Phil Mester. Full disclosure: thankfully, the Christy family has replaced the truck (and their house) since that devastating storm blew through.
Plenty Of Duramax Competition In “Stock Turbo”
In the Stock Turbo diesel truck field, the Duramax is a solid platform. Not only can these engines, of any lineage (LB7-onward), make 500-rwhp on tuning alone, but even more power than that can be squeezed through their factory turbocharger. This is especially true of the Garrett VGT that came on the LLY engine, as that particular charger featured the largest compressor wheel inducer of any OEM Duramax turbo (62.6mm), along with having the tallest turbine vanes. Thanks to stock turbochargers like that, it’s not uncommon to find a Duramax belting out more than 600-rwhp in the Stock Turbo class.
The Highest Horsepower Diesels In The House
Now for one of those 1,200-plus horsepower Pro Farm tractors we alluded to earlier… This IH 966 is campaigned by the Thompson’s (Roger, Greg, Hunter and Kutter), who represent three generations of farmers. Their DT466 engine is graced with a single 3×3-inch (76mm) Hart’s Diesel turbo that builds an incredible 100-psi of boost, and boasts a 13mm P7100 from Fair Valley Performance feeding a set of 5×0.027-inch nozzle, triple-feed body injectors. Because intercoolers aren’t allowed in Pro Farm (air-to-water or air-to-air), a 5-nozzle water injection system is employed to keep exhaust gas temp in check (1,400 degrees F or less).
A Daily Drivable, Full-Time Puller
Mitchell Ruder’s ’04 GMC might look like more of a street truck than a dedicated puller, but it spends most of its time hooked to the sled. A high-mile LB7 Duramax lurks under the hood, and Mitchell has been known to put it to work in more than one category at any given event. In Lewistown, he would leave the truck in its native Stock Turbo class. Unfortunately, a boost leak (that would be traced back to the intercooler) hindered the Sierra’s performance here. Mitchell, like a lot of other pullers in the greater Illinois area, gets help and support from nearby Illini Outlaw Diesel, a company that sponsored the event.
Moving Up The Ranks
Once a truck that belonged in the entry-level, Daily Diesel class, Chris Schertz has transformed his ’06 GMC into a formidable Stock Turbo class threat in recent years, and he (like Mitchell Ruder) has also rolled the dice in Work Stock a time or two. Chris works for Woodford Diesel Performance, another one of the event’s 70 sponsors this year, and was able to convince several Woodford-affiliated trucks to make the trek southwest down to Lewistown to compete.
