HEADLINES: RLC Motorsports Unveils Its New Eighth-Mile Killer
Fresh builds and billet blocks flood the PRI Show, while the U.S. House of Representatives passes the CARS Act.
It was in the works, covertly, for several years. Now, the RLC Motorsports secret is out in the open and the company’s new ride is already a fan favorite. Some may remember this truck as the ’14 Ram coined “Mini Wheat,” campaigned by Ryan Milliken several years ago. Completely reborn, the truck spent time with Midgets Diesel Performance and Bagshaw Hotrod Fabrication. It sports a 6.8L Cummins from Freedom Racing Engines, S&S fueling, an M&M TH400 with a Sun Coast converter, a GT55, and a top-shelf paint job. Just check out how low that back-set engine sits… This thing should be rowdy when it joins the likes of the Pro Truck N/T and PDRA Pro Street categories.
Competition Engines
Ryan Milliken’s Latest X275 Engine
While roaming the halls of the PRI Show, we came across this interesting display at the SuperFlow booth. After spotting the plaque with No Mercy 14 champion, Ryan Milliken, on it, and in knowing that Freedom Racing Engines builds Milliken’s race engines (Freedom being the engine building arm of Fleece Performance Engineering), we put two and two together. This billet-aluminum block, Wagler billet-headed beast of a Cummins will likely power the glacier blue, X275 class Nova down the track next year. Also notice the Hart’s turbo on the manifold—a charger that’s probably 88mm in order to adhere to the X275 class limit.
UDP’s Billet-Aluminum 7.3L Block
Despite making an unprecedented 2,180 hp on a factory, cast-iron 7.3L Power Stroke block back in 2019, there was no way the guys at Unlimited Diesel Performance could get around the weak, OEM crankcase. As with the Cummins and Duramax platforms, a billet-aluminum 7.3L block was born, which not only helps competitors save weight but that boasts heavy duty strengthening in known problem areas. Unlimited’s billet 7.3L is 63 pounds ligher than factory, incorporates a bed plate, 9/16-inch main and head studs, ductile iron flange sleeves, and Jesel solid roller lifters. Even better yet, at the PRI Show they held a live demo of one of the new blocks being machined courtesy of a 4-axis, RMC V50 machining center.
Emissions
CARS Act Passes In The House
Last week, the Choice in Automobile Retails Sales Act (CARS Act) passed with bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation aims to stop the EPA’s de facto ban on new diesel, gasoline, flex fuel, and hybrid vehicles—passenger cars and trucks that are more affordable than BEV’s, efficient, and that run on American-produced fuels. More importantly, the CARS Act ensures that individuals, and not the government, dictate which vehicle(s) best fits their specific transportation needs and budget. According to the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), 60-percent of Americans oppose the EPA’s de facto ban on ICE vehicles.
IIHS Seeks Speed Assist Technology In New Cars
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as well as members of the Road to Zero Coalition, is urging automakers and regulators to push for intelligent speed assistance (ISA) and speed limiters on all new vehicles. The nonprofit organization believes this technology would help curb an epidemic of speeding which has contributed to a spike in traffic-related deaths since 2020. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also being urged to set performance standards for ISA technology that, at the very least, issues a warning when a vehicle surpasses the posted speed limit.
