Camping, Racing, And Winning—All In A Weekend’s Work

It’s a throwback to the way diesel drag racing used to be: towing a camper to the track, unhooking, competing all weekend, and then lugging everything back home on Sunday. After arriving, initially only to spectate, at Powerhouse Diesel Performance’s Diesel Dayz event in Knoxville, Tennessee, Matt Maier couldn’t resist grabbing a tech card and entering the 7.70 Index field. A short time later, he and his 7.3L-powered OBS Ford—longtime contenders on the diesel drag racing scene—found themselves in the finals. And although the last round of racing would eventually be rained out, leading to a split-win, Matt illustrated just how versatile a 700hp combination can be.

Dyno

An Update On The Australian, Billet Duramax-Powered Camaro

As the stateside stay for Ned Amey’s F-body Camaro winds down, the folks at Hardway Performance got it on the schedule aboard FuelTech’s hub dyno. This is the Australian-based, Wagler drop-in billet block Duramax we’ve been checking in on since the spring—and boy does its 6,500-rpm song sound good. Sprinkle in a wild nitrous arrangement (.250 jets in the intake runners and a big-league fogger system), MoTeC stand-alone control with S&S Diesel Motorsport custom firmware, and a 110mm Harts turbo, and it’s one of the wilder diesel race cars ever assembled. Once it’s fine-tuned, look for Ned’s Camaro to dominate the radial tire action in the land Down Under.

In The Dirt

15^th Annual Fleece Performance Engineering Hoosier State Showdown

For a decade and a half, Fleece Performance Engineering has been hosting a Labor Day weekend truck and tractor pull in the west Indiana town of North Salem—and last Saturday we were on hand to take in the 15^th annual affair. Everything from Modified’s to Limited Pro Stock diesel trucks were sent down the track, and the well-organized and quickly-run, four-class event was complete in just two and a half hours. Among the winners were: Matt Rausch in the Light Combo tractor class, S&S Diesel Motorsport’s Andre Dusek in the 8,000-pound Pro Street diesel truck class (2.6), Brian Cameron in the Hot Farm tractor class, and Adam Kincaid in the 8,000-pound Limited Pro Stock diesel truck (3.0) category. Stay tuned for our detailed recap from the event in the days ahead.

Modified Classifieds

The Ultimate Duramax Tow-Rig Can Be Yours

Serious about towing? Need to do it in style? Wehrli Custom Fabrication’s lightly used ’20 Chevrolet Silverado 5500 HD should fit the bill. The four-wheel drive, full air ride medium duty hauler has just 14,400 miles on the clock, has never been exposed to salt or wintry conditions, and boasts a paint-matched aluminum bed from Utility Bodywerks. Other bells and whistles include a B&W Turnoverball hitch, dual fuel tanks (26-gallon combined with a 40-gallon rear cell), fabricated rear bumper, various interior upgrades, and more. Of course, the truck is no slouch, either, with the L5P Duramax -powered workhorse turning out a cooling-running 585 hp and 1,080 lb-ft of torque thanks to Calibrated Power Solutions tuning and 64mm Stealth turbo.

OEM News

Walter Chrysler’s Great-Grandson Proposes To Buy Chrysler And Dodge Brands

According to the Detroit Free Press, Walter P. Chrysler’s great-grandson, Frank Rhodes Jr., recently offered to buy the Chrysler and Dodge brands from troubled automaker, Stellantis. Rhodes’ vision is to restructure and reinvigorate the once-thriving brands and restore them to their former glory. The detailed offer proposed to buy the operations and manufacturing facilities, along with assuming control of the current labor force within them. Rhodes’ plan also entailed bringing on board new and forward-thinking management, and do it from the inside—ultimately creating a “Phoenix-like, Chrysler/Dodge rebirth.” The offer came as Stellantis faces a mounting list of manufacturing, quality control, and financial issues. Stellantis both politely and officially declined the offer.

Written by Mike McGlothlin