Modern Diesel Drag Racing, Summed Up In A Picture…

Rod MacMaster’s captivating C7 Corvette is just about ready to go radial vs. the world racing, and this all-aluminum Cummins should make the kind of power he needs to compete. From the looks of it, a Fleece short block—complete with the company’s billet-aluminum block and a Fluidampr hanging off the front of the crank—is topped off with a Wagler head, and it’s positively beautiful. Look for this bullet to be tucked deep into the car soon, as well as fully plumbed, wired, and prepped for testing at Hardway Performance. After that, it’ll head to Lights Out February 20-23.

Transmission Tech

Another 1,500+ HP Rated LoganBuilt ‘48

Another day, another battle-ready 48RE leaving the capable hands of LoganBuilt Transmission and Race Fab. In for a snapped 23-spline input shaft, owner Logan Yelton went through this once-1,000hp-rated four-speed from head to toe, upgrading pieces along the way. One of those key upgrades was the addition of a 35-spline input shaft, as well as the corresponding 35-spline hub and an extreme duty SXD triple-disc converter from Goerend Transmission. In LoganBuilt’s latest Youtube video, Logan details key areas of concern in the aftermath of a catastrophic input shaft failure, including complete teardown of the valve body, and inspects all clutches and steels for wear.

In The Dirt

Pulling At The Horse Park

The first indoor truck and tractor pull of the year went down over the weekend in the form of the 2025 Kentucky Invitational. The 13^th annual affair put on by TNT Truck & Tractor Pull brought Hot Farm and Light Limited Super Stock tractors, Super Modifieds, 3.0 Diesel Trucks, and even Pro Street Semi’s to the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Thursday night, Justin Tipton, handling driving duties for Bluegrass Diesel’s Josh Land, put “The Crippler” on the brink of climbing the sand pile for the 3.0 class win. On Friday, Derek Elliott’s “Night Moves” stole the show, but Ryan Perkins would turn in the furthest distance during Saturday evening’s final session behind the wheel of the “Perkins Brothers” second-gen.

The Louisville Lineup

The big news 75 miles west of Lexington entails the official drivers announcement for the 57^th Championship Tractor Pull. The nighttime truck and tractor pulling action at the 2025 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville will once again be top-notch, with the likes of everyone’s favorite Pro Stock, Super Farm, and Super Stock tractors competing in Freedom Hall. And as has been the case since 2011, a matinee class will be held for the 7,500-pound Super Stock diesel trucks. This year, many of the usual suspects were invited to Louisville, among them Scheid Diesel’s Kent Crowder and Trenton Ingram, Van Haisley in the “Rock Hard Ram,” and Calvin Miller’s “Runnin’ In The Red.” Additional high-caliber invitees include Keith Witt (American Pride), Jeremy Yeager (Pipe Dream), Jayden Litman (Somethin’ To Prove), JJ Brumby (The Rumor), Dustin Beheler (Diggin’ Deep), and Caroline Armistead (Dixie Ram).

New To Market

CTS3 A-Pillar Display Mount

Our friends at Wehrli Custom Fabrication got their hands on the latest Edge Insight CTS3 mounting solution for ’24 GMC and Chevrolet HD’s. The new, cast-aluminum mount installs using the lower grab handle location and fastener and provides a permanent, fixed and, in our opinion, perfect spot for the industry’s most popular monitor. Conveniently enough, the A-pillar mount works seamlessly with all ’22.5 and newer GM 1500 trucks. The folks at Wehrli will have them in stock and available to order soon. Expect them to retail close to what similar mounts already on the market list for ($55 to $70).

OEM News

Ford Recalls Nearly 300,000 Super Duty’s

Ford has issued a recall for 295,449 Super Duty’s, ranging from model years ’20-’22 and from F-250’s all the way up to the F-750—and all of them are equipped with the 6.7L Power Stroke… The reason? Surprise, surprise: CP4.2 failure. The NHTSA is reported to have stated that “biodiesel deposits may form on the pump drivetrain roller components, which could lead to failure of the high-pressure fuel pump.” Rumor has it that Ford attributes the high CP4.2 failure rate on these model year engines to Covid-19 related build delays, when unfinished trucks sat for prolonged periods of time. The fix? Ford is offering a free PCM update that’s designed to improve cooling for the CP4.2. How that works is beyond us, but don’t expect it to keep your CP4.2 from self-destructing (in fact, do yourself a favor and be proactive with a CP4.2 disaster prevention kit).

Written by Mike McGlothlin