5.9-Second Diesel Drag Trucks, Pt. 3: A P-pumped 24-Valve Cummins, A Common-Rail Second-Gen And A 2,000HP Daily Driver

• June 30, 2021
• Story By
  Mike McGlothlin

Now halfway through our 5.90 Index diesel drag racer profiles, we’re bringing you three Dodge Ram builds this time. They’re all Cummins-powered and four-wheel drive, but their paths to power are each a little different. Two candidates are tube chassis, fiberglass, full-blown race trucks, while the outlier is an ’06 ¾-ton that’s still sporting the factory Dodge frame, steel body, a full interior and even A/C! One has been as quick as 5.50 in the eighth-mile, another has the potential to go 4’s and the third represents the fastest full-weight diesel truck in the nation. Each of the following drivers can turn out repeatable, 5.9-second performances each time out and one of these three trucks might just end up the points champion in 2021.

Adam Foltz’s Daily Driver-Turned Drag Truck

It sure looks different from the way it did when he was driving it in high school, but Adam Foltz’s ’02 Dodge has a purpose other than commuting or towing now. Its primary job is to run the number in 5.90 Index and it’s pretty good at it. Adam hasn’t collected a win this year, but he did grab the number 3 qualifier position at round 2 of the ODSS series in Indy (thanks to a 5.91 at 116 mph) and now thinks he can cut 1.2-second 60-foots regularly. Like a lot of 5.90 diesels, Adam’s Dodge can boogie through the eighth-mile much quicker than that. He put up a best of 5.50 at 130 mph late last year—and now the truck is 450 pounds lighter.

Big P-pump, Big Single Turbo

Different from a lot of the Cummins mills idling around in the 5.90 pits, Adam’s is no common-rail. His P-pumped 24-valve Cummins is one of very few mechanical injection power plants on the ODSS circuit. The P7100 hanging off the side of his wet and sleeved-block, D&J Precision Machine engine was built by Northeast Diesel Service and makes use of large, 13mm plungers. The P-pump supplies fuel to 6x18 Haley Speed Innovations injectors and a T6 foot, 5-blade S485 Godfather from Stainless Diesel crams boost into the engine.

Tube Chassis, Coil Overs & A Moser 9-inch

A chassis made from Docol steel tubing, AFCO coil over shocks all the way around and a Moser 9-inch in place of the factory Dana 80 say Adam’s race-ready Ram is light—more than 3,000 pounds lighter than it once was. On race day, it tips the scales at just 3,995 pounds with him in the driver seat. Front and rear four link suspension ties in with the 25.6 SFI certified chassis, and all the fabricating was performed by his friends at J&J Auto and Truck Service. The potent P-pumped Cummins is backed by a 47RE four-speed that’s chock-full of Goerend Transmission parts, including a full manual valve body.

Cody Fisher’s Full-Weight, Fully-Streetable Third-Gen

Full interior. Working A/C and heat. Hop in and go. Meet Cody Fisher’s ’06 Quad Cab Short Bed Dodge. It defies all conventional drag racing wisdom with its all-steel, full weight presence in the 5.90 class. It’s caged, certified for 8.50 in the quarter-mile and has already been 8.70 at 160 mph, as well as 5.71 at 127 mph in the eighth. Those timeslips also happen to make Cody’s truck the fastest full weight diesel truck in the country. To pull off those ET’s and trap speeds, the factory frame four-link third-gen is sending at least 2,000 hp to the tires. As for 5.90, Cody is no stranger to going rounds, and took a top five finish at the Outlaw Diesel Revenge event in Indy.

A Deck-plate Cummins With Huge Compounds

So what if it’s got a hood stack and the wastegate discharges a little fire, this thing’s got A/C! The D&J Cummins under the hood of Cody’s ’06 Dodge is serious—but it has to be in order to get down the track as quickly as the other, much lighter, competitors in 5.90. The engine wears a deck-plate to keep the cylinder walls from distorting but the block is unfilled (hey, we mean it when we say the truck is streetable). The combination of a 4.2-inch (106mm) Wimer turbo out front and an S485 on the Steed Speed exhaust manifold moves a ton of air, while Exergy Performance provides the fueling. Absorbing it all and getting power efficiently to the ground is a tough, Comp 3 48RE transmission from Firepunk Diesel.

Austin Doidge’s Hard-To-Beat Second-Gen

Practice makes perfect, and Austin Doidge lives and breathes this diesel drag racing thing. So much so that when he and his second-gen Cummins aren’t giving every competitor a run for their money in 5.90 Index, he’s either testing or scratching his no-prep itch on small-tires. His tube-chassis Dodge is four-linked, fitted with Menscer Motorsports coil overs and hooks hard and consistent. At most ODSS events, you could miss most of eliminations and still find Austin in the hunt in the later rounds. He missed the season opener this year, took third at the Outlaw Diesel Revenge race in Indianapolis and then missed Round 3 at Virginia Motorsports Park. However, if he makes the remainder of the races on the 2021 ODSS schedule, he still might have a shot at the 5.90 title. And after missing two races, that's saying something.

The Reason For The Repeatability

Since making the switch to common-rail, Austin has been one of the most consistent and toughest competitors in the 5.90 class. In fact, he took the runner-up spot in the points chase in 2020. If you had to predict a winner for 5.90 Index this year, Austin would have to be one of the top three choices. Under his second-gen’s fiberglass front clip, there is a familiar sight: a deck-plated D&J common-rail engine with a big single turbo, in this case a GT55. Heavy-duty fueling from Exergy Performance gives the Cummins the shot in the arm it needs on the fuel side of the equation.