The Race to 300: Diesel Truck Pulling at Its Best
Like most motorsports, summer signifies the start of another racing season. In the rural communities of the Midwest and upper south, the attraction of choice is diesel truck pulling. It’s a sport that runs deep in this neck of the woods and has no shortage of sanctioning bodies, organized events or competitive classes. It is often said that you can watch a truck pull every night of the week, should you find yourself in this region between June and September.
The Battle of the Bluegrass Pulling Series epitomizes what summertime in the heartland is all about: nonstop truck pulling action. The organization crams 40 events into its schedule, and hosts events predominantly in Kentucky and Indiana, with a few being held in Tennessee, Wisconsin, Michigan and even West Virginia. We recently made a stop in Woodbury, Tennessee, to watch the Work Stock 2.5 diesel trucks take to the dirt. While making a full-pull (300ft) might sounds like a walk in the park, it’s not that simple with the massive loads these diesel trucks are dragging. Take it from us, these trucks definitely live up to the hype!
In a strong show of power, Austin White’s second-generation Cummins-powered Dodge put nearly 30 feet on the rest of the Work Stock field. As competitive as this class is, gapping everyone else by 30 feet is impressive to say the least.
While a lot of truck pullers opt for the longest wheelbase possible, Ben Stramer’s Duramax-powered Chevy Silverado 2500 HD gets it done with an extended cab short bed version. He would place Second, going 314 feet and change.
Taking advantage of the ability to run dual CP3 injection pumps, James Sandifer’s ’03 common-rail Dodge placed Third in the class with a 313.80-foot effort. Seeing a common-rail Dodge place so well amongst a sea of mechanically injected ones says a lot about how far this modern era injection system has come.
Cody Hardesty’s P-pumped Cummins, nicknamed “Bad For Business,” lugged the sled 307.84 feet — good enough for a strong, Fifth Place.
Dylan Detwiler’s ’00 Dodge turned in a 289-foot, Seventh Place hook in the Work Stock Class. He would also try his luck in the 2.6/3.0 class, where he took Third.
Here, Chris Nolan’s “American Outlaw” puts in a 285-foot, Ninth Place effort in yet another second-gen Dodge with a nasty, P-pumped 5.9L Cummins under the hood.
Beau Curry squeezed 282.76 feet out of his standard cab Dodge Ram’s setup. Due to a fairly light curb weight, vast parts availability and overall ruggedness (strong frame, solid front axle, Dana 80 rear axle option, NV4500 transmission and so on) the ’94-’02 Rams remain the most popular candidates to transform into pullers.
When most people think about diesel truck pulling, they might picture a Cummins-powered Dodge Ram, but Duramax owners have proven over the past decade that they can hang with the best running Cummins equipped trucks in the nation. Here, you can see Paul Leet blasting through the dirt in his LBZ Duramax-powered Chevy Silverado. He would end up 11th on the night, toting the sled 273 feet.
Robert Young’s second-generation Dodge, affectionately referred to as “Booyah” rounded out the dozen truck Work Stock lineup. You guessed it, another mechanically injected 5.9L Cummins!
BATTLE OF THE BLUEGRASS WORK STOCK 2.5 CLASS
Key Rules:
- 2.5-inch inducer turbo w/T4 mounting flange allowed
- No clipped wheels or stepped down compressor covers
- Compressor wheel must protrude into the 2.5-inch bore 1/8 of an inch
- Hanging front weights allowed
- 8500-pound weight limit
- OEM based transmission and transfer case
- Stock appearing engine, (no deck plate engines or billet blocks and/or heads)
- Coolant must circulate through the block and head(s), i.e. no filled blocks or heads.
- 24-inch hitch height
- Interiors can be gutted
- Solid rear suspension is allowed
- 35-inch maximum size DOT tires
- Factory wheel base must be retained and the track width unaltered
