This week’s Truckin’ Fast clip features a Ford Super Duty powered by a PowerStroke diesel engine on the quarter mile drag strip, racing against a 5th generation Chevrolet Camaro SS. Even with the horrible reaction time which allowed the Camaro a short head start, the Super Duty smokes its way past the Camaro quickly and continues to pull ahead down through the quarter mile.In the end, the Super Duty runs a 13.16 at 102.36 miles per hour while the Camaro runs a balmy 14.45 at 101.13 miles per hour.
Now, there might be some of you reading this and questioning why the Camaro SS was so slow. Bandimere Speedway is located at a very high elevation so the air is thinner. That thinner allows engines to make less power (relative to racing at sea level) and because of that, vehicles run slower at Bandimere than they do at other tracks at lower elevations.
This Camaro would likely be a second quicker or so in perfect conditions at some other track, but so would the Super Duty. In other words – there is little doubt that this PowerStroke driven Ford Super Duty could run well into the 12 second range on a quicker track.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
