Ford with a 460 cubic inch V8 beats every Chevy that lines up on the dirt drag strip.
This week’s “Truckin’ Fast Wednesday” video comes to us from the YouTube channel of Logan Bishop and it features a 1997 Ford F-350 beating everyone at the mud drags. This footage was captured at the Summer Drags in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania a few weeks back and if you are a dirt drag racer – this is how you want your day at the track to go.
Big Block F-350
The 1997 Ford F-350 in the video above is powered by a 7.5-liter, 460-cubic inch big block V8. In stock form, this engine delivered 245 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, but based on how well this big truck rockets down the track, we would guess that it is making better than stock numbers.
On the outside, this 1997 F-350 looks pretty much stock and as 21-year old dirt racers go, this truck is in great shape. It looks like a truck that you would see on the street, yet it gets down the dirt track more quickly than the pickups that appear to be race-only vehicles.
The Racing Action
In the video above, the 1997 Ford F-350 takes on a trio of Chevrolet pickups on the dirt drag strip. In each of the first two runs, the Ford gets out to a great early lead with solid starting line traction and the big block does the rest, putting bus lengths on the competition.
In the final race of the video, the F-350 takes on a Chevrolet that actually competes. The big Chevy stays on the Ford’s side as the two blast down the dirt track, but the big block-powered F-350 gets the win.
"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.
