Ranger hangs tough with the bigger Ford F-Series trucks, pulling the weight to the end of the 300-foot course.
This week’s Muddy Monday video comes to us from the Mudd Boggin in Florida YouTube channel and it features three Ford pickups flexing their muscles at the Central Florida Motorsports Park Diesel in the Swamp 2017 event held by KTPerformance.com. This includes an F-Series truck from the late-1970s, an F-Series from the early-1980s and a first generation Ranger, with the smallest truck offering up the biggest effort.
The Competitors
There are three Ford pickups shown in this video on the pulling course, all of which have clearly been modified to handle the big sled. There are no details on any of these trucks, but they clearly all have big, powerful engines, elaborate suspension and chassis upgrades and tires designed for digging into the dirt for the best possible traction.
The first is a sixth generation F-Series with exhaust stacks sticking up through the hood, flanking a low-profile hood scoop. The second is a first generation Ranger with a huge cowl induction hood and the third is a seventh generation F-Series with headers and an air filter sticking up through a huge hole in the hood. The seventh generation truck also appears to be a nitrous oxide bottle mounted over the radiator, but it looks like that might be painted on.
In any case, all three of these trucks are built to pull and they do their jobs well.
The Battle
The sixth generation F-Series goes first and turns in a solid run, seemingly getting to the end of the 300-foot course, although we cant actually see the measurement marks. We can see the what appears to be the end of the row of cones lining the course and the truck is past that mark.
Next, the “Money Pit” Ranger takes its first turn and like the ‘70s F-Series, the small truck cruises to a point around the end of the track.
The 1980s Ford truck goes third and after a slow start, the engine screams as this black beast appears to pull the sled further than either of the other two pickups in the video.
Finally, the video ends with the truck from the 1970s making another run, seemingly coming up a little short, and the Ranger goes last, looking like it made it further than either of its larger relatives.
"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.
