ProCharged Lightning is a Treat for the Eyes and Ears: Truckin’ Fast Wednesday

The drivers could use some practice, but that doesn’t make this F-150 Lightning any less impressive.

This week’s Truckin Fast Wednesday video comes to us from the tomeighty YouTube channel and it features a first generation Ford F-150 SVT Lightning participating in “The Real Street Drags” at Wisconsin International Raceway back on July 6, 2018. Sadly, the timing boards are turned off as part of the “street racing” approach and worse yet, the drivers seem to all be having a tough timing heading down the track together, but none of that takes away from the allure of this wicked-fast half-ton pickup.

The Machine

The focus of this video is a first generation Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, owned and driven by Mike James. The details in the description are brief, but we know that this truck is fitted with a ProCharger F2 supercharger.

Based on the under-hood footage in the middle of the video, it appears to be a small block Ford V8 with a set of Brodix aluminum cylinder heads and the ProCharger Integrated RaceDrive kit. Based on the plumbing, it looks as though the supercharger pulls the air in through the front bumper, sending it to an intercooler system in the cabin before it piped back through the firewall to the engine.

We don’t have any power figures, but this setup should easily yield at least a thousand horsepower, allowing this F-150 Lightning to keep up with the quickest street cars.

One Quick Truck

The video begins with an in-truck look at a full track pass followed by trackside footage of the ProCharged F-150 taking on a Thunderbird from the mid-1980s. We watch as both vehicles clean off their tires and ease to the starting line, preparing for what should be a great race. However, the truck leaves early, lighting up the red bulb and tearing down the track alone as the Thunderbird waits at the starting line.

On this run, the F-150 gets a couple hundred feet from the starting line and loses traction, kicking the back end out and forcing the driver to lift, but it didn’t matter since the Thunderbird didn’t leave the starting line until after the truck finished the race.

On the second run of the video, the blown SVT truck takes on a classic Chevy in what could be an exciting matching between two high performance pickups, but once again, the Ford leaves way too early. We can see the red bulb lit up as the Lightning heads down-track alone once again, but competition aside, there is no question that this is one crazy-quick pickup.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy!

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Patrick Rall

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

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