This week’s Truckin’ Fast video features a pair of Super Duty pickups packing a built PowerStroke turbo diesel engine. The first – and one of the most unusual trucks I have seen drag racing – is an F-350 Crew Cab with a custom flatbed setup and enough work done to his PowerStroke engine to make some soot before the launch.
The second truck is an F-250 Extended Cab with a normal cargo box and a cap for superior aerodynamics It also has a PowerStroke engine, but it appears to be near stock as there is not smoke pouring form the rear as it moves out.
The F-250 in the far lane gets out to an early lead with a better reaction time, but as the two trucks battle down the track, the F-350 in the near lane catches and passes the smaller truck before they get to the finish line.
In the end, the F-350 ran a 14.13 at 90 miles per hour while the F-250 ran a 14.42 at 92 miles per hour. Neither of these runs are near records – even for our Truckin’ Fast feature – but it is mighty impressive that these two big, hardworking pickups can roar through the quarter mile as quick as a stock Mustang from just a few years back.
"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.
