Featured Diesel-Powered Vehicle of the Week: Wade Moody's Rail Dragster

Duramax Diesel to the Max

For the past several Mondays we've been featuring various head-turning diesels to start our week. So far we've been highlighting vehicles highlighted by CarBuzz in a 2019 article titled Cool and Crazy Diesel Powered cars. Today the spotlight is on Wade Moody's rail dragster. 

If you have an eye-popping or heart-stopping diesel truck you'd like to see featured here, tell us about it so we can share it. 

Wade Moody who has created a lot of buzz indeed. By the time he was 32 he had been racing half his life. For sure, diesel engines seem to be part of his DNA. According to Diesel World, Moody turned to diesel drag racers in 2006 with a 4WD Cummins-powered Dodge Ram, competing in the Pro Street class. After winning a few championships at that level, he acquired an S-10 drag truck and moved into the Pro Stock class.

The truck had a powerful Duramax engine, which he fine tuned into another top dog racing machine. This truck powered him to championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013. A crash in 2014 put an end to this truck's reign as fastest diesel drag truck.

Despite this setback, Moody was fortunate in that the engine and Turbo 400 tranny survived. Once transferred into a new frame, he had the fastest Duramax-powered dragster in the known world. 

It was a three month build but fitting the Duramax into the rails proved to be a worthy ambition. By the end of 2015 the machine was doing test passes and the new configuration being readied for war. Even before it had all been worked out they were making passes of 7.02 seconds or 195.48 mph. None of these passes were under full power as they wanted to ensure things were tight. The were anticipating good things in 2016 and indeed achieved them.

With more refinement they became the first common rail diesel dragster to get down into the 6's with a first place win at the Midwest Truck Nationals. Time: 6.997 seconds @ 192.8 mph.

In July 2016 Brian Wagner of DragZine wrote a story about this achievement with additional details about the engine and the dragster. Wagner describes the ways in which Moody and his team squeezed out more power based on things they learned. Moody gave credit to his tuners John Jordan and Kroy Willis, "and all of the awesome products from the rest of our supporters that make it possible to go faster each season."

Check out this YouTube video in which Wade Moody talks about
all the details that went into this build.

The target they were aiming for was "Fastest Diesel in the World," a title owned by Jared Jones. His record pass of 225 mph a couple years earlier.  

Here are some links to the sources for this story and a pass on Moody's Facebook page.

Diesel World Story: The Fastest Duramax-Powered Dragster

Dragzine: Wade Moody First to the 6 Second Zone with Duramax Power

Wade Moody's Dragster Makes a Fast Pass on Facebook

CarBuzz: Cool and Crazy Diesel Powered Cars

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Porky's Diesel Story Leads to a Brief Visit with Diesel Enthusiast Artie Maupin

A friend sent me this article a couple weeks back and I knew I had to write about it. It was titled, Making Bacon: 9-Second Cummins Swapped F100 Built By Porky's Diesel. Essentially, it's about some builders who dropped a 12-valve Cummins engine under the hood of a 1957 Ford F100. (OK, "Under the hood" is a misnomer because there is no hood on this beefed up speedster.) 

The Dragzine story opens with a three minute video showcasing the truck's get-up-and-go in a dragstrip setting. The builder's aim was to produce something that could race, but also be driven on the street. 

When I contacted the author of the Dragzine to learn more he directed me to Artie Maupin, a staff writer for Diesel Army who has a passion for anything diesel. 

DieselArmy.com bills itself as the new place where diesel enthusiasts can hang their hats. It's apparent that this is a good place to stay on the forefront of what is happening in the diesel realm. Diesel Army is a branch of Power Automedia whom Maupin has been writing with for the last four years. 

Blue Flame Blogger: How much geographic territory do you cover?

Artie Maupin. Diesel Army.

Artie Maupin: I cover quite a bit. I follow the Outlaw Diesel Super Series which covers Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, and Virginia. Every other surrounding state is usually having some sort of truck event going on, so I stay pretty busy. Texas, too.

BFB: How long have you been covering drag racing as a journalist?

AM: I have been covering diesel drag racing / drag racing for going on four years in July. I’ve been into drag racing since I was 8 years old, though. I started in a Junior Dragster then and it slowly developed into bigger cars and now diesel trucks.

BFB: What are your favorite drag strips and why?

AM: I have always had a love for Gateway Motorsports Park (Now it's World Wide Technology Raceway) because it's my home 1/4 mile track. I just love that the city of St. Louis, the arch, and my St. Louis Cardinals are within sight while I also enjoy my drag racing. 

Notable mentions, Emerald Coast Dragway in Holt, Florida. A friend of mine owns it and I love that track. Its one of the cleanest facilities around and the fact that its close to the water (Gulf of Mexico). 

BFB: What are your favorite diesel events?

AM: Honestly, I like all of the diesel events. If I had to narrow one down, it would be a close race for first. The Sunshine Showdown in Holt, Florida in September is always great and the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza is too. They both offer fun things to do on and off the event grounds which makes for a fun weekend with friends. 

BFB: Thanks for sharing. 

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Related Links

The original story on Dragzine:
https://www.dragzine.com/news/making-bacon-9-second-cummins-swapped-f100-built-by-porkys-diesel/

Porky's Diesel on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/porkys_diesel/?hl=en

Learn more about Diesel Army here:  
https://www.dieselarmy.com/about/