Blue Flame Contingency Program Rewards Diesel Drag Racers

The following press release just crossed the wire here. Let's make 2021 a year to look forward to.

Diesel Drag Racers Rewarded for Wins with Champion Blue Flame Performance Engine Oil   

 

(Clinton, Mo / 11.12.20) Champion Oil, a globally recognized industry leader in performance lubricants for over 64 years, continues their robust Diesel Racing Contingency Program into 2021. The all-encompassing marketing program is designed to link Champion Blue Flame Performance Diesel Racing Engine Oils directly with diesel drag racers in all classes and in most sanctioned diesel drag-racing events in North America.

 

Winners from local diesel drag events to national championship diesel drag racing events are eligible for cash contingency payouts. Examples of diesel drag races to be rewarded include: The Outlaw Diesel Super Series, National Association of Diesel Motorsports, Ultimate Callout Challenge,  Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, Sun Coast Shakedown, Rudy's Truck Jam, Ultimate Callout Challenge, Outlaw Diesel Revenge,  Holly Rock Customs Showdown, Rocky Top Diesel Shootout, Hardway Sunshine Showdown, Battle at the Alamo, East Coast Diesel Nationals, Diesel World Drags, Blackout in the Country, Week-End on the Edge, etc.

 

Diesel Racers can apply for the Champion Diesel Racing Oil Contingency Program by clicking on the orange button in the right hand column or here. To be eligible, register now through June 30, 2021.

 

Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oils are formulated with workhorse high-zinc performance additives, superior protection, advanced polymer technology, and high TBN, supported by a carrier blend of synthetic fluids.

 

In addition, Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oils deliver unmatched high temperature film strength and lubricity protection, with the muscle to combat oil shear and maximize sustained cylinder compression. They also inhibit oxidation, corrosive acids, sludge and varnish build-up.

 

These performance oils keep diesel engines going longer by reducing soot-induced engine wear, controlling abrasive soot contamination and preventing high temperature corrosion, even while allowing for improved fuel economy and lower total cost of ownership. They are proven to increase engine horse power and torque. Champion Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oils are purpose-built for extreme protection and performance.

https://www.championbrands.com/diesel-engine-oils/

About Champion Brands, LLC, a globally recognized industry leader in specialty lubricants for over 64 years. Champion also produces and blends over 350 products including fuel, oil, engine additives, and lubricants for the racing, automotive, heavy truck, agricultural, industrial, and specialty markets. For more information about contact your nearest Champion distributor, or call Champion at 660-890-6231. Champion Brands, LLC; 1001 Golden Drive, Clinton, MO, 64735 or go to http://www.championbrands.com

1950s Bread Truck Trasformed into Diesel-Powered Low-Rider

Remember the good old days when a milk man delivered your milk, a bread truck delivered fresh bread and the ice cream man drove down your street with your favorite popsicles? Ever wonder what happened to those old ice cream trucks and other delivery vehicles?

One such truck was displayed last week at SEMA360, a 1950s bread truck that has been transformed from "just another vintage truck" into a diesel-powered lowrider. Brett Foote wrote the story for Ford Authority, an online site sharing Ford-related news. 

His opening line tells the story. "To us, there's nothing cooler than an old commercial truck repurposed as a hot rod." Even more cool is that it's a diesel. And cooler than that: it's a lowrider. "There’s just something undeniably awesome about former workhorses from another era being fitted with modern suspension components, big, powerful engines, and of course, awesome visual updates." 

The team that produced this tricked out 1950 Ford Bread Truck was Pot O' Gold Kustoms  out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. When you check out their site you'll be impressed by their versatility, doing all manner of swaps, diesel conversions and even sheetmetal work. 

The truck had been on display last week at the virtual SEMA360 show, SEMA's substitution for their usual weeklong Vegas Show. Foote describes the details of the project build, which includes a Mustang II suspension. (Lee Iacocca's Mustangs were introduced at the 1964 World's Fair, weren't they?) 

Mustangs were a 1960s innovation, but L.A.'s "Lowrider Culture" began as early as the 40's, so a lowrider bread truck might not be so out of place as you'd think. At least, in L.A.

Other features of the build include massive Detroit steel wheels "wrapped in equally large rubber," disc brakes, and that Cummins 4BT four-cylinder diesel engine. You can find the rest of the details here.

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For what it's worth, Ford Authority is looking for more staff. A writer, an editor and a curator. They pay well, if you've got the chops.   Go to the article link above and you'll see it listed.

In addition, since they love writing about Fords, the word is out that if you have a vehicle build and would like it featured on Ford Authority, they's like to hear about it. Details here.

Related Links
30 Vintage Photos of Bread Trucks
Photos of this tricked out Pot O' Gold Bread Truck

Why is Champion Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oil Blue?

Blue has been an important color in art since ancient times. Surveys show that blue is the color most commonly associated with security, trust, and loyalty. And it’s chosen by a majority of both men and women around the world as their favorite color. 

Champion dyes its Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oils for several reasons. The robust chemical formula is unique and provides an industry-leading performance to meet the needs of both older and next generation heavy-duty engines, thus providing users the security of knowing that the blue oil is protecting them. The blue color also allows the quick-lube, fleet, or end-user to have absolute assurance and trust that no substitute engine oil is being installed. Also, Blue Flame creates a loyalty from followers that always ask for the “Blue Oil”.

 

“Champion Blue Flame Diesel Oils will forever be recognizable and have a distinctive appearance”, said Karl Dedolph, director of racing and performance products at Champion Brands, LLC. “It’s a huge plus when someone doesn’t even have to see the label to know it’s a Blue Flame product – the color alone is enough to identify the diesel engine oil. The dye is chemically balanced when it is blended and does not create any kind of lubricant issue or problem with additives or base stock.”

 

“The blue dye doesn’t leave a residue in the engine. In fact, the oil over time will turn and look black in color. It’s actually soot, which the diesel engine produces in much higher levels than gasoline motors. The soot enters the oil pan from the combustion chamber due to the gap in the piston rings. The black color, which is very common, doesn’t mean the oil has a problem,” added Dedolph.

 

Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oils are formulated with workhorse high-zinc performance additives, superior protection, advanced polymer technology, and high TBN, supported by a carrier blend of synthetic fluids.

 

In addition, Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oils deliver unmatched high temperature film strength and lubricity protection, with the muscle to combat oil shear and maximize sustained cylinder compression. They also inhibit oxidation, corrosive acids, sludge and varnish build-up.

 

These oils keep your engines going longer by reducing soot-induced engine wear, controlling abrasive soot contamination and preventing high temperature corrosion, even while allowing for improved fuel economy and lower total cost of ownership. They are proven to increase engine horse power and torque.

Champion Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oils are purpose built for extreme protection and performance. https://www.championbrands.com/diesel-engine-oils/

What’s your favorite color? And if it's blue, what kind of blue? Cerulean? Teal? Turquoise? Royal? Navy? Ultramarine? Tell us in the comments below.

Next time you need oil for your Cummins, Powerstroke or Duramax, ask for that “Blue Oil.”

Champion Blue Flame Diesel Engine Oil. 

Diesel Super Truck Driver Fails to Outrun Police

 SOMETIMES YOU JUST CAN'T WIN DEPT.

The Drive is a rewarding site for followers of all categories of motorized distraction, from motorsports and motorcycles to collector cars and reviews on the latest releases from Detroit and elsewhere. There are also stories for the diesel crowd as well as interesting news items. This blog post is a blend of these latter two topics... diesels and news.

It's a story about a Ford Super Duty 6x6 SEMA Truck that tried to outrun police. After first trying to outrun the police, the driver soon discovered that the vehicle, purportedly built by the Diesel Brothers, had certain limitations. I should men here that it was a stolen Super Duty.

According to Peter Holderith, "After eluding capture for a few miles, the driver in the Ford Super Duty soon found that, as well as not being very fast, the six-wheeled monstrosity didn't corner very well either." While trying to turn around in a Taco Bell parking lot the truck had a dicy encounter with a telephone pole. 

The truck had been reported stolen from a dealership service bay in Malibu. According to a CBS news story the thief rode up to the truck on a bicycle, which he threw in the back, climbed into the driver's seat and sped off. 

It wasn't long before the police were in pursuit. It's not easy to "blend in with the traffic" when you're driving something like this. It's visual profile really does stand out. 

You can read the full story here at The Drive, where you will also find a video of the police chase in real time. Not quite the getaway this driver anticipated, no doubt. 

Shaq Goes Big with a Diesel Ford F-650

The power of Celebrity Culture never ceases to amaze me. When the Internet came along, Michael Crichton (author of Jurassic Park) told the Washington Press Club that Television would go the way of the dinosaur within ten years, eclipsed by all the content available on the Internet. Ten years later, when social media came along, what did people talk about? They talked about what was happening on televison. Shows like Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer now have one thing in common. They underscore how much we love our celebrities. 

Sports heroes, rock stars and Hollywood celebs are all around us. When we go to the SEMA Show in Vegas, which culminates today with SEMA360 for 2020, the longest lines are for signatures by TV carbuilders and NASCAR drivers. We buy the sunglasses they wear and enjoy reading about the cars they drive. That's why this article about Shaquille O'Neal's daily drive is fun to read. 

The article begins by noting that at 7'1" the former NBA All Star doesn't always have an easy time finding a vehicle he can comfortably drive.  To resolve this issue Shaq went to Wade Ford in Smyrna, Georgia and SuperTruck in Augusta. Max Goldberg, writing for The Drive in 2017, describes the vehicle they created for him.

It started as a 66K Ford F-650 and ended as a Ford F-650 Extreme SuperTruck. In addition to all the amenities of a luxury vehicle on the inside, under the hood you'll find a commercial grade .6.7-liter Powerstroke V8 that makes 330 horsepower and 750 lb0ft of torque. The big man has a big truck with big power.

Most of us became aware of Shaq's superstar potential even when he was in college at LSU where he was a two-time All-American. A #1 draft pick by the Orlando Magic, he helped the Magic win 20 games more than their previous season and was voted Rookie of the Year. In his second year he helped the team ascend to the playoffs for the first time in its history. Over the course of his career he became a 15-time NBA All Star and helped his teams win 4 NBA Championships. The Rings speak volumes.

There's plenty more to Shaq than what we saw on the courts. His interest in rap music led to his producing five albums with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. He even performed with Michael Jackson on 2 Bad.  

Like many celebs Shaq has had many nicknames. He called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master for his composure during interviews. Journalists gave him a variety of other nicknames including "The Diesel", "The Big Daddy", and "The Big Cactus." (Among many others.)

Being popular opens doors and so its no surprise he's been in some movies as well as numerous television shows, advertising and even pro wrestling. 

All this say it was fun seeing the range of Shaq's interests. It's apparent he worked hard, and made a lot of good moves. At one time he was just a little boy with a lot of big dreams.

Here's the article about his Big Diesel Truck.

And a YouTube video about 10 Ridiculously Expensive Things Shaq Owns.

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Photo at the White House taken when the Heat won the Championship. (Shaq holds the ball.)
Photo at top of page borrowed from The Drive. 

Three States Celebrate Blue Flame Day

When this story was sent to my attention, I thought it was because it was going to be about Blue Flame Diesel Oil from Champion. (If interested, you can read about the oil below, after the Proclamations.) Turns out, the article was about another Blue Flame, a rocket car that became the world's fastest vehicle when driver Gary Gabelich recorded the World Land Speed Record of 622.407 mph (1001.667kph) for the "flying mile" and 630.388 mph (1014.5111kph) for the flying kilometer. 

This feat was accomplished on October 23, 1970, fifty years ago last month. Three states--Utah, Wisconsin and Illinois--celebrated the Half Centennial by declaring it Blue Flame Day.  

The rocket car was designed, in part, by students and professors at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Enthusiasts at Reaction Dynamics in Milwaukee fabricated it to get it ready for racing by the Blue Flame Team in Utah.

The beast, weighing more than 6500 pounds, was 37 feet long with the aluminum cylinder nearly eight feet high and wide. For power, the rocket engine produced 58,000 horsepower with 22,000 lbs. of thrust by burning a combination of hydrogen peroxide and liquefied natural gas pressurized by helium. They say that this remains the fastest American hot rod and fastest vehicle ever driven at Bonneville.

The first land speed records were measured and set in France from late 1898 to Spring of 1899. All six of these were achieved with electric vehicles. In 1902 a steam-powered car shattered the previous record by achieving 75 miles per hour. 

The first world speed record set in the United States was in 1904 in a Ford 999 Racer, driver by none other than Mr. Henry Ford himself. The internal combustion engine propelled the vehicle to more than 84 miles per hour. But by the end of that year cars driven by a Belgian and an Frenchman were flying faster than 100 mph.

In the 1920s and early 30's, while Babe Ruth was setting home run records, U.S. competitors were setting records at Daytona. It wasn't till 1935 that the Bonneville Salt Flats became the premiere place to showcase land speed capabilities, and in that year it was a Brit who did it. Malcolm Campbell became the first to blast through the 300 mph threshold. It must have been breathtaking at the time.

I used to subscribe to Sports Illustrated in the 1960s and remember reading about Craig Breedlove's efforts in the turbojet-powered Spirit of America. On one of those occasions his vehicle lost control and spun round and round in what must have been a terrifying experience for Breedlove. At the speed he was flying it took 6 miles to come to a complete stop. His best effort was 594 mph in 1965. Five years later the Blue Flame cracked the 600 mph barrier.

Congratulations to the Blue Flame team and their colleagues that helped design, construct and race this timeless vehicle.

As soon as I write these words, I find that additional records surpassing Gary Gabelich's have been produced, not at Bonneville but at Black Rock Desert, Andy Green's ThrustSSC being first to break the speed of sound, a jaw-dropping 760 mph.

For what it's worth here is the SEMA News account about the Blue Flame Day celebrated in three states. These are the proclamations honoring this event, from Wisconsin, Illinois and Utah.

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CHAMPION CLASSIC BLUE FLAME SAE 15W-40 synthetic blend heavy duty diesel engine oil is purpose built for the protection and performance of pre-2007 diesel engines. Champion brought back the anti-wear, detergent, and dispersant additives, proven over decades to deliver superior protection and lubricity in pre-2007 model year diesel engines, and moved diesel engine oil performance to a higher level by combining them with shear stable synthetic base oils.

Champion also included its exclusive TVS® (Thermal Viscosity Stabilizer) polymer chemistry borrowed from our CHAMPION RACING motor oil technology. This proprietary technology delivers unmatched film strength at high temperature, better piston ring seal for maximum compression, and increases the foot-pounds of torque in most engines. It is designed to specifically address extreme performance demands of turbo or super-charged pre-2007 model year diesel engines.

KEY FEATURES:

• Synthetic blend SAE 15W-40 formula
• Exceeds API service categories CI-4 Plus, CI-4, and CH-4 performance levels
• Advanced viscosity and soot control technology for shear stability and engine cleanliness
• High reserve alkalinity controls acid formation reducing corrosive wear and thermal viscosity breakdown

• Part# 4359H 12/1 QT.
• Part# 4359N 4/1 Gal.
• Part# 4359U 2/2.5 Gal.
• Part# 4359AN 55 Gal.

Ford's Diesel Race Truck Is Making Waves in Thailand

As I write this several states are still counting votes for yesterday's election, so you may wonder why I am writing about something on the other side of the world.  Well, it happens to be Red, White and Blue. And it is also Diesel. 

On Monday TheDrive.com published a story about a diesel race truck in Thailand that is tearing up the turf. It's a Ranger race truck with a diesel engine and a six-speed manual transmission. 

Manufactured by Ford Thailand, this truck was specifically designed for Thailand's Super Pickup Series with a 3.2-liter inline-five turbodiesel power plant. The vehicle is being driven by Sandy Stuvik, a 25-year-old Thai-Norwegian racer.

Like a lot of famous racers--Danica Patrick, for example--he began in kart racing. From there Stuvik moved up to Formula Renault open wheel racing when he was 15. He later graduated to the Euroformula Open and then GP3.  In short, he's had a lot of experience handling machines in competition.

The story, by Caleb Jacobs, goes into more details about the interior, suspension and other features. You can get the hole picture here. 

And for the fun of it, here's some video from YouTube. Enjoy.

Only $60 (U.S.) and you can use this Thaland track all day.
The footage here was shot on October 26, less than 2 weeks ago.
If you're wondering why they are not wearing masks, well, for some
reason Covid has not been all that active in this country of 70 million.
Less than 60 people have died from Covid-19 in all of 2020.