Rudy’s Diesel Season Opener, Part 2: Pulls

For an event that started out being exclusive to drag racers, the Rudy’s Diesel affair is now synonymous for hosting some of the best drag racing and sled pulling action around. In fact, since allowing the dirt shredders to join in on the fun, the truck pull portion of Rudy’s has morphed into one of the biggest attractions in the diesel industry. Now sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League (PPL), big payouts, points and a chance to be on Lucas Oil’s MAVTV are all on the table — which brings out the strongest running trucks in the land.

From 1,300 hp Limited Pro rigs to 2,000 hp Pro Stock trucks to 3,000 hp Super Stock monstrosity’s, fans got a taste of every diesel truck class in the PPL arsenal this time around. In addition, spectators were treated to the Carolina Truck & Tractor Pullers’ 2.5 Pro Street Diesel 4x4 class, where Fords, Chevys and Dodges took to the track.

All told, more than 50 trucks would dig through North Carolina’s red dirt, and we’ve got the scoop on the top finishers from the 2.5 and Limited Pro Stock classes below.

2.5 Class Rules

With a DOT tire requirement and trucks ranging from 600 to 900 horsepower, the Carolina Truck & Tractor Pullers’s 2.5 Pro Street Diesel 4x4 class was the most relatable category for fans sitting in the stands. The primary rule in this class dictates that trucks can run a single turbocharger with a compressor inducer no larger than 63.5 mm (2.5-inches) in diameter. Hanging front weights are allowed and the maximum weight limit is 8,500 pounds for this group of trucks.

Undisputed

Evan Davis campaigns one of the hottest-running Duramax-powered 2.5 trucks in the nation and he proved it in North Carolina. After inching out the win on Friday evening, Evan would put nearly 10 feet on the nearest competitor the following night, giving him the undisputed 2.5 Class win.

Limited Pro Stock (3.0) Rules

PPL’s 8,000-pound Limited Pro class rules dictate that all trucks run DOT-approved tires, (such as the Nitto Mud Grapplers shown below) sport an engine with a factory-based block and head(s) and utilize a smoothbore 3.0-inch (76 mm) single turbo (no map width grooves allowed). The smooth bore turbo rule was introduced in 2016 as a means to both limit horsepower and simplify the tech process. Prior to the smooth bore turbo rule, tech officials had an extremely difficult time deciding which map groove turbos fell into the “gray area” and which ones were illegal.

Winning Weekend

It was a good start to the season for C.W. Cartmell and his “Most Hated” Dodge Ram. On Friday, he and his Haisley Machine-built Cummins would go for a 325-foot, First Place ride in the Limited Pro class and then return for a Second Place finish on Saturday.

Tough Luck in a Tight Field

Amongst a very tough field of Limited Pro trucks, Nick Stamm’s second-generation Cummins laid claim to 17th Place on Friday night despite the fact that his Dodge yanked the sled 306 feet. The next night he would find himself in a tight group of trucks, where less than 8 feet separated Eighth Place from 16th.

The Crippler

Josh Land and his ’97 Dodge Ram 3500 have been in the pulling game for more than a decade now and are always in the hunt for a win. His second-gen sports a sleeved and deck-plated 6.7L Cummins block with a 12-valve head, a 13 mm P7100 injection pump from Northeast Diesel Service, a 3.0 smooth bore turbo and competes in the Limited Pro category. The fact that Josh is a paraplegic makes his truck one of the more unique rigs in the sport, as the clutch, throttle and brakes are all controlled by hand.

P-Pumped 7.3L

Speaking of unique, this ’81 Ford owned by Ben Burnworth and Nate Bailor of Unlimited Diesel Performance garnered quite a bit of attention at Rudy’s. Under the hood, an exotic, P-pumped 7.3L Power Stroke — which is nothing less than a work of art — cranks out north of 1,100 hp. Even though the old school Ford would take 18th Place finishes on both nights in the Limited Pro class, it was a good starting point for a brand new engine package.

American Outlaw

The second-gen, P-pumped Cummins owned by Chris Nolan sports a custom 2.5-inch charger from Stainless Diesel and turned in strong efforts in its respective class. After taking home Fourth Place on Friday, Chris returned for Saturday’s encore and nearly put his Ram in the winner’s circle with a 312.97-foot hook, followed by a 310.53-foot try in the pull-off.

Worth the Drive

Chad Perkins and his Cummins-powered Chevy Silverado were right in the thick of things during Friday night’s Limited Pro action, lugging the iron sleigh 320.17 feet to a Fourth Place overall finish. A Missouri native, Chad trekked 900 miles (one way) to attend the Rudy’s Diesel Season Opener.

Goin’ For Broke

Despite campaigning a 600-rwhp truck in a class filled with trucks making 800-plus, Zach Green is a regular on the Carolina Truck & Tractor Pullers’ circuit. And even though Zach’s 7.3L Power Stroke-equipped ’01 F-250 is considerably underpowered in the 2.5 class, he’s been known to upset quite a few Cummins and Duramax owners on occasion. At Rudy’s however, it wasn’t meant to be. High-pressure oil issues would leave him with two back-of-the-pack finishes.

Browsing the Pits

This passenger side, rear three-quarter view of a Super Stock engine gives you an idea what the big daddy Cummins mills of diesel motorsports are packing. Notice the triple-turbo arrangement, 12-valve head, deck-plate, water-injection lines and massive side draft intake manifold. Super Stock power plants set up like this are known to produce 120-to-150 psi of boost and belt out 3,000 hp or more.

FRIDAY NIGHT TRUCK PULL RESULTS (4/28/17)

Carolina Truck & Tractor Pullers’ 2.5 Pro Street Diesel:

1. Evan Davis – “Recycler” – 308.35 ft
2. Justin Gilliland – “J&J Performance – 307.78 ft
3. Jesse Boehne – “Dirty Addiction” – 303.74 ft
4. Chris Nolan – “American Outlaw” – 299.33 ft
5. Mitch Wesler – “Small Town” – 299.12 ft
6. James Etgen – “Dirty Silver” – 289.02 ft
7. Anthony Trott – “Misjudged” – 287.70 ft
8. Mike Humpe – “Double Trouble” – 278.66 ft
9. Zach Green – “Goin’ For Broke” – 225.09 ft
10. Mike Lonie – “In 2 Deep” - Exhibition

PPL Limited Pro:

1. CW Cartmell – “Most Hated” – 325.16 ft
2. Austin White – “Six Shooter” – 324.19 ft
3. Nathan Byrd – “Ice Farms” – 320.96 ft
4. Chad Perkins – “Perkins Diesel” – 320.17 ft
5. Mac Cottrell – “Cantankerous” – 320.08 ft
6. Josh Land – “The Crippler” – 318.91 ft
7. Jeff Hossler – “Flirtin’ With Disaster” – 318.69 ft
8. Adam Hallien – “Wrecker” – 318.00 ft
9. Jon Manns – “Crazy Ex” – 315.22 ft
10. Adam White – “O’Bryant Diesel” – 315.04 ft
11. Dominique Gambino – “Brothers Diesel” – 314.00 ft
12. Joe Hill – “Durt Gobbler” – 311.75 ft
13. Josh Bowers – “Sound of Madness” – 309.47 ft
14. Ben Braunecker – “Cummin’ Atcha” – 308.53 ft
15. Jay Hill – “It’s Never Enough” – 307.68 ft
16. John Humpe – “Trouble Maker” – 307.22 ft
17. Nick Stamm – “Good Money After Bad” – 306.58 ft
18. Ben Burnworth – “Unlimited Diesel” – 299.51 ft
19. Corrie Baker – “Girl’s Night Out” – 286.57 ft
20. Zak Peters – “Rudy’s Diesel” – 202.69 ft

PPL Pro Stock:

1. Brad Ingram – “Scheid Diesel” – 298.41 ft
2. Matt Penn – “Penn Farms” – 290.55 ft
3. Rob Wright – “Off Constantly” – 283.92 ft
4. Todd Cox – “Boosted Outlaw” – 279.85 ft
5. Rod Tarr – “Twisted Metal” – 275.62 ft
6. Keith Witt – “Cross Wired” – 268.62 ft
7. Jeremy McDaniel – “Burnin’ Burley” – 268.28 ft
8. Terry Biggs – “24 Valve Blackout” – 0.09 ft

PPL Super Stock:

1. Van Haisley – “Rock Hard Ram” – 316.24 ft
2. Chris Ryan – “Big Bad Dodge” – 306.49 ft
3. Erik Stacey – “Smokinya HD” – 306.37 ft
4. Brad Deeter – “Oversize Load” – 303.66 ft
5. Kent Crowder – “Scheid Diesel” – 302.24 ft
6. Kyle Michael – “Climax” – 299.69 ft
7. Don Bowling – “Pulling for the Cure” – 299.52 ft
8. Will Scruggs – “Outsider” – 280.20 ft
9. Chase Eller – “Caretaker” - 268.16 ft
10. Cody Hastings – “Against the Grain” – 254.44 ft
11. Justin Gearhart – “Cream of the Crop” – 0.59 ft

SATURDAY NIGHT TRUCK PULL RESULTS (4/29/17)

Carolina Truck & Tractor Pullers’ 2.5 Pro Street Diesel:

1. Evan Davis – “Recycler” – 319.46 ft/319.05 ft (pull-off)
2. Chris Nolan – “American Outlaw” – 312.97 ft/310.53 ft (pull-off)
3. Justin Gilliland – “J&J Performance” – 317.64 ft/288.03 ft (pull-off)
4. Mitch Wesler – “Small Town” – 308.18 ft
5. James Etgen – “Dirty Silver” – 307.78 ft
6. Jesse Boehne – “Dirty Addiction” – 306.89 ft
7. Jeff Carroll – “Cummin’ For Ya” – 291.67 ft
8. Zach Green – “Goin’ for Broke” – 229.97 ft
9. Heath Armstrong – “Double Trouble” - Scratch
10. Mike Lonie – “In 2 Deep” - Exhibition

PPL Limited Pro:

1. John Humpe – “Trouble Maker” – 303.98 ft
2. CW Cartmell – “Most Hated” – 301.37 ft
3. Austin White – “Six Shooter” – 301.18 ft
4. Mac Cottrell – “Cantankerous” – 298.26 ft
5. Adam White – “O’Bryant Diesel” – 298.20 ft
6. Adam Hallien – “Wrecker” – 297.79 ft
7. Jon Manns – “Crazy Ex” – 297.22 ft
8. Jeff Hossler – “Flirtin’ With Disaster” – 294.20 ft
9. Josh Land – “The Crippler” – 292.75 ft
10. Nathan Byrd – “Ice Farms” – 292.46 ft
11. Corrie Baker – “Girl’s Night Out” – 292.01 ft
12. Joe Hill – “Durt Gobbler” – 290.00 ft
13. Dominique Gambino – “Brothers Diesel” – 289.62 ft
14. Jay Hill – “It’s Never Enough” – 288.36 ft
15. Nick Stamm – “Good Money After Bad” – 287.79 ft
16. Chad Perkins – “Perkins Diesel” – 286.51 ft
17. Josh Bowers – “Sound of Madness” – 283.96 ft
18. Ben Burnworth – “Unlimited Diesel” – 277.06 ft
19. Zak Peters – “Rudy’s Diesel” – 257.61 ft
20. Ben Braunecker – “Cummin’ Atcha” - Broke

PPL Pro Stock:

1. Matt Penn – “Penn Farms” – 334.53 ft
2. Terry Biggs – “24 Valve Blackout” – 322.32 ft
3. Keith Witt – “Cross Wired” – 320.83 ft
4. Rod Tarr – “Twisted Metal” – 318.16 ft
5. Brad Ingram – “Scheid Diesel” – 304.41 ft
6. Jeremy McDaniel – “Burnin’ Burley” – 302.04 ft
7. Todd Cox – “Boosted Outlaw” – 298.41 ft
8. Rob Wright – “Off Constantly” - DQ

PPL Super Stock:

1. Justin Gearhart – “Cream of the Crop” – 347.45 ft
2. Van Haisley – “Rock Hard Ram” – 347.29 ft
3. Kent Crowder – “Scheid Diesel” – 332.61 ft
4. Chris Ryan – “Big Bad Dodge” – 332.43 ft
5. Erik Stacey – “Smokinya HD” – 332.09 ft
6. Cody Hastings – “Against the Grain” – 331.44 ft
7. Kyle Michael – “Climax” – 329.92 ft
8. Brad Deeter – “Oversize Load” – 323.18 ft
9. Don Bowling – “Pulling for the Cure” – 322.04 ft
10. Chase Eller – “Caretaker” – 319.07 ft
11. Will Scruggs – “Outsider” – 285.85 ft

Photos courtesy of Amy Gilbert at Stainless Diesel