Since 2004, Clint Cannon and his staff at ATS Diesel Performance have hosted Diesels on the Mountain, which has grown into a three-day event centered around diesel-powered trucks. The diesel truck market is rapidly transforming itself into that of the muscle car era of the ’60s and ’70s, but with a significant twist—these trucks are made for work, too. Nothing demonstrates that work better than day one’s event: sled pulling. Adams County Fairgrounds in Brighton, Colorado, was the site for the sanctioned diesel sled pull event conducted by the National Sled Pullers Association. Contestants were divided into four classes based on turbocharger inducer size.
Work Stock: Stock or aftermarket turbochargers with inducer bores no larger than 2.3 inches or 58.4 mm
2.6-inch Street Diesel: Single or compound (only two) turbochargers with inducer bores limited to 2.6 inches or 66 mm
3.0-inch Street Stock: Single or compound (only two) turbochargers with inducer bores limited to 3.0 inches or 66 mm
3.8-inch Super Street: Single turbocharger size is unlimited; compound (only two) turbochargers are limited to inducer bores of 3.8 inches or 96.5 mm (may also use water injection)
Colton Hess in his ’03 Dodge...
Colton Hess in his ’03 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 was the winner of the Work Stock Class with a pull of 293.09 feet.
The 2.6-inch Turbo Street...
The 2.6-inch Turbo Street Stock Class was dominated by Rowdy Bydalek and his ’07 Dodge. The Rough N Rowdy Dodge pulled the sled 312.08 feet before the pan on the sled stopped its forward progress.
With thick, black soot billowing...
With thick, black soot billowing out the stack, Derek Temple, driver of Bad Behavior, came up just 7 feet short of Rowdy for the number two spot in the 2.6-inch Turbo Street Stock Class with a pull of 305.08 feet. Bad Behavior is an ’02 Chevy Duramax with a lengthy list of aftermarket parts from ATS. Derek said his truck is not 100 percent yet.
Day One: With more than 40 trucks competing in the sled pull finals, the evening air was filled with dirt and diesel as the trucks hauled the weighty green behemoth down the track.
Diesel Work Stock
|
| Rank | Contestant | Distance (Feet)
|
| 1 | Colter Hess | 293.09
|
| 2 | Jason Velder | 287.09
|
| 3 | Mike Sulley | 284.06
|
| 4 | Dan Lee | 284.02
|
| 5 | Travis Lampinen | 283.08
|
2.6-inch Street Stock
|
| Rank | Contestant | Distance (Feet)
|
| 1 | Rowdy Bydalek | 312.08
|
| 2 | Derek Temple | 305.08
|
| 3 | Theron Jarecke | 296.00
|
| 4 | Matt Stratton | 291.08
|
| 5 | Mike Schubert | 285.02
|
3.0-inch Street Stock
|
| Rank | Contestant | Distance (Feet)
|
| 1 | Todd Cooper | 294.00
|
| 2 | Justin Panowicz | 274.11
|
| 3 | Dustin Broes | 265.11
|
| 4 | Rick Engler | 261.09
|
| 5 | Joe Villarreal | 259.05
|
3.8-inch Street Stock
|
| Rank | Contestant | Distance (Feet)
|
| 1 | Jeff Broady | 318.10
|
| 2 | Rocky Horn | 291.04
|
| 3 | Mike Skinner | 276.04
|
| 4 | Patricia Heintz | 271.11
|
| 5 | Scott Lindsey | 248.02
|
Jeff Broady in Still One Bad...
Jeff Broady in Still One Bad Habit nearly pulled the sled out of the arena at the Adams County Fairgrounds with a pull of 318.10 feet to win the 3.8-inch Turbo Super Street Class.
Rocky Horn brought out his...
Rocky Horn brought out his ’79 Ford F-350 Southern Comferdt to compete in the 3.8-inch Class. The truck features a Rockin S Diesel Performance 12-valve Cummins engine mated to a 4R100 Ford transmission courtesy of Brian’s Truck Shop. A pull of 291.04 feet earned Rocky and Southern Comferdt Second Place in the event.
Driving his white ’04 Dodge...
Driving his white ’04 Dodge Ram, Todd Cooper came out as top dog in the 3.0 Street Stock Class with a pull of 294 feet.
Day two featured dynamometers and a BBQ and was held at the ATS headquarters in Arvada, Colorado. The day was filled with surprise and sorrow as participants strapped their trucks to the dyno to find out once and for all how much power their truck actually made. To lighten the load on its facility dyno, ATS contracted Haller’s Repair for use of its trailer-mounted inertia dyno. Trucks developing more than 900 hp were run on the inside dyno and trucks making less than 900 hp were tested on the trailer-mounted dyno outside. In addition to bragging rights, ATS awarded prizes for both categories down to Third Place.
Outside Dyno - Up to 900 HP
|
| Rank | Participant | Horsepower
| Torque (lb-ft) |
| 1 | Devin Gridley | 794
| 1,498 |
| 2 | Tony Rizzi | 776
| Error |
| 3 | Mel Burnside | 774
| 1,299 |
Inside Dyno - More than 900 HP
|
| Rank | Participant | Horsepower
| Torque (lb-ft) |
| 1 | Dmitri Millard | 1,387
| 2,497 |
| 2 | Shane Madden | 956
| 1,763 |
| 3 | Scott Lindsey | 924
| 1,600 |
Ron Seefeldt drove his brand-new...
Ron Seefeldt drove his brand-new stock ’11 Dodge Ram 3500 from Missouri to test the claims from Dodge that the 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel engine developed 350 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. The trailer-mounted inertia dyno, named “Heartbreak Dyno,” recorded Ron’s truck at 303 hp and 610 lb-ft torque.
The menacing-looking front...
The menacing-looking front bumper on this ’02 Dodge Ram caught our eye, and it put down a respectable 415 hp and 764 lb-ft of torque. Bad guys beware, this monster has the power to catch and put a hurtin’ on you.
Johnny Ramirez, owner of Fusion...
Johnny Ramirez, owner of Fusion Bumpers, built this great-looking ’11 Ford F-250 to showcase the company’s product line. Most of the accessories are exterior, but Johnny did add a Bully Dog tuner to the truck and the results were 429 hp and 858 lb-ft of torque.
Tony Rizzi’s ’04 GMC dualie...
Tony Rizzi’s ’04 GMC dualie put down an impressive 776.64 hp on the dyno. His heavy right foot resulted in huge plumes of smoke and too much torque for the dyno to record.
A $0.50 boost tube clamp failed...
A $0.50 boost tube clamp failed during Misery’s dyno run. Owner Jerimiah Montgomery just shrugged it off—winning the dyno event paled in comparison to winning the drag race event the following day. When asked if there were any power-adders on this truck, in convincing unison the entire race team replied, “NO!” No nitrous oxide, no propane, no water-methanol injection—just great tuning and superior parts, ingenuity, and craftsmanship.
Shane Madden brought in this...
Shane Madden brought in this great-looking ’06 Dodge 2500. He was hoping to put down some impressive numbers on his daily driver. How did he do? 956 hp and 1,763 lb-ft of torque, which was good enough for Second Place in the dyno event.
This is what Tony Rizzi has...
This is what Tony Rizzi has under the hood of his ’04 Chevy Duramax dualie. His numbers on the Mustang dyno were 765 hp and 1,338 lb-ft of torque. The difference between the outside inertia dyno and the inside eddy current dyno was 11 hp or 1.5 percent. This result dispelled the rumors that the results of the two dynos were dramatically different.
The winner of the 2011 ATS...
The winner of the 2011 ATS Diesels on the Mountain dyno event was Dmitri Millard. Spectators were waiting all afternoon for the “Dmitri Dyno Show.” His was the last truck of the day to be strapped to the Mustang dyno. His fans were waiting for big numbers. And why not? In the recent 2011 Diesel Power Challenge he posted 1,300 hp and 2,300 lb-ft. After multiple attempts, his best numbers of the day were 1,387 hp and 2,497 lb-ft of torque.
When informed of the difference...
When informed of the difference between the two dyno results, Tony just smiled and said, “Let’s run it again!”
Scott Lindsey posted 924 hp...
Scott Lindsey posted 924 hp and 1,600 lb-ft of torque during Saturday’s dyno event, and that power was evident when he launched his ’06 Dodge 2500 down the quarter-mile dragstrip.
The third and final day of Diesels on the Mountain was drag racing at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado. With more than 525 registered contestants, the day was filled with exciting drag racing from ATVs to semitrucks—and even a jet-powered Chevy S-10 pickup. ATS sponsored the Diesel Eliminator and the Pro Diesel racing classes featuring 67 of the quickest diesel trucks around. To level the playing field amongst the racers, the Diesel Eliminator Class was conducted as a bracket race. Each driver was allowed to make qualifying passes to determine their “dial-in” time. Dial-in is the fastest time the truck is allowed to run the quarter-mile without being disqualified. The driver closest to his dial-in time without exceeding it is the winner. Bracket racing is designed to reward the most consistent driver, not the team with the most money, because winning is more dependent on the performance of the driver and the truck rather than raw speed. The Pro Diesel Class was conducted as classic heads-up racing and Team Misery won with a respectable time of 10.46 seconds at 132.93 mph.
The crew from ATS brought...
The crew from ATS brought nearly everything that wasn’t bolted down from the Arvada, Colorado, showroom to the Bandimere Speedway, including owner Clint Cannon’s ’11 Dodge Ram.
Once again, the crew at ATS Diesel Performance hosted a three-day diesel extravaganza filled with pullin’, runnin’, and racin’. If you’re a diesel performance enthusiast and live anywhere near Denver, Colorado, make plans to attend Diesels on the Mountain in 2012.
Diesel Eliminator
|
| Rank | Driver | Dial-In (Seconds)
| E.T. (Seconds) (lb-ft) | MPH |
| 1 | Steve Kenmore | 15.39
| 15.41 | 85.75 |
| 2 | Dustin Broes | 13.28
| 13.2 | 88.05 |
| 3 | Justin Cameron | 12.3
| 12.477 | 107.33 |
| 4 | Kent Simmons | 14.51
| 14.414 | 92.25 |
| 5 | Chris Rowe | 15.19
| 15.205 | 87.95 |
Pro Diesel
|
| Rank | Driver | E.T. (Seconds) (lb-ft) | MPH |
| 1 | Jerimiah Montgomery | 10.467 | 132.90 |
| 2 | Dmitri Millard | 11.023 | 132.61 |
| 3 | Robert Cook | 11.722 | 118.32 |
| 4 | Chris Hillison | 11.377 | 120.02 |
| 5 | Travis Dunvent | 11.499 | 123.86 |
The expected showdown between...
The expected showdown between Jerimiah Montgomery driving Misery versus Dmitri Millard was spectacular, and fans were able to witness these two awesome trucks battle it out side by side twice in one afternoon. Both of these Dmaxes are 10-second-or-better quarter-mile trucks.
The Master of Ceremonies of...
The Master of Ceremonies of the truck fest event interviewed Clint Cannon and asked about the future of the diesel enthusiast market. Clint has built his company around the diesel truck owner and believes the diesel market will continue its steady upward growth. And why not, given the energy density of diesel is far more efficient than gasoline or electric hybrids, and with a few bolt-on parts owners can significantly improve the horsepower and economy of the diesel powerplant.
Tough competition was abound...
Tough competition was abound in Colorado. The event was host to rockcrawlers, too. This highly modified Jeep Laredo finished the course in 30 seconds, which was only good enough for Third Place.
This shot only represents...
This shot only represents approximately 1⁄3 of the competitors at the truck fest. The event was open to any vehicle for safe, responsible, side-by-side racing.
Jett Lagg is a “slightly”...
Jett Lagg is a “slightly” modified Chevy S-10 truck piloted by Curt Robinson. The truck rockets down the quarter-mile track in a blistering 6 seconds. Curt is driving with a provisional learner’s permit, so he is not allowed to run full power yet. Even so, the Pratt & Whitney J-60 engine was quite a sight.
Dana Richards competed in...
Dana Richards competed in her first drag racing event this weekend. She handed her first competitor a sound whopping. Unfortunately, a blown boost hose coupled with an early launch put an end to her racing on this day.
This good-looking Dodge dualie...
This good-looking Dodge dualie meant business. It was dialed in at 12.05 seconds and maintained that impressive time throughout the day. The driver even pulled in the side mirrors for improved aerodynamics.
Carnage! The owner of this...
Carnage! The owner of this Chevy learned the hard way that four-wheel-drive launches are ill advised unless beefier aftermarket front-end components have been installed. The Bandimere Raceway crew descended on the broken truck like a well-oiled machine. In no time at all, the pigeon-toed truck was removed from the track and the next contestants were in the staging boxes ready to fly.
WINNER! With his eyes on the...
WINNER! With his eyes on the prize and his racing crew behind him, Jerimiah Montgomery and Misery took First Place in the Pro Diesel Class with a winning time of 10.467 seconds at 132.93 mph. Not too shabby for a truck that still has the original exhaust hangers on it. Jerimiah set out to prove that with the right combination of parts, any truck can be a winner—even one with more than 250,000 miles on the odometer.