Blood is thicker than water, but so is diesel-at least when you're talking to Mike and Charr Drever. They've found, along with their daughter, Karleigh, that the family that races diesels together, stays together.
Mike got into his first diesel pickup back in October of 2003. His '04 Ram 2500 4x4 was supposed to be just a work truck for running an oil field company based in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. But then he tapped into a gusher of power adders. After initially encountering some trouble keeping a lid on things, he went from running through the quarter-mile in the 13s to consistently finishing in the mid-to-low 10s.
Ultimately, with some help from Barry Voltner at NADP (North American Diesel Performance, www.nadp.ca), he broke into the 9s (with a personal best of 9.23 seconds at 143 mph). It was the first Dodge common-rail diesel to do so, he says, and that was without having to lighten the sheetmetal with fiberglass panels.
Along the way, something else unusual began to happen. Mike's wife, Charr, and daughter, Karleigh, grew to share his enjoyment of oil-burners. And the family of diesels grew as well-the Drevers now also have an '06 Ram 3500, an '06 Chevy, and an '09 Harley-Davidson Edition F-450.
'04 Dodge Ram 2500:
Crew Cab, Shortbed, Four-Wheel Drive
Engine: 5.9l Cummins
Intake: AFE
Turbos: Custom Twin Turbos
Exhaust: 5-Inch Stack
Lift pump: Aeromotive
Fueling: Dual Cp3s
Injectors: DDP
Intercooler: AFE
Programming: Nadp Custom Tune
Nitrous oxide: Dual Stage
Transmission: Nadp Extreme
Torque converter: NADP
Axle ratio: 3.42
Lockers: Locker With Spool
Suspension: Four-Link Coilover Setup
Tires: 12.00/16 Nostalgia Slicks