While scouring the intrawebz for this week’s Black Friday feature video, I came across two videos of the absolutely awesome second-gen Ram diesel in action on the drag strip. Both show this green and red Cummins Turbo Diesel-powered Ram roaring down the quarter mile and stomping an obviously modified Duramax diesel Chevy truck. However, while the first video is really a better example of an awesome, smokey run down the quarter mile the second video shows this Ram breaking into the 9 second barrier. Based on this, I thought that it would be fitting to include two clips of this awesome Dodge truck in action, billowing thick diesel soot.
In the first video, this 1998 Dodge Ram CTD makes short work of the Duramax powered Chevy Silverado in the right lane even though it spins the tires shortly after launch. In fact, the Ram is pulling away from the Chevy while smoking the front tires well past the 60 foot mark. In the end, the Ram’s 10.68 was enough to comfortably beat the Chevy’s 10.87 even though it was far from a perfect run for the Cummins Ram.
In the second video, the Ram gets out so hard and so smoothly that we don’t see the other truck once the race starts. Thanks to what appears to be very good traction, the Cummins-powered Ram blisters down the quarter mile in 9.96 seconds. Unfortunately, the soot is so thick that we cannot see what the Chevy runs although the details state that it ran in the 11s.
Videos showing Dodge Rams powered by the Cummins Turbo Diesel are great but they’re even better when these smokey Rams are turning in quarter mile times that would crush supercars. Crank up your speakers as the sound of this 9 second Ram are simply amazing.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
