We all love the Viper but when I came across this older video of a 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 powered by a Cummins Turbo Diesel outrunning a 2nd generation Dodge Viper GTS – it was just too good to pass up for this week’s Black Friday feature.
The video below shows a 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 powered by a Cummins Turbo Diesel engine fitted with twin turbochargers, a built transmission, a high performance camshaft setup and a nitrous package – enough to hurdle this heavy hauler through the quarter mile in just 11.546 seconds. That is a quick pickup but to help illustrate just how quick, this classic video shows this particular CTD Ram comfortable outrunning a Dodge Viper GTS.
If you watch the start of the video closely, you can see that the Viper GTS actually gets out first but the modded up diesel Ram three quarter ton pickup quickly passes the Mopar supercar and pulls away. Figure that a stock 2g Viper coupe should run anywhere in the high 12 to low 13 second range so this heavily built Ram is likely racing a stock or near-stock Viper but that doesn’t make this heavy duty pickup any less impressive. Stock or not, the Viper was left driving through a cloud of diesel soot as the big Ram rocketed away to a mid 11 second win.
"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.
