#11 Justin Andres: JA Diesel Performance
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The 2018 Ultimate Callout Challenge rookie class is looking like it will be a stout group of competitors. Justin Andres is the latest rookie addition to the 2018 UCC. Headed in from North Dakota, Andres hopes to show that his JA Diesel Performance [2] team and his 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 have what it takes to compete with the best of the best at the 2018 UCC.
In addition, to support from his own shop JA Diesel Performance Andres has the support and backing of his great sponsors including AirDog [3], Done Right Diesel Performance, Fleece [4] Performance Engineering [4], Freedom Racing Engines [5], and IKT Diesel Performance [6].
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Andres’ Ram is powered by a 6.7-liter Cummins that was sleeved down to a 6.2-liter by the team at Freedom Racing Engines. The short block is capped with a heavily modified Cummins head that the FRE team ported and polished for enhanced flow.
Fuel system upgrades include a pair of AirDog 200 pump and filter systems pushing fuel up to a pair of 12 mm CP3s. From the big CP3s fuel will be delivered to a set of S&S 450-percent or 500-percent over injectors.
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To supply enough air to keep up with all that fuel Andres turned to HSP Diesel to fabricate a compound triple-turbo setup with a pair of BorgWarner S472 turbochargers drawing air in from the atmosphere then handing the compressed charge over to a third BorgWarner S472 for the additional boost.
Andres turned to Ben Shadday at Done Right Diesel for tuning on his Cummins to optimize the unique combination. While Andres and his team will continue to improve and upgrade the engine prior to finalizing things before the 2018 UCC competition, the best power he has put down with the truck so far in 2017 was 1,767 hp and 2,898 lb-ft of torque with less fuel than they will be running in 2018. With numbers like that the rookie would have placed fifth in the 2017 UCC dyno competition.
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On the drag strip, with his previous setup, he has posted a best 1/4-mile ET of 9.55 seconds which would have put him in fourth place in the 2017 UCC drag race so Andres certainly has a chance of performing well in 2018 especially if his upgrades yield the results he is hoping for.
This Cummins engine is hooked to a 48RE transmission that was built by Brian Parker at IKT Diesel using the best components possible to hold the power from the Cummins. Up front, the factory driveline components are likely to get further upgrades before the 2018 UCC to improve their reliability and help Andres put the power to the ground. In addition to various diesel competitions, Andres still drives the truck on the street on a regular basis showing the truck’s high-performance.
Can any rookie dethrone the current UCC elite competitors? Only time will tell, but strong trucks from rookies like Justin Andres will surely put up a good fight to stake out their place among the UCC greats.
#12 Zach Fuller: Starlite Diesel
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Zach Fuller and his 2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 dually are somewhat of a rarity in the UCC and diesel performance world where most have gone smaller and lighter to go faster. Fuller and his team of friends, family, and industry insiders have stayed the course competing with the massive 7,800-pound crew cab long bed dually.
Fuller is also a two-time Ultimate Callout Challenge competitor finishing 7th overall in 2016 and suffering through some issues, but still finishing 8th overall in 2017. During the 2016 UCC in Salt Lake City, Utah, Fuller and his dually finished in 13th place on the dyno and on the drag strip with more than 1,600 hp and a low 11-second pass. Then on the pull track, the dually was in its element finishing in third place with a 360-foot pull early on that held up as the longest hook for most of the night.
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In Indianapolis for the 2017 UCC, the team had high hopes before gremlins crept in and slowed their progress. Even still, he finished 9th on the drag strip with a low 10-second pass before suffering transmission and cooling system issues on the dyno. With only 1,400 horsepower when they know the engine is capable of much more.
The foundation for the “BIG BLU” Dually is a Wagler Competition Products built 6.7-liter Duramax V8 with all their special-sauce mixed in to be capable of delivering well over 2,000 horsepower. Fuller designed a compound triple-turbo system that uses a pair of Precision Turbos over a Garrett high-pressure turbo to deliver tons of boost on demand yet maintain streetable performance since he does still drive the truck on the street on a regular basis.
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In addition, to support from his own shop the StarLite Diesel team hopes to break 2,000 hp on the UCC chassis dyno and expects to continue their progression on the dragstrip while redeeming their effort on the pull track. Could Fuller and his dually be the top finishing Duramax? Only time will tell and we are all looking forward to seeing the big blue compete.