Racing has many forms. Kids race toy cars and trucks, bicycles, and cans down the gutter on a rainy day. Adults aren’t much different; the toys just get more expensive. Then there are the kids lucky enough to race things with engines from a young age. Artie Maupin, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was one of those kids and now, he drag races his 2004 Ram truck.

Growing up, Maupin’s parents bracket raced a Chevrolet Monza. “After years of going [to the dragstrip] every Saturday, Junior Dragsters became a thing,” Maupin explains. “I ended up getting one for Christmas one year and that’s what started it all.” Junior Dragsters are half-sized drag cars with five-horsepower Briggs-Stratton engines. “It wasn’t much,” Maupin continues, “but it felt fast when you’re 10 years old and you’re the only kid in grade school racing.”

Maupin bought his truck about five years ago with the intention of racing it. A good friend had been racing in the diesel drag scene and got Maupin hooked. The truck he purchased, a 2004 Dodge Ram 3500 4×4, had a few little goodies on it but nothing major. As life ticked on, a better job and more cash flow helped him kick things off. His first purchase was a Borg Warner S480 Turbo to run under the 62mm High Tech Turbo that was installed when he purchased the rig.

A good friend of his helped him fabricate the piping to run the two turbos in a compound configuration, helping to significantly reduce turbo lag and increase overall power.

Unfortunately, the transmission didn’t like the newfound power. On the first test pass in four-wheel drive, the input shaft snapped. After having new billet input and output shafts installed in the transmission, Maupin ran the truck with this setup for a while.

Later on, Maupin decided he wanted to try something different. He sold off the compound system and purchased a Stainless Diesel manifold and billet S475 turbo. He quickly realized he didn’t like the drivability and response of the truck. Maupin tried out a set of Industrial Injection 250 HP injector nozzles, but was still unhappy with the setup – too much smoke and not enough response.

So the big single turbo was out and a compound system was back in. This time, he got serious. After adding a set of ARP 625 New Age head studs, Maupin got in touch with BD Diesel. Before long, Maupin was an official member of the BD Diesel Race Team Program. “Racers apply to us for our Racer Team,” says Brian Roth, President of BD Diesel. “We then review what they have to offer and how best we can support them. Artie is a good ambassador for our brand. We are already talking about next year’s race team and we have plans to help keep this going.”

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The big red Dodge has some great eye candy under the hood: compound turbo system from BD Diesel, ATS Performance intake manifold, BD Diesel exhaust manifold, and more. Maupin would like to thank Andrew Clark for helping tune the truck anytime he needs it done.

BD Diesel worked with Maupin to set his truck up with their R1000 Race Track Kit for the 5.9-liter Cummins. The compound kit utilizes an S364.5 turbo along with an S482 turbo. Maupin is extremely happy with the drivability and performance of the setup.

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These are just a few of the key components the truck utilizes to get 1,000 horsepower and 1,800 lb-ft of torque.

To provide enough fuel to complement the wicked turbo arrangement, the Cummins is fed by an Industrial Injection dual CP3 kit and 250 horsepower injectors. All of this is supported by an AirDog II 165-gallon per hour lift pump. The computer keeps the fuel and air mixtures at optimum levels, the computer was tuned using Firepunk Diesel‘s custom-tuned HP Tuner system.

An ATS Diesel Performance air intake makes sure the engine is getting enough fresh air pulled through the turbos. The BD Diesel Performance three-piece exhaust manifold sends the unwanted gasses out to the 7-inch exhaust stack from Smith Autowex that runs through the bed of the truck.

Power conversion duties are handled by a 48RE four-speed automatic transmission with billet input and output shafts, sourced from Suncoast Diesel Performance. A triple-disc torque converter from Diesel Performance Converters ensures as much power as possible is transferred from the motor to the transmission. To keep that power firmly planted on the ground when it goes through to the tires, Maupin custom-built a set of traction bars for the rear axle.

All of the combined power upgrades, plus the Diesel Pro’s camshaft that was installed internally prior to Maupin purchasing the 2004 Ram, bring the truck up to a solid 1,000 horsepower and 1,800 pound-feet of torque. This is enough grunt to move the truck down the eighth-mile track in 7.58 seconds, topping out at 92 miles per hour. On the quarter-mile track, Maupin’s red rocket currently hits the end line in 12.08 seconds at 110 miles per hour. So far, Maupin has only run the truck at its lowest settings and does not know what the fastest times are when everything is cranked up. After some more chassis upgrades, he intends to get the truck into the 6.70 index and the 10.50 index.

The exterior of the truck is much more “go” than “show.” Not much has changed. Maupin did, however, swap in a set of 305/55R20 Nitto 420S tires wrapped around 20-inch tall by 12-inch wide Anthem Commander Wheels.

Black-accented headlights and taillights spice up the look a bit without being over the top. The interior follows in the same fashion: add what’s needed, and that’s it. In Maupin’s case, all that was really needed was a set of gauges. Along the A-pillar is some of the most important information any performance diesel driver needs to know – boost PSI. From top to bottom, there are gauges for primary turbo boost psi, secondary boost psi, and total boost psi.

Maupin knows he wouldn’t have been able to put this truck together without some key help. He throws out a huge thank you to his friends and family, as well as BD Diesel and Anthem Off Road. Seeing what he’s been able to do so far, it won’t be long before he does.