This was the first year we physically attended the Truck Source Diesel (TSD) Diesel Throwdown #4. As we were almost to our exit on the freeway, the freeway came to a screeching halt. Knowing the area, we exited one exit early and drove around the block to get to there.
What we realized after arriving at the Throwdown was that the traffic jam was actually being caused from people wanting to see what all the trucks were doing at TSD. The backup on the freeway headed southbound was only about a quarter mile, but northbound the backup was almost two miles (TSD is on the north side) and the rubber necking lasted from when we got there at noon all the way until we left at seven pm (the dyno was still going when we left).
So, how do you know when you have a big event? When you literally cause a traffic jam all day. Trucks lined the frontage road for over a mile, TSD’s parking lot was packed with trucks and there was even a police officer directing traffic.
This was the first time that TSD included a Show-n-Shine competition and they weren’t exactly sure how many trucks were going to show up. Well, but one o’clock, the front lot was full of great custom trucks there for the Show-n-Shine and they were actually having to line up the remaining entries in the neighbor’s back lot.
Onofre Aguirre’s 2013 Ram Laramie LongHorn
Offering a little more incentive for people to enter their trucks in the Show-n-Shine, we (Diesel Army) guaranteed a feature to the winner. What we ended up doing was shooting the top three trucks because they were all incredible vehicles. If we had time, we would have probably shot another 5 trucks that were there. We were quite impressed by the number of really good looking trucks that came out to compete.
Anthony Olivo’s 2012 Ford Super Duty
Keep your eyes peeled for features on these three trucks in the coming months:
- 1st: Anthony Olivo’s 2012 Ford Super Duty
- 2nd: Chris Novak’s 2013 Ram Laramie
- 3rd: Onofre Aguirre’s 2013 Ram Laramie LongHorn
Throughout the day, trucks strapped down on the dyno to see what they could roll. TSD broke down the entries into three classes; stock turbo, fuel only and all out.
Stock Turbo Class was dominated by the Ford’s. Thanks to their factory sequential, the 6.4’s were laying down some good power all day. Surprisingly enough, David Burley’s ’05 6.0 managed to squeak into 3rd place besting a number of Cummins and a few Duramax powered trucks (he took third in the Throwdown #3 as well).
- 1st: Travis Kamp 08 Ford 6.4 647 hp
- 2nd:Collin Alexander 08 Ford 6.4 597 hp
- 3rd: David Burley 05 Ford 6.0 539 hp
The Fuel Only class was all about the inline 6 power of the might Cummins. Two of the top three trucks broke into the four digit power range and the third wasn’t too far off with a pull of 888. This class probably saw the biggest power gains compared to the last Throwdown. 871 horsepower by Davy Crockett took first last time and this time, Crocket barley squeaked into the top three.
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Even Santa showed up to pose with Chris Alaniz from TSD.
1st: Randy Strey 06 Dodge 5.9 1048 hp
- 2nd: Tyrel Trieche 04 Dodge 5.9 1024 hp
- 3rd: Davy Crocket 06 Dodge 5.9 888hp
The final category was “All Out”. Without disappointing anyone the big boys put on a heck of a show. It was actually Randy Strey who had just taken first place in the fuel only category who took the top honors in All Out as well. With a little bit of spray (ok, maybe a lot) he took that 1048 up to 1269! (We ran a feature on his setup last year.Check it out here.) Will Ellington drove this truck down from Dallas the day before the event in the rain. He didn’t even worry about changing the tune or anything. When he was strapped to the dyno, we weren’t sure he was going to break into the 1,000 hp range but Ellington did with a run of 1074.
- 1st: Randy Strey 06 Dodge Cummins 5.9 1269 hp
- 2nd: Will Elington 07 Dodge Cummins 5.9 1074 hp
- 3rd: Jake Bates 01 Dodge Cummins 5.9 809 hp
“Congrats to everyone who placed,” said Chris Alaniz, Co-Owner of TSD. This event was a huge success and we (Diesel Army) were happy to be part of it. There was an amazing quantity of trucks at the show. Between those that were strapping down and giving it a go on the dyno and those that entered the Show-n-Shine there was lots of people to see. Stay tuned as the next Throwdown will be announced shortly (spring time).
Chris Novak’s 2013 Ram Laramie
