The Bean’s Diesel Performance Sled Pull

The Bean’s Diesel Performance Sled Pull

Typically the 2,680 residents of Woodbury, Tennessee, lead a quiet and remote life situated about 50 miles southeast of Nashville. But on October 19, 2013, that number more than doubled when some 1,300 diesel enthusiasts converged on the small town to enjoy a day of diesel activities at Bean’s Diesel Performance’s annual sled pull and dyno day event. The diesel fans were drawn to Tennessee by the promise of seeing powerful diesel trucks on the dyno and on the track vying for the win and their share of the $7,000 prize purse. They were not disappointed.

“While the weather was cool and then cold once the sun went down, the vast majority of the fans stayed until the pulling action was over.”

Jonathan Jones and his dyno crew from No Limit Tuning & Design in Rossville, Georgia, brought their Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno up to the BDP shop and started dynoing trucks before 9 a.m. They did have an electrical glitch in the late afternoon that caused a few hours of delay, but they got it worked out and continued dynoing trucks well into the night. Not only were truck owners battling on the dyno for bragging rights, they were also going for cash and prizes. Awards were on the line for highest horsepower for fuel only and with nitrous assistance as well as lowest horsepower and closest guess on horsepower.

Seeing the guesses and measured horsepower numbers posted on the scoreboard throughout the day was amusing at times, but must have been downright disappointing for some competitors. The closest guess belonged to Clint McGee who guessed that his ’06 Chevy would make 578 horsepower; he was only off by four horsepower as his truck made 582 horsepower and 1,175 lb/ft of torque for its highest of three dyno runs. The lowest horsepower award went to Miles Smith and his ’95 Dodge that made 272 horsepower on its dyno pull. Josh Wagnon’s ’04 Dodge laid down almost 800 horsepower to be the highest power fuel-only truck of the day. The highest horsepower overall award was taken by Jonathan Brooklyn with his ’08 Ford that delivered 850 horsepower and 1,775 lb/ft of torque on a stock 6.4L bottom end thanks to a nitrous assist.

Each of the four dyno winners received a case of Schaeffer’s oil while the two highest received $200 each. Smith, owner of the lowest hp Dodge, was awarded a set of Craftsman tools courtesy of Tymar Performance to help him wrench on the truck and build some more power for next year. An MBRP exhaust system was awarded to McGee for his nearly dead-on horsepower guess. The last dyno run of the day was completed at around 9:30, making a full day of diesel action and adventure for those who stuck around until the end.

While the dyno competition was going on, frequent impromptu burnout contests broke out on the BDP concrete burnout pad. Some were spectacular with a seemingly unending flow of white smoke from the tires and black from the exhaust, while others (mostly gassers and cars) struggled to get the tires spinning at all evenly on the wet concrete. Spectators were able to move between the burnout pad and the dyno cell on the other side of the shop quickly to see whatever action was best at the moment. Attendees could also check out the vendor display booths set up to show off the latest products from ATS, BDP, Diesel Life and No Limit. The Midway Volunteer Fire Department handled catering with great-tasting burgers, fries and even deep-fried Oreo cookies on tap to keep the crowds satisfied.

Pullers came from as far away as Missouri in addition to locals and those who came from surrounding states to compete. The sled pulling action started in the late afternoon around 4 and finished under the lights at around 8:30 p.m. While the weather was cool and then cold once the sun went down, the vast majority of the fans stayed until the pulling action was over. They lined each side of the pulling track with the early arrivals backing their trucks in to allow for proper tailgating behind the barricade.

There were a total of 50 hooks between the four classes with the 2.6 class being the largest and the Open class the smallest, making it a good evening of pulling that didn’t run into the wee hours of the morning and allowed attendees to get home at a reasonable time. The track was soft and proved to be a challenge for all the trucks to get traction, but the crew from Bean’s kept the track consistent throughout the pull with the help of a couple of new John Deere tractors on loan from TriGreen Equipment of Manchester, Tennessee, for track prep and maintenance.

The Workstock/2.5 class pulled first with a total of 16 pullers that hooked to the sled. All of the trucks in the top 10 broke the 300-foot barrier with Bryan Hamby taking the Workstock win with a hook that was nearly 400 feet long! Hamby’s pull was actually the longest pull of the event, showing that the Workstock competitors are really getting serious and their trucks are forces to be reckoned with and are no longer simple street trucks with intake, exhaust and tune upgrades. While Hamby put 30 feet on the second place truck of Scott Willoughby, it was extremely close competition between Willoughby and April Browning, who finished third less than a foot back.

More than 20 pulled in the 2.6 class with crowd favorite Josh Land taking the win over Joshua O’Connor by less than two feet. Joe Underwood has won at Bean’s several times but could only manage third place this year in the highly competitive class. The 3.0 class was somewhat of a rehash with no true 3.0 trucks competing. The class was populated by 2.6 trucks that decided to step up a class and get an additional hook. O’Connor took home the 3.0 class win, followed by Chris Newsome and Joe Underwood.

The final class to hook was the Open class, which, as the name implies, allows anyone to pull with whatever engine/ turbo combination they would like. Kevin Smith was the only one in the class to break the 300-foot mark and won the class by putting nearly 30 feet on second place finisher Heath Bonnett. Owen Horst rounded out the podium.

Once again the sled pull and dyno day put on by the crew at Bean’s Diesel Performance was a fun event, with something for just about every diesel enthusiast. If you weren’t able to attend the event, check out the photos on these pages for a glimpse into what you missed. For the latest on the upcoming 2014 event point your browser to www.bdpshop.com. We hope to see you there. DW

SOURCES:
Bean’s Diesel Performance
615-563-7800
www.bdpshop.com

No Limit Tuning & Design
423-486-1116
www.dynoproven.com