Diesel Racing, Toyota’s Class 8 Fuel Cell Truck, and California’s Emission Goals

NEWS

Racing

Bound for the 4’s

Michael Dalton’s Pro Street Ram has been admitted at the chassis doctor, Hammertech Racecars, for a host of suspension improvements that should help push him into the 4’s next season. With HammerTech’s hands deep into Ben Shadday’s ’63 Corvette Pro Mod build (which appears to be getting quicker and quicker with each pass), look for Dalton’s orange RLC Motorsports machine to be a serious contender in 2021—if not the tail-end of 2020. Despite tough company this season, Dalton hung in there for a fourth place points finish in Pro Street. Will this truck be at the top of the heap next season? Only time will tell.

Source: hammertechracecars.com

Racing

Searching For Speed

After wrapping up the ODSS season third in points in 5.90 Index, Austin Denny decided to turn up the wick on his ’06 Super Duty and go after the 6.0L Power Stroke eighth-mile record (Charlie Fish’s 5.63). After getting close, with a 5.698 at 123.76 mph, Denny’s compound turbo’d (120 psi of boost) 6.0L lost the head gasket that was questionable going into the next pass, yet still went 5.80 at 122 mph. While Denny didn’t get the record, he did become the second 6.0L in the 5.60s. In case you didn’t know, at the beginning of the 2020 racing season, no 6.0L Power Stroke had ever gone quicker than 6.0 in the eighth-mile…

OEM News

2021 Silverado HD Capable of Towing 36K

This just in: Chevrolet’s ’21 Silverado 3500 HD will boast an available 36,000-pound maximum towing capacity. Chevy released the best-in-class towing bombshell last week, just a month after 2021 model production ramped up. The new, class-leading tow rating can be had in the 3500 HD Work Truck, regular cab, dual rear wheel, and two-wheel drive configuration spec’d with the L5P Duramax and 10L1000 Allison automatic. Complementary towing features include: eight cameras to aid towing confidence, a trailer length indicator, jack-knife alert, cargo bed view enhancement, rear side view enhancement, and a rear trailer view that now features guide lines and a trailer-angle indicator.

RACING

New Diesel Pro Mod Record

It’s been an extremely busy week in diesel drag racing, but perhaps the Firepunk Diesel crew has been the busiest. Jumping head first into the radial tire world and taking a big step toward the 3’s in the process, Larson Miller and his team brought the Hot Shot’s Secret-sponsored Pro Mod S10 to No Mercy 11 at South Georgia Motorsports Park—and they killed it. After going 4.23 at 177 mph, Miller reset the fastest diesel door car record (and nearly pulled off the fastest pass in all of diesel) with a 4.11 at 181 mph. On the weekend, team Firepunk would make more than 20 passes and collect a best 60-foot of 1.06-seconds. Their 3-second eighth-mile is definitely coming. It’s just a matter of when at this point.

OEM NEWS

Will Toyota Infiltrate the North American Class 8 Market?

Toyota and Hino have partnered to develop a Class 8 fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for use in North America. The joint venture will leverage Hino’s newly developed XL series truck chassis with Toyota’s fuel cell technology—the goal being to deliver exceptional capability without the side-effect of harmful emissions. The project, called the Toyota Fuel Cell XL Series, is said to be an expansion of the existing effort to develop a 25-ton FCET for the Japanese market, which was announced earlier this year. According to Toyota’s senior executive engineer at Toyota Research and Development, Tak Yokoo, the FCET will be “quiet, smooth, and powerful while emitting nothing but water.”

Source: https://newspressusa.com/publicReleaseView/67440/7323?token=tWkVNNz7mXdyNX0IknjU

HIGHLIGHTS

Mainstreaming Diesel

Diesel drag racing is a sport that’s deeply rooted in small business. In fact, many of the industry’s top drivers are shop owners, or even employees themselves. Ben Shadday of Done Right Diesel Performance is no different. Teaming up with Amsoil Inc., Ben, his light-duty diesel repair operation in Osgood, Indiana, and his previous Pro Mod race truck are profiled in a high-quality, 5-minute clip. From drive-in service and dyno testing and tuning during the week to hitting the track on the weekends, Ben and his team’s story mirrors that of many current racing operations in the diesel game.

Source: https://community.amsoil.com/

Emissions News

California Governor Wants 100% Zero-Emission Car Sales By 2035

In an executive order issued last week, California Governor, Gavin Newsom, set goals for the adoption of zero emission vehicles. The biggest news item in the executive order? By 2035, all in-state sales of new passenger cars and trucks are to be of the zero-emission variety. The order also states that, where feasible, 100-percent of all off-road vehicles and equipment must be zero-emission by 2035, and that all medium and heavy-duty vehicles should be zero-emission by 2045. Interestingly enough, the order does not mention the effect his may have on California’s electric system, which experienced rolling blackouts on several occasions this summer.

Source: https://dieselnet.com/news/2020/09carb.php

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