Weekend Recap 1.29.18

Truck Of The Week

2019 Ram Laramie Longhorn

Taking the southwestern theme to a whole new level

Ram’s 2019 Laramie Longhorn edition of its 1500 model trucks takes the whole southwestern theme to a new level. Full-grain leather seats, a hand-wrapped leather dashboard, and barn-wood accents are utilized, while the Longhorn logo is legitimately branded into the wood-trimmed, upper glove box. Interior color options are Black/Cattle Tan or Mountain Brown/Light Mountain Brown, and class-exclusive rear seat ventilation is also available. Exterior appeal comes in the form of two-tone paint, belt-buckle badging on the doors and tailgate, and optional 22-inch wheels.

RamTrucks.com

Highlights

Did Dieselgate “Really” Hurt VW?

TDI sales up for 2017

Volkswagen’s diesel sales obviously took a huge hit in the U.S. (and the world’s largest automaker has since halted any future plans to offer them here) after the emissions scandal broke in September of 2015, but how has that impacted the company’s world-wide bottom line? Judging from recent numbers released from VW Group—not a whole lot. In fact, Volkswagen delivered 10.74 million cars in 2017, the most in company history. The lion’s share of new vehicles was sent to Europe (4.3 million), which represented a 3.3 percent increase over fiscal year 2016. Even in the United States, VW deliveries were up by 5.8 percent for 2017, and tallied 625,100 units.

Somebody plans to go even faster…

Licensing weekend sets two drivers up for a really quick 2018

You might recognize the man on the right as Rawlings Barnes, driver of the Rudy’s Diesel Performance Super Duty that’s been 4.98 at 140 mph in the eighth-mile (a Power Stroke record). The driver on the left is Dustin Jackson, who pilots the triple-turbo’d Cummins-powered ’94 Lightning that’s gone 8.09 at 174 mph through the quarter and took home the NHRDA Pro Street championship in 2017. What do these two have in common? They both spent the weekend at Frank Hawkley’s Drag Racing School in Gainesville, Florida to upgrade their NHRA licenses. Needless to say, both of them plan to go even faster in 2018…a lot faster.

Events

New ODSS Event

Florida get ready!!

Diesel drag racing is always expanding, and a fresh venue has been added to the 2018 Outlaw Diesel Super Series racing schedule. On September 14^th and 15^th things will head to sunny Holt, Florida for the Hardway Sunshine Showdown. After becoming an operating partner at Emerald Coast Dragway last fall, Ryan Milliken (owner of Hardway Performance) immediately poured his excitement for racing and endless work ethic into the facility and its promotion. In addition to hosting its inaugural event along the ODSS calendar, Diesel Thunder Spring Break will once again be held at Emerald Coast Dragway on March 9-10.

OutlawDieselSuperSeries.com

Parts Rack

New Huffer

Drop-in LML Turbo

The latest generation Cheetah turbocharger out of the Fleece Performance Engineering stable packs forged milled wheel technology and comes in a factory-appearing package. Based on the factory Garrett VVT, it makes use of an FMW compressor wheel with a 63mm inducer, sports 360-degree thrust bearings, and upgraded shaft bearings. Coined the ultimate drop-in for ’11-’16 GM’s, Fleece’s LML Cheetah is said to provide quick spool up, a broad torque curve, and supports 650-rwhp. As a bonus, this charger will keep you legal in stock appearing or 2.5-inch Work Stock pulling classes.

FleecePerformance.com

New Standard?

Billet, Dual Feed Cummins Rail

Exergy Performance has announced that its billet fuel rail for the 6.7L Cummins will provide a 10-percent increase in volume over stock, incorporate a second feed port, and that a larger orifice diameter is used on the injector ports. Rails will also be plated for added durability and reduced wear. With a March ship date, Exergy is currently accepting preorders with a $200 deposit. Its billet rail will retail for $900, but will also be available with an optional rail pressure sensor (2,000 bar) and pressure relief valve (single stage, 2,200 bar) thrown in that will cost $1,340.

ExergyPerformance.com