A huge crowd gathered as William...
A huge crowd gathered as William heated up the tires for his first run. The big-block-powered S-10 ripped the 1320 in 11.73 seconds at 120.97 mph. Not bad considering this was the first time the truck had seen anything longer than the street in front of William's house.
First thing Sunday morning, we had a driver's meeting to make sure everybody was on the same page before we set them loose on the track. Each contestant got to blast three runs down the quarter in an attempt to click off the lowest time possible. Some trucks were slow and some were fast, but everyone was having a good time and that's what it's all about.
Once all of the timeslips were handed in, we corralled the trucks in one area and started judging. Mike Finnegan paired with Lou Santiago, and Calin paired up with Mike Cotten. We grabbed a couple of competent builders just so we had another professional set of eyes to glance over the trucks. After a few hours, we had looked at every truck and it was time to compile all of the information and figure out who won the trophy.
The Challenge will be back again next year, but we're changing the rules just a bit so keep an eye on the magazine. Once we get it all worked out, we'll let you know. For now, please enjoy the 2008 Sport Truck Challenge.
Scott Skattum was a new face...
Scott Skattum was a new face at the Challenge. Although his Xtreme didn't break any records, he did manage a mid-17-second pass. Not bad for a V-6-powered truck.
Andy Cook decided to install...
Andy Cook decided to install his stockers on the back instead of punishing his big, expensive rubber.
Lucas and his Titan lined...
Lucas and his Titan lined up against second-year veteran Dan Holland and his '01 Ram. The Titan went a best of 15.45, while Dan got a 17.73 out of his work truck. Mid 15s is saying something about Nissan's 5.6L V-8. Imagine if he had one of Stillen's superchargers.
In one of the matchups, Phil...
In one of the matchups, Phil Baker and his pewter '03 GMC had to take on last year's winner, Todd Sherwood, in his 454 SS. Phil ran a very respectable 13.49, but it wasn't enough to beat out Todd's 12.82. We're sure Phil will be back with a few more power-adders-heck, he might even take out the other headlight as well.
| THE PRIZES |
| 1st: | $500, Drop 'Em Wear? jacket, Sikness DVD, and goodie bag* |
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| 2nd: | $250, Drop 'Em Wear? clock, Sikness DVD, and goodie bag* |
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| 3rd: | $100, Drop 'Em Wear? shirt, Sikness DVD, and goodie bag* |
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| 4th: | Drop 'Em Wear? shirt and goodie bag* |
The goodie bag was filled with posters, a Big Vic hat, a Havoc DVD, and some Havoc event Shirts.
Gas vs. Diesel
For this part of the event, we grabbed the fastest gas truck still running (Todd Sherwood's) and the fastest diesel (Barry Phillippi's) and set them on the starting line. Instead of going heads up, we decided to have them bracket race. We took each truck's fastest e.t. and used that as the dial-in. Todd got a 0.89-second head start because his dial-in was 12.82 compared to Barry's 11.93. The head start didn't really matter because Todd's foot got a bit heavy at the start and he smoked the tires a bit. Barry's diesel hooked right up so he reeled in Todd in the first 60 feet. Barry kept his lead all the way down the 1320 and won himself an ultra-bitchin NOS N2O controller.
Caroline Jones, the only female...
Caroline Jones, the only female in the competition for the second year in a row, came ready to compete with a brand-new set of graphics. You may not remember from last year, but this is Caroline's daily driver/work truck she uses on her horse ranch. Her truck got damaged last year by a runaway tent, but instead of just having it fixed she had a set of color-shift graphics laid down and then had them pinstriped in a bright pink.
There were a few all-diesel...
There were a few all-diesel matchups during the competition like this one between Ty Maitland in the red Dodge and Howard Claypool in the white HD. Ty took the win light with an e.t. of 12.42 compared to Howard's 15.29. Ty had a few more power-adders to help push all that weight down the track that fast. Imagine pulling up to him on the street thinking, "This'll be easy to beat that big ol' pig," only to watch him pull away, leaving you sucking soot.
Todd picked up a set of Nitto's...
Todd picked up a set of Nitto's new 20-inch drag radials in an attempt to wrangle the brute force of the 477 big-block. They helped him shave off almost a full second from last year's time, but he's still having traction issues even with sticky rubber. Looks like Todd will need a full set of slicks to get this monster under control.
Not to be outdone by someone...
Not to be outdone by someone in his family, Danny Rock pushed his '06 Trailblazer SS to a mid-14-second pass. Danny didn't win the trophy, but he sure took home bragging rights.
The only gas truck with forced...
The only gas truck with forced induction happened to be Brian Rock's STS Turbo-equipped '04 Chevy. The rear-mounted turbo helped the otherwise stock truck run a 15.81 at 87.38 mph.
This was the battle of the...
This was the battle of the 'bagged minis. Josh Clark and Bryan Elms decided to go at it down the track. Although this wasn't the fastest run that day, it was pretty cool to see two fully 'bagged mini-trucks drag in a totally different way. We don't know how fast Bryan's Sonoma was because he never turned in his timeslips. Josh, however, managed to shave almost a half-second from his fastest time last year all with driving skill-unless the new flames he painted made the truck faster.