It’s a difficult feat to win Diesel Power Challenge, but that’s exactly what 2011 competitor Rocky Horn did. With victories in our eighth-mile trailer tow and trailer tow obstacle course, Rocky proved he was the man when it came to being hooked to a trailer of any shape or size. Despite a poor finish on the dyno, Rocky did well in almost all the other events, which is what it takes to win. The 5.9L Cummins common-rail he swapped into his Ford ran well at the dragstrip, and even with some mean bounces on the sled pull, he was still able to put enough distance on Joel Saunders’ Dodge to eek out a victory.
The Zeus Computer
With such an impressive performance last year, Rocky has elected to leave well enough alone and keep his basic combination of compound turbos, dual CP3 injection pumps, and a common-rail engine the same. One big difference, however, was the addition of a Zeus ECM from Destroked. The Zeus is able to control fueling outside the normal parameters and allows for some truly impressive feats, like 5,000-rpm engine speeds!
A Last-Minute Thrash
The winner’s curse (it’s hard to win DPC twice) nearly got Rocky before he even started the event, as some burnt-up bearings meant he had to do a last-minute rebuild on the bottom end of his Cummins mere hours before Diesel Power Challenge! The truck appears to be running well, but you never know what kind of last minute glitch may come up from the all-night engine rebuild.
Nitto Dune Grapplers are the tire of choice for Rocky and are proven to work well on the v
An All-Around Competitor
Since he’s already competed in Diesel Power Challenge once, and he’s a local Coloradoan, we’d bet on Rocky again being a strong force in the trailer events, and again at the dragstrip. With the addition of the Zeus, his high-rpm capabilities should also mean a much better showing in the sled pull. We don’t expect him to win the dyno, but in all the other events, he should place very well. A repeat? We don’t know, but don’t county Rocky out for the victory just yet!
Name: Rocky Horn, Fort Lupton, Colorado
Vehicle: 1997 Ford F-350
Driver Experience: Dyno, drag racing, towing, wrenching
Engine: 5.9L Cummins, 900 hp and 1,500 lb-ft
Turbos: 62mm and 80mm S300/S400 compounds, Hypermax Tapercore intercooler
Electronics: Zeus standalone ECU
Injection System: Dual CP3s, Dynomite Diesel Injectors
Injectables: ZEX nitrous system and Snow Performance water-methanol
Intake/Exhaust system: Custom Banks Sidewinder intake, tubular exhaust header, 5-inch exhaust into 6-inch stack
Transmission: E4OD built by Brian’s Truck Shop with forged shafts, Precision Industries converter
Suspension: Super Duty leaf springs, reverse shackle kit
Tires: 305/55R20 Nitto
Wheels: 20x10 Fuel
Differential: 4.10 gears
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Perhaps one of the coolest and cleanest swaps we’ve seen in a while, Rocky’s Ford is power
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It will be very interesting to see how Rocky does at the sled pull this year. With a long
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The billet badge says it all. The question is, can he repeat?