We didn't have to ask twice for Newly Tolf to light up the tires. With over 1,200 lb-ft of torque on tap, getting them to spin is easy.
Diesel trucks are becoming more common in urban areas, but they have long been the cornerstones of transportation in rural areas like the Four Corners region of the U.S. Newly Tolf is a pipeline operator in Farmington, New Mexico, and he uses his '04 Chevy Duramax truck for everything from hauling pipeline equipment to drag racing. When he isn't racing or working in the oil fields, Newly runs Underground Diesel Performance and uses his truck as a test bed for new parts.
Under The Hood
ARP head studs are the only internal addition to the LB7 Duramax engine, even though it has 170,000 miles and countless quarter-mile passes and dyno pulls on it. Nearly everything ancillary to the engine has been replaced or upgraded.
An 85-gallon transfer tank is fitted in the bed and used to fuel-up heavy equipment. The weight penalty doesn't seem to adversely affect Newly's times at the track.
The stock fuel system was replaced with -10 AN (5/8 inches) fuel line and an Underground Diesel Performance high-flow fuel filter and regulated return line. Diesel fuel travels from a PPE billet fuel pickup through a PPE adjustable lift pump to the stock CP3 injection pump and injectors. The fuel is mixed with air that is fed through an AFE intake and BD Power Super Max turbocharger pushing 45 psi of boost. When the force-fed air is not enough, an NX nitrous system is put into action. Spent gases then flow through a BD Full Bore exhaust manifold and out of an MBRP 5-inch turbo-back exhaust.
Big Numbers At The Track
Of course, modern diesels need more than hard parts to make big power; the proper electronics are crucial to getting the most from a Duramax engine. Tolf uses EFI Live programming, with custom tuning by Tony Martino at Ridge Runner Diesel Performance, in conjunction with a 5,000 rpm rev-limiter. The combination has yielded 771 horsepower and 1,543 lb-ft of torque on a Dynojet and quarter-mile passes of 12.8 seconds at 106 mph on the drag strip. On diesel fuel only, the truck still makes an impressive 578 horsepower.
The Underground Diesel enclosed trailer is the lightest thing that Newly Tolf tows, so his Duramax is still quite fast even with a small trailer on the hitch. During the week, trackhoes and backhoes are usually strapped behind the Chevy. | 
The stock LLY Duramax has over 170,000 miles on it and all of the internals are still original. The Duralast batteries, BD Super Max turbo, and AFE intake are far from stock, but those are just the modifications that you can see. | 
The BD Power Super Max turbo is a bolt-on replacement for the factory variable geometry turbo, but flows far more air. Tolf hand-ported the turbo pedestal for even greater flow. |