Smoke and dirt flew for three days during the BorgWarner Airwerks Extreme Diesel Showdown, presented by Diesel Engine Parts Outlet. Turbo-powered trucks from as far away as British Columbia invaded California's central valley for a dyno competition, dirt drag racing, sled pulling, and the Tulare Ag Center, which was full of diesel vendors and show trucks. By Saturday night, it seemed like every truck passing down the strip had big chrome stacks pumping out the whine of twin turbos.
Dyno Power
It all started at Roger Vogt's Dynolab, where more than 30 trucks strapped in for a chance to win cash and prizes. Smoke poured out of the dyno booth as multiple turbos, fat injectors, and modified fuel pumps were used to wring horsepower and torque out of Cummins, Duramax, and Power Stroke trucks.
To even the playing field, a qualifying round was used to split the trucks into two brackets: closest to 400 hp and unlimited horsepower. That way, drivers with lightly modified rigs who are new to the diesel cult could compete without getting blown-out by trucks that already have $20,000 in upgrades.
Richard "Mad Dog" Madsen used more than 1,100 hp to chew up the track with his '95 Ford F-350 during a run in the Modified dirt drag races. In a rare example of having too much of a good thing, Mad Dog's run was slowed because he had to fight to keep it in a straight line as he sped down the track. | 
Albert Mendes wouldn't let us take pictures under the hood of his '97 Dodge Ram, but he did give us a peek at the powerplant. It includes a truly unique intake and two turbos pushing air into the 12-valve engine and out the massive 8-inch chrome exhaust stacks. | 
Can you find the first-generation Cummins in this photo? At the dyno facility, Chuck Garges lit up the rear tires of his '90 Ram and built a wall of smoke two stories high. His truck has one of the most unique engine swaps we've seen, so look for a feature article in a future issue of Diesel Power. |
In the 400hp class, David Noble made 381 hp with his white, '01 Chevy dualie. Marc Tarrango got 382 hp out of his F-350 with the 7.3L Power Stroke, and Adam Ross used an Industrial Injection turbo and big injectors to score 385 hp in his '99 Ram dualie. In the Unlimited class, Diesel Power Challenge West competitor Doug Lindsay went easy on his new engine, but still scored 608 hp using just #2 diesel. Gary Riley made 734 hp in a '98 Dodge Ram 2500 while blowing a thick cloud of smoke from a big exhaust stack. Richard Brown had one of the few common-rail Cummins trucks in the competition and used dual CP3 injection pumps to fuel his '03 Ram to an impressive 832 hp. While technology is cool, Chris Werner used an old-fashioned 12-valve swapped in to his orange and blue '01 Ram to win the Unlimited class with 862 hp.
Chuck Garges took Third Place in the 2WD dirt drags with his classic '90 Dodge Ram that has more power than should be legal in a truck made more than 15 years ago. | 
This 234-foot pull completed by Clint Cannon in his '02 Chevy 2500HD put him in First Place for the Modified class. You can see water vapor escaping from the ice-water intercooler/sled weight attached to the front of the truck. | 
Scott Vorhees has sold his Big Bad Dodge and is now competing with this '04 Ford F-250 named the Big Bad Diesel. Don't worry, he's still using a 12-valve Cummins engine built for pulling. |
Diesel Drags
The dirt drag racing was wild, with two- and four-wheel-drive trucks fighting for traction on an eighth-mile of loose soil. Pickups were fishtailing halfway down the track and spewing dirt clods and black smoke as drivers reached highway speeds before crossing the finish line. A weigh-in and tech inspection separated the trucks into Street, Super Street, Modified, and Unlimited classes. Richard "Mad Dog" Madsen had more than 1,100 hp bursting from the Cummins in his '95 Ford F-350, but he overpowered the track and could only get enough traction for Third Place. Richard Brown had a better grip on the track and pushed his 832hp, common-rail Dodge Ram into Second Place. First Place in the Unlimited class went to Cory Calvin in his '06 Ram 2500.
Diesel trucks line up for a weigh-in and tech inspection before the dirt drag racing and sled pulls. | 
This is not a crazy new sled-pull technique-it's actually a broken steering tie rod that didn't stop Mike Avila and his '02 Chevy 2500HD from making a decent pull. | 
Chuck Garges took Third Place in the 2WD dirt drags with his classic '90 Dodge Ram that has more power than should be legal in a truck made more than 15 years ago. |
Sled Pulls
After the tractors were done showing off, a field of mostly street-legal daily drivers took turns fighting The Terminator. A few trucks lost their battles and limped home with injuries such as a broken tie rod, dislodged intercooler boots (the fans loved every pop), a burst transmission line, and even a bent connecting rod inside the block of a nitrous-huffing Power Stroke. When the smoke and dust cleared, Joel Gooch eased his 24-valve, twin-turbo Dodge 206 feet down the track for Third Place in the Modified class. Bryan Kinney broke his Power Stroke engine while fighting the sled out to 224.06 feet but ended up taking Second Place. Clint Cannon secured First Place by using his '02 Chevy Duramax to pull more than 234 feet.
 | 
John Brasil's '94 Dodge Ram pumped smoke from giant 8-inch stacks as it made a pull good enough for Second Place in the Super Street class during the first round of competition. | 
Gary Riley made 734 hp during the dyno competition with his '98 Dodge Ram 2500. This smoky run put him in Second Place for the Unlimited class. |
Inside the Tulare Ag Center, dieselheads could check out the latest modifications for '07 and '08 trucks from Chevy, Dodge, Ford, and GMC. The barn was also filled with power-adders, such as turbo kits... | 
...exhaust manifolds, and race-built transmissions. Crowds were constantly gravitating to Stuckey Racing's 10-second Dodge Ram (the green thing behind all the oil heads in the pictures). | 
The biggest lift in competition belonged to Nick Vasquez and his '06 Ford F-250 that took Third Place in the Super Street dirt drags. |
Be There Next Year
With hundreds of high-power diesel trucks on hand for the first BorgWarner Airwerks Extreme Diesel Showdown, you can expect diesel nuts to spread the word and make the next one even bigger. Keep your eyes open for the next Extreme Diesel Showdown and events like it in your area-there's no better way to spend a weekend than by taking your family (and the family truck) out for a weekend at the track.
White Out!It's not surprising that a lot of farm work trucks end up becoming projects built for competition. Many are ordered with the least amount of options possible, which keeps the curb weights and prices low. Here is a group of white trucks that hooked up to the sled and raced down the Tulare Ag Center racetrack.