It's not every day that you come across a husband and wife duo in the world of motorsports. And it's even more rare to find a married couple competing at the highest level of diesel truck pulling. But Robert and Faith Miller of Yadkinville, North Carolina, have been doing just that the last four years. If you've been to any national pulling event recently, chances are you've seen each of their Super Stock trucks in action. This is their story.inline_mediumwraptextrightDiesel Trucks30969888/features/dodge/0912dp_dodge_ram_sled_pullers0912dp_01+dodge_ram_sled_pullers+diesel_trucks.jpgTrue

It's Top 10 time, and once again, our staff had to tackle the hard task of picking from all the vehicles we've featured in Diesel Power in 2009. We considered labor, ingenuity, and usefulness to pick 10 diesels we thought embodied what Diesel Power magazine looks for in a feature vehicle. Although many of these diesels are competition-oriented, most of them, such as Mike Wood's Duramax Mustang and Ed Wayne's 1,000hp GMC, can still be street driven. Other rigs, such as Joseph King's Modified sled puller, are strictly for track use, but he got the nod for performing much of the work himself. In the end, these are the 10 most influential, well-crafted, or just plain coolest diesels we've featured in 2009.inline_mediumwraptextrightBest 2009 Diesels25505054/features/0912dp_top_10_diesels0912dp_01+top_10_diesels+best_2009_diesels.jpgTrue

Rudolf Diesel was the second of three children born to Theodor and Elise Diesel on March 18, 1858 in the city of Paris, France. The son of German-born immigrants, Theodor Diesel had migrated from his hometown of Augsburg, in the then Kingdom of Bavaria, in 1848. A member of the bookbinding trade, Theodor met and married Elise Strobel in Paris in 1855.inline_mediumwraptextrightPortrait25492106/features/0912dp_rudolph_diesel0912dp_01+rudolph_diesel+portrait.jpgTrue

Dmitri Millard's truck got its name from a friend who tried to make fun of it. The joker had the nerve to call it a Duramini. Big mistake. After the score was settled at the local dragstrip, the name just stuck. The competitive spirit continues in this buildup as Dmitri constantly strives to make his '01 Silverado faster and better looking. The last time we talked to this Duramax guru, he was getting ready for a battle on the television show Pinks. We had this conversation right after he got done replacing the turbo on his truck at a hotel parking lot in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Luckily for the other guy, the show never happened. When Dmitri told us he was driving his truck down to Southern California, we knew we had to take a look at it.inline_mediumwraptextrightRight Front Angle25501013/features/chevy/0912dp_2001_chevy_silverado0912dp_01+2001_chevy_silverado+right_front_angle.jpgTrue

If you've been watching any TV lately, you've seen BMW's new marketing campaign that highlights its new clean diesels. One of the vehicles it's promoting is the new 335 diesel model, which has an MSRP of $43,900 and is advertised to get up to 36 mpg and go 580 miles between fill-ups. To see if BMW's 265hp, 425-lb-ft, diesel-powered 3 Series was up to the challenge, we decided to try and drive from Los Angeles, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, and back to Lancaster, California, where we'd be attending a sled pull. Oh yeah, and we'd do the entire 500-plus-mile loop on one tank of fuel. Here's our story.inline_mediumwraptextrightLeft Side Angle25496732/features/0912dp_2009_bmw_335d0912dp_01+2009_bmw_335d+left_side_angle.jpgTrue

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For more than two hundred years America has relied on its agriculture for subsistence, profitability, and growth. Farm-raised inventors have historically increased productivity and reduced their personal toil by inventing the forerunners of the modern machinery utilized in today's global farming activities.inline_mediumwraptextrightPlows30954801/features/0911dp_j_i_case0911dp_01+j_i_case+plows.jpgTrue

Some people can only relate to the Normandy beach landings of World War II because they've seen the movie Saving Private Ryan. If you don't know your history or haven't seen the movie, here's what happened: When the Allied Forces hit the sand with their landing craft, they could go no further because they weren't amphibious. After they beached, the front door dropped open and the soldiers were instantly greeted with heavy machine gun fire coming from the Nazis in their fortified bunkers. We don't want to ruin the ending, so we won't tell you anymore. Flash-forward to 1984 when BAE Systems introduced a new solution for transporting soldiers from ship to shore under enemy fire.inline_mediumwraptextrightRight Side Angle26712625/features/0911dp_amphibious_assault_vehicle0911dp_01+amphibious_assault_vehicle+right_side_angle.jpgTrue

The most technologically advanced war machine is useless if it doesn't have the energy it needs to keep running. That is why the U.S. military, under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has funded the development of this Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR), which is designed to find its own energy sources in the battlefield. Robotic Technology Inc. provided this vehicle with the artificial intelligence and appendages it needs to conduct long-range, long-endurance missions without the need for conventional refueling.inline_mediumwraptextrightRight Rear Angle26709232/features/0911dp_energetically_autonomous_tactical_robot0911dp_01+energetically_autonomous_tactical_robot+right_rear_angle.jpgTrue

When the '99-model-year Ford Super Duty debuted in 1998 it reset the benchmark for 3/4- and 1-ton diesel pickup trucks. Then the '03-model-year Super Duty brought us the not-so-loved 6.0L Power Stroke but also introduced us to the world-class 5R110 TorqShift automatic transmission. When the '05-model-year Super Duty was launched, it came with an all-new front suspension, an upscale interior and exterior, and brought us the first integrated electric trailer bake controller.inline_mediumwraptextrightRight Front Angle26511844/features/ford/0911dp_2011_ford_f350_super_duty0911dp_01+2011_ford_f350_super_duty+right_front_angle.jpgTrue

If you've read the title, you've probably second-guessed the truck already. Yeah right, 1,000 hp out of an '04 GMC Sierra 2500HD work truck? We're here to assure you that yes—it's true. Check out the scratches in the bed and the hookups for the air compressor. Ed Wayne is known for showing at local sled pulling events with his GMC dragging an 11,000-pound camper full of weights and pulling tires. Then he unhooks the truck and competes in the 3.0-Class—typically finishing near the top. When he's done, he loads his trailer back up, hooks it to the GMC, and drives home. Drag racing? That's no problem for Ed either. How about 6.74-second eighth-mile elapsed times? That's mid-10s in the quarter-mile, folks. Dynos? Ed doesn't like them, although he has run on one long enough to make 1,029 hp at the rear wheels with a whiff of nitrous. How does he do all of this? Well, read on and we'll tell you.inline_mediumwraptextrightLeft Front Angle30699108/features/chevy/0911dp_2004_gmc_sierra_2500_hd0911dp_01+2004_gmc_sierra_2500_HD+left_front_angle.jpgTrue

If you are a carpenter, you probably know how to build a shelf. If you are a pilot, you probably know how to fly a plane. Well, Tim Schritter is the shop manager at ATR Performance Center in Kingman, Arizona, so you can probably guess that he knows a thing or two about modifying vehicles. Tim's personal ride is an '04 F-250 Super Duty crew cab shortbed that he uses for daily driving, towing, and drag racing. The 6.0L is not the first diesel engine that comes to mind when most people think of drag racing, but Tim doesn't shy away from a challenge. To highlight this point, his truck is a two-wheel-drive model.inline_mediumwraptextrightLeft Side Angle30700011/features/ford/0911dp_2004_ford_f250_super_duty0911dp_01+2004_ford_f250_super_duty+left_side_angle.jpgTrue

Michael-Ryan Pattison plans to race this diesel-powered '47 Hudson pickup at El Mirage and Bonneville in sanctioned Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) events. You will probably also see him at the Silver State Classic Open Road Race. What's amazing is Michael-Ryan has no mobility below the collarbone. He controls the throttle and steering with a specially designed mouthpiece. The mastermind behind this race truck is co-driver Randy Simmons, president of Robotic Integrated Technology. The inspiration comes from two organizations called A Cure is Coming, and The Michael-Ryan Pattison Foundation. Their goal is to bring awareness for those with spinal cord injuries. This truck proves anything is possible as long as you follow your dreams. To learn more about the Hudson project, go to: www.aCureIsComing.cominline_mediumwraptextrightLeft Front Angle30716289/features/trucks/0911dp_1947_hudson_pickup0911dp_01+1947_hudson_pickup+left_front_angle.jpgTrue

We recently attended the OBX Outlaw race in Creswell, North Carolina, and stumbled upon an interesting find—a show-quality, one-owner truck still wearing its original paint. We were even more surprised to learn that owner John Porterfield has racked up 307,000 miles on his '96 Dodge Ram 2500 since he bought it new in December of 1995.inline_mediumwraptextrightLeft Side Angle26495917/features/dodge/0911dp_1996_dodge_ram_25000911dp_01+1996_dodge_ram_2500+left_side_angle.jpgTrue

The last decade of diesel performance hasn't been the easiest for Ford fans wanting to go head-to-head with the competition. Between the extremely complicated HEUI injection system and the Super Duty's performance-hindering weight, Power Stroke owners just couldn't get a break on the street or at events. No one knows that better than Chad Flynn, of Flynn's Shop in Alexander, Illinois. He's been a Blue Oval loyalist his entire life and knows that a 7.3L or 6.0L making serious horsepower comes with a hefty price tag.

You're looking at Ford's all-new 6.7L Power Stroke engine (code named Scorpion) that will debut in the 2011 Super Duty, due out in the first quarter of 2010. New engine programs like this don't happen very often, so Ford invited us into its Beech Daly Tech Center in Dearborn, Michigan, to give Diesel Power readers the first look at the next Power Stroke.

While it's cool to build a powerful diesel, Tom prides himself on the truck's usefulness. He tows regularly to play in the sand dunes on weekends (a 300-mile round-trip) but can also be found at Rocky Mountain Raceway, where the truck has run a 13.19-second quarter-mile time at 104 mph-despite its 7,780-pound heft. Tom's also known for competing in the 2.6 class at sled pulls, and he usually finishes toward the top. Yes, Tom's '05 Dodge certainly does it all, and does it well.

Robert Bosch
Robert Bosch, the 11th offspring of an innkeeper and farmer, entered life on September 23, 1861, in Albeck, a village near Ulm, Germany. Since most of his ancestors were part of the poor working class, his father encouraged him to set his sights higher by entering a mechanical trade after completing his basic education at the age of 15.

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The Whale Oil Myth
In the article "Biodiesel From Algae" found in the September 2008 issue of Diesel Power, we stated the creation of Standard Oil saved the whales. Turns out whale oil had a tougher competitor, and it was called camphene. Camphene is made from high-proof ethyl alcohol, turpentine, and a little bit of camphor oil to mask the smell. This biofuel cost 50 cents per gallon in 1850. Whale oil was $1.30 to $2.50 per gallon, plus the alcohol burned cleaner. Many early pioneers placed camphene burners on their old whale oil lamps, which resulted in explosions. Another interesting fact about alcohol is the first internal combustion engine built in the United States ran on this renewable fuel. The builder was Samuel Morey and the year was 1826. Henry Ford once famously remarked, "There's enough alcohol in one year's yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred years." Checking this statement, one acre of land can produce 39,100 pounds of potatoes. You can get 40 gallons of alcohol from a ton of potatoes so that equals 782 gallons per acre. Looks like Ford was exaggerating a little for effect.

It should be no surprise that Robert Evans is this year's Diesel Power Challenge winner. What is a surprise, is that you're looking at the first time a truck has won our event without nitrous. That's right folks, if you're not a fan of the bottle, then Robert is your hero.

Brace yourself. You're about to experience 43 pages of the most powerful, capable, and technically advanced diesel trucks on the planet. We call it Diesel Power Challenge, and for 2009, our event has returned to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to bring 14 trucks together to battle in five torturous tests. The Diesel Power Challenge is the only place on earth you'll find this caliber of Power Stroke, Cummins, and Duramax mills competing on the dyno, dragstrip, highway, and sled pulling arena.

Year/Make/Model: '06 Chevy Silverado 2500
Owner: Brian Belleau
Hometown: Swords, Louisiana
Engine: 6.6L Duramax
Horsepower: 440 hp
Air Intake: Airaid
Exhaust System: Stock without muffler
Programmer/Chip/Box: Edge Juice with Attitude
Ring and Pinion: 3.73
Fuel Economy: 16 to 18 mpg
Other: Brian says, "I use my truck for work and as a daily driver. It has a Ranch Hand grille guard, B&W turnover ball gooseneck hitch, and an RDS 60-gallon toolbox and fuel transfer tank. I pull a 29-foot fifth-wheel travel trailer with ease. I work as a heavy equipment operator in oilfield and pipeline construction. I've been a Diesel Power reader for 4 years and always wanted to submit a Readers' Diesel."