Top Fuel 6.6L Duramax Dragster
Top Fuel Diesel Duramax Dragster
6.6L Diesel Dragster. PPEI Kory Willis. From the moment diesel lovers began taking delivery of their Duramax-powered Chevrolet and GMC HDs back around the turn of the century, they knew GM’s 6.6L V8 was very different from the outdated 6.5L it replaced. At the time 2001, the Duramax was a marvel of an engine, introducing both common-rail injection and aluminum cylinder heads to the diesel truck segment. Now, some 20 years after bringing this technology to market, the Duramax remains one of the best platforms to make horsepower with, and you can find them in some of the fastest vehicles in all of diesel drag racing.
NGM Diesel-backed, Flo-Pro and Industrial Injection-sponsored rail has been setting tracks on fire since 2016, when things really started to click for Moody and his team. After first dipping into the 6s with a 6.99 at the 2016 NHRDA Midwest Truckin’ Nationals, Moody has been gradually shaving tenths off of his E.T.s, as well as adding trap speed. In June of ’17, Moody flew through the traps at 200.77 mph, and almost exactly one year later he eclipsed the 1320 in 6.53 seconds. Not only is Moody’s rail the quickest (and fastest) Duramax drag racer on the planet, but it’s not too far off the pace of the overall record of 6.31 and 226 mph held by Scheid Diesel.
Said to produce 2,100hp, the Duramax in Moody’s rail is pretty serious. It’s based on an NGM Diesel-designed, billet-aluminum block that makes use of a dry sump oil system. The reason behind the aluminum block is two-fold: weight savings and durability. Since introducing the first billet-aluminum Duramax block back in 2012, the folks at NGM Diesel have all but perfected them. Wagler rods, Diamond pistons, Industrial Injection injectors and CP3s and parallel (i.e. true twins) BorgWarner turbochargers sum up the major components that make this fire-breathing Dmax tick. The whole package is stuffed in an ’05 Spitzer chassis and bolted to a Rossler Transmissions TH400 with a Pro Torque converter. Moody’s one-of-a-kind dragster tips the scales at 2,500 pounds.