I’ll admit that I used to be one of those guys who just never understood why trucks were so cool. 

I didn’t grow up in a family of truck fans, with the exception of an uncle who has a Ford F-150 as his fishing mobile. My friends didn’t drive them and the majority of people I did know with trucks, didn’t use them for anything remotely close to what a truck was actually built to do. You don’t need a truck to go to on a coffee run, but it seems many people do.

As I’ve gotten deeper into this industry in my time at Babcox Media and as an editor of Engine Builder magazine, I quickly saw how cool trucks and diesels could really be because I got the chance to see and speak with people doing things with trucks and diesels that emphasized the characteristics of what a truck was built for. They really could be used for hauling, towing, racing, pulling and can achieve some crazy horsepower numbers. And I mean crazy! 

In fact, performance diesel has been one of the bright spots in our industry as of late. More and more shops are offering performance work and more and more truck owners are opting to spend money to make their trucks performance better, whether it be for better towing, drag racing, sled pulling or chasing chassis dyno numbers.

Whether you have a Ford, Dodge or Chevy, the Powerstroke, Cummins and Duramax diesels are all being pushed beyond their prior limits to reach new milestones. Through our Diesel of the Week series with sponsor AMSOIL, I’ve gotten to speak with several dozen shops pushing those very boundaries. To that, I say keep up the good work! And if you’re a diesel shop doing performance diesel work and want to get featured, let me know.

In the pages that follow this column, we have placed the spotlight on diesel engines, the shops building and repairing them and how truly great the diesel world is. Join us in tossing out that old thinking of dirty diesels and step into the world of performance diesel. I know my thinking has certainly changed. EB