Diesel of the Week is presented by
*Article sent in by Meghan Lyons*
Louisiana native Justin Lyons has been around motorsports since he was young. He moved to Tennessee with his wife Meghan and their son in 2016. After their second son was born in 2018, they decided to start their own diesel shop in Greeneville, TN.
RG Diesel (www.redgatordiesel.com) was started in 2019 and has grown leaps and bounds since it first opened its doors. Meghan, a former registered nurse, manages the office and customer flow, while Justin keeps things moving in the shop. The facility houses three bays, and they have two full-time diesel technicians. However, don’t let the size of the shop fool you! The team at RG Diesel turns out a steady flow of work ranging from mechanical repair and performance upgrades to complete engine builds.
After traveling to races and shows for business, the itch returned to compete in racing again. While attending ATS Dealer Days training in 2021, the former ATS race truck – a 2006 Ram – caught Justin’s eye. In its ATS days, it was run in the Diesel Power Challenge, Northwest Dyno Circuit and multiple dyno and drag racing events. The truck had since been sitting for quite some time, but it soon made its way to Greeneville, TN with RG Diesel as the new owners.
Part of the resurrection included a fresh engine rebuild. The original sleeved, deck-plated block has Wagler 1” longer rods, held together by a Gorilla girdle and ARP fasteners. The head was upgraded to a Fleece Stage 2 race head, Wagler 1” longer head studs and pushrods. Harland Sharp roller rockers were modified to fit the common rail 24v. It has a ZZ Fabrication intake plenum accompanied by a Frozen Boost custom water-to-air intercooler, and is fueled by two FASS 220 fuel systems, ATS dual fuelers, and DDP 300% injectors.
A highlight of the truck are the triple turbos, which include two low pressure ATS Aurora 6500 83mm turbos blowing into a 7500 series 96mm turbo. The engine is backed by an ATS 4R100 race transmission and conversion kit. The build is brought all together by custom tuning from PPEI.
None of this build would be possible without hours of hard work and the relationships built within the diesel industry. We want to give a huge shout out to ATS Diesel, Thoroughbred Diesel/Driven Wearhouse Distributors, Fleece Performance, Wagler Competition Products, PPEI and Dynomite Diesel Products. All machine work was done by Performance Automotive, custom hoses by Greeneville Hose & Supply, custom paint by W&R Paint Supply and last minute finishes from our local Advance Auto Parts.
We plan to make the refreshed trucks debut at Thoroughbred Diesel Throwdown on May 20, 2023. Our goal is for it to make 1,200 horsepower on fuel only and to keep the engine healthy! We will continue 2023 with local dyno and drag racing events in the 6.70 index class, with plans to continue next year in the ODSS circuit 5.90 index class.
Diesel of the Week is sponsored by AMSOIL. If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email Engine Builder Editor Greg Jones at [email protected].
