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Jared Ring’s Common Rail Swapped ’00 Dodge Drag Truck

There’s fast, and then there’s really fast. Jared Ring’s Ram falls into the latter category, as it’s gone an incredible 5.95 at 121 mph in the eighth-mile, with a space-shuttle-like 1.32 60-foot time. Of course, this didn’t happen without a ton of hard work and the help of good buddy and business partner Taylor Manning at Manning Motorsports. How’d they do it? We’ll tell you.

The truck itself made a pretty quick trip past the VP44 stage as it soon got a high-powered 12-valve Cummins. The common rail allure was too much, however, and the engine was soon swapped for an ’06 Cummins that was wired in by Chris Nelson of Energetic Motorsports and tuned by Ryan Milliken of Hardway Performance. This is no ordinary Cummins in Ring’s Dodge, however. Rather, the engine is a nitrous-huffing 5.9L that puts out a crazy 1,600 horsepower.

The 5.9L Cummins in Jared Ring’s Ram race truck is quite intimidating, with a 103mm Keating Machine turbocharger and triple Industrial Injection CP3 pumps. With some tuning from Ryan Milliken at Hardway Performance, the engine makes an estimated 1,600 horsepower at around 4,500 rpm.

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An oversize Spearco intercooler chills the intake charge down to manageable levels. The intercooler has also been reinforced with bars in the tanks that keep them from blowing apart.

Famous for its tractor pulling turbochargers, Keating Machine created a ball bearing center section HX82 that feeds a wild 80 psi of boost into the Cummins engine.

A Good Foundation

Ring started by modifying the bottom end to ensure everything stayed together. The factory crank swings a set of Carrillo connecting rods and fly-cut factory pistons. After the whole assembly was fitted with an ATI dampener and balanced, cam bearings were installed in the block along with a 220/240 duration camshaft from Manning Motorsports. The cylinder head was also ported and fitted with Manning pushrods and Smith Brothers bridges and trunnions. The powerplant also uses ARP studs throughout, with 14mm main studs (and a girdle) down low, and 625 Custom Age studs to clamp the cylinder head onto the block.

Big Fuel

For fuel, Ring went pure overkill for when a new deckplate engine is installed. Beginning with a Waterman lift pump that’s belt driven, fuel is transferred to an intense triple CP3 kit with XP pumps from Industrial Injection. The injectors were also supplied by Industrial Injection, and are 400% over Cobra units. A factory Dodge ECM controls the engine, and Ring says with the huge injectors he hasn’t even gotten past Tune 1 yet.

The factory accessory drive has been modified to drive a Waterman Racing lift pump, which creates more pressure and flow than the Cummins will ever need.

With some 400% over injectors from Industrial Injection, it’s quite easy to drain rail pressure. A triple CP3 kit (also from Industrial Injection) keeps the engine at peak performance no matter the tune.

Ring’s engine compartment isn’t just about performance. A custom valve cover from Beans Diesel Performance was made to add a little bit of style and humor to the engine bay.

A Steed Speed exhaust manifold handles mounting the large-frame turbo and can withstand the extreme temperatures that the engine produces.

No Nonsense

With all the compound turbo setups out there you might think that twins or triples would be a no-brainer, but that’s not so. Ring made the innovative call to go with a wild 103mm single turbocharger from Keating Machine, which is famous for building tractor pulling turbochargers. The monster turbo sends air through a Spearco intercooler and B&B Tooling side-draft intake. There’s also a little bit of nitrous on top in the form of a custom setup using Nitrous Express parts, a progressive controller and a unique spray bar in the intake.

The front axle is stock Dodge, but the front suspension’s not. Double-adjustable Afco coilover shocks help dial in the diesel for the perfect launch.

Ring runs up to three stages of nitrous depending on track conditions. Since the truck uses so much silly spray, twin bottles are used.

The engine is run by a factory Dodge ECM (from an ’06), but Ring also went the extra step and added a Racepak data logger to get as much information as he can when the truck is screaming down the track.

The interior of the Ram is all drag truck. There’s a single racing seat and an 8.50-spec rollcage that Ring built himself.

Stopping a 6,000-pound diesel from 150-mph speeds can be quite a task, even with big brakes. A Simpson parachute is there for when it’s time for the big truck to come to a halt.

It’s hard to find racing tires that are tall enough and still load-rated for a diesel’s weight. Ring found some that would fit the bill in the form of 30x14x16 M&H Cheater slicks on American Eagle wheels.

Power Transmission

With a monster rev range, Ring was able to forego the big shafts found in many racing transmissions and run with a standard-size billet shaft unit from SunCoast Diesel. The flexplate is also from SunCoast, as is the quad-disc torque converter. The 48RE-based trans also has a reverse manual valve body that’s programmed for 5,000-rpm shifts through the combination of a Racepak, EFILive tuning and a Precision Performance air shifter.

Everything Else…

The rest of the Dodge has surprisingly few modifications outside of the drivetrain. Ring uses Afco double-adjustable coilovers instead of the normal spring/shock setup up front, and the gear ratio was changed from 3.73 to 4.10 because of the engine’s high-rpm nature. Power is planted to the ground with a set of M&H slicks that help with the 1.3-second 60-foot times.

Ring and Manning are already planning on a “bigger and better” setup for the future. In addition to the 4×4, they’re also looking at running a 3,500-pound Pro Mod that should be ready by the end of the year. With a resume like this, we can’t wait to see what the next season brings for the team.

Both Manning and Ring mentioned that building a 5-second eighth-mile diesel just didn’t happen overnight. Shops, fellow racers and even Jared’s wife Deanna were all there to help this Dodge get down the dragstrip.

Radiators for both the engine and transmission have been moved to the bed, where there’s plenty of room (and airflow) to keep things cool.

The rear axle has had the axle tubes welded to the housing to increase strength, and it has been fitted with a Yukon locker. The rear suspension retains a leaf to locate the rear end, but Afco coilovers do most of the actual work.

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Pinaki Bhattacharya

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