Spectators at a diesel truck performance event in Indiana got a bit of an explosive show watching a Cummins Dodge Ram blow up on the dyno, as parts rained down on the crowd.
The 2021 Ultimate Callout Challenge took place last weekend at the Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Indiana and featured diesel trucks doing everything from drag racing and sled pulls to burnouts and dyno runs.
Power Driven Diesel was there and tried to get its Dodge Ram, called The Godfather, to hit 3,000 horsepower on the dyno. The engine was known to be good for 2,700 HP, so the team figured they could get it to go even higher, as they say in their explanation video.
Unfortunately, the truck’s engine exploded during the run and the explosion was so intense that it sent parts falling into the stands. Check out this video from Ali Chaudhry on YouTube showing both the explosion and a piston landing right next to him in the stands:
People can be seen dodging the rain of parts in the video, but it sounds like nobody got hurt. The spectators, given such a fiery show, cheer on the Power Driven Diesel guys. The explosion is hardly the largest seen at one of these shows, but it caused a surprising amount of chaos. A piston even punched a hole in a sign.
Also, if picking up a smoking piston isn’t the most proper use for a multi-tool, then I don’t know what is.
As the Power Driven Diesel guys explain in a video on their YouTube channel, this was actually the second time that weekend that this truck experienced an engine failure.
Earlier, the truck was doing about 150 mph in the quarter-mile when the engine, receiving 250 pounds of boost at 8,000 rpm, had its valves tulip and its camshaft lifters fail. Thankfully, Power Driven Diesel did have a second Cummins on hand, though that one exploded, too.
The Power Driven Diesel team is known for pushing engines to the point of blowing up and they’re always pretty chill about it. They see engine failures as a reason to get right back up and give it another go. They didn’t hit 3,000 HP this time, but there’s always next year. For now, they’re happy that nobody got hurt and they even signed any parts caught by spectators in the stands.