Diesel drag racing isn’t what it used to be. The engine and chassis setups of yesteryear wouldn’t cut it in today’s four and 5-second eighthmile world. Even the current crop of 5.90 Index trucks are faster than the nastiest Pro Street vehicles running the circuit just six or seven years ago. With 15 drivers signed up to run the Outlaw Diesel Super Series’ 5.90 class in 2020, the class has already doubled in size since debuting in 2018. As for the competition? It’s fierce—but mostly common-rail. Adam Foltz is looking to change that with his ’02 Dodge, a P-pumped 24-valve he refers to as the Aftermath. Once a daily driver, and even a truck
the local Duramax’s and 6.0L’s used to pick on, Adam ditched the VP44, the original frame, suspension, and interior long ago. Trust us, no one is laughing now. Adam’s P-pumped 24-valve second-gen is one of the fastest mechanical Cummins in the country, and in the pages that follow we’ll highlight the parts and pieces that could make it a top 5.90 contender in 2021. From its overbuilt, 6.7L-based Cummins to its exceptionally light chassis, and its top-notch fabrication to its clean-burning, single turbo over nitrous arrangement, Adam is looking to make the P-pump relevant again.
At only 4,100 pounds, Adam Foltz knows he doesn’t need crazy horsepower to be competitive in the 5.90 Index class, which is probably why he has fueling on the P-pump pulled all the way back and has focused more on dialing in the chassis lately. “With a small nitrous tweak we went from 6.50 to 5.80,” he told us. “But once we know it’s going to go straight every time, we’ll be shooting for low 1.2’s on the 60-foot (on the trans brake).”
For a 4,100-pound truck looking to go 5.90, less than 1,100 hp is required to propel Adam’s Dodge down the track—which makes the Predator series Cummins from D&J Precision Machine positively overkill. The balanced and blueprinted engine consists of a 6.7L wet block fitted with 4.125-inch bore sleeves and machined to accept fire-rings. An HD girdle, billet main caps, and 9/16-inch ARP main studs lock down the crankshaft, while D&J’S FSR pistons and X-beam connecting rods have zero problems standing up to cylinder pressure. A Hamilton cam, billet Hamilton tappets, and D&J 7/16-inch pushrods handle valvetrain operation.
A D&J Stage 2 head that’s also been cut to accept fire-rings fastens to the
6.7L block via 9/16-inch ARP head studs. The head has seen 5-axis CNC port work, benefits from D&J’S XL exhaust seats and intake seats, and also has HD valve springs with titanium retainers. Garofalo Enterprises supplied the mirror finish, billetaluminum valve cover.