Las Vegas, NV. - - (Friday, October 26, 2007) History was made at the ACDelco NHRA Las Vegas Nationals as a Gale Banks Engineering Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck blasted down the “Strip at Las Vegas” posting an elapsed time and a top speed that bettered ALL existing records for diesel-powered pickups.
Less than one week earlier that same “Banks Sidewinder Type-D” twin-turbo had eclipsed all MPH/ET records for Duramax-powered racing machines on a shakedown run at the California Speedway Dragstrip.
“These two days in Las Vegas were really a first ‘official’ test session for us,” he said. “And the results were simply incredible. Our team got the Type-D going quicker and faster on each run. We did every run with zero diesel smoke. The track announcer felt that he had to keep telling the fans that our truck was diesel-powered, and hundreds of fans stopped by our pit area to check us out.”
Smoke and speed do not have to go hand-in-hand in diesel racing as this Banks record machine proved. Banks also owns the FIA World Record for the fastest diesel pickup ever, a 217.306 two-way “flying mile” run that took place at Bonneville on October 19, 2002.
“I’m very proud to say that everyone on the team, with the exception of Wes Anderson our driver, is a regular full-time Banks Engineering employee,” he went on. “These are the same people who design, prototype, test, and build all of the great products that we offer for sale across the board. And, by the way, many of the highly-specialized competition parts that we used on this record-shattering machine will soon be for sale under our new ‘BankSpeed Products’ line name.”
Banks had strong support from a number of tech-partners including Bosch (electronics), Garrett (turbochargers), Lamb Components (brakes and suspension) and GM Powertrain. “Their long-standing support on this project has been very gratifying. Their faith in our abilities to advance diesel technology is a big part of this achievement. Partnering with forward thinking companies like these is something that benefits both sides, and, in turn, the public. We’re all learning about clean, efficient, smoke-free diesel power and all moving ahead together.”
At Las Vegas, this particular Banks team’s first-ever NHRA event, the Type-D got quicker and faster on each of the four runs that it made in front of the cream of the crop of American drag racing. “This is the way to real step-by-step progress. This is a great tribute to our team and our driver,” said Banks. “Here’s where you see the real potential of this combination. Because of time constraints, we went to ‘Vegas with our road racing version of the Duramax.” The instant translation of that statement is: “We’ve got a lot more where that came from … Stay tuned!"
Watch a short video highlighting the engine work on the Type-D, including a dyno run...
Check out the progress we've made on the Type-D! continue...
