See How A TORC Pro-2 Truck Works

See How A TORC Pro-2 Truck Works

If you've ever attended one of these dirt-track races or ever wondered what makes a short-course racetruck work, you have to watch this video. This is just about the best description of a TORC Pro-2 Truck we've seen, and the camerawork and race shots are top-notch.

Part of the Popular Mechanics' "How'd They Do That" series, this video is deep-dive look into the Bruce Menzies race team and the racetrucks they punish. 

It offers a great description on how sophisticated and technically advanced these front and rear suspensions have to be to keep these 800-plus-horsepower trucks running over the huge jumps and cornering around the tight banked hairpins. Check it out by clicking here

Comments

These guys don't know what they are talking about! Oxi has clearly informed us that a 4-cyl Toyota is the ONLY way to make a real fourwheeler. These "TORC Pro-2" guys are just posers. They would suffer thousands of dollars of damage if they tried to follow Oxi in the back country for even one mile!

@Hemi,

Which transmission did they say they used? I missed that, can you tell me?

On another note, is that black canister a cover to protect the coil spring, or what spring are they using on the front end if not a coil?

@toycrusher84
Don't mean to burst your bubble, but these TORC trucks ARE 2wd (TORC Pro-2 = http://www.usacracing.com/assets/files/torc/rulebook/PRO2WD.pdf). Oxi touts a 4wd :)

Am I allowed to get technical and claim that I was using the term "fourwheeler" to separate these vehicles from motorcycles and Big rigs?

Yes?
No?

Oh well...

@Tyler, Hook up a stock GM 400 to 850 horsepower and see what happens. LOL. The only thing G.M. is the case. The rest of racing trans sits in.
The Ram and Mopar sponsored trucks are kicking the competitors ASS!
Go MOPAR & RAM!

I hope this truck doesn't use the Ford Raptor frame. If so, it would fold in half like a wet noodle.

@Hemi,

You said it, right there buddy!

All that bragging you say of dodge winning this series or that series or NHRA, there isn't anywhere near what would be considered a Dodge part powering those race cars. Like I tried to explain to you about the Hemi in the Top Fuel cars, nothing even close is used from a Dodge parts bin.

Thank you very much sir!

Please proceed with Guts Glory im 16 years old...

@Tyler, Go to an NHRA event. 50's and 60's Dragsters and Funny cars used a Chrysler Hemi engine. Just like the ones found in a muscle car. They evolved in the seventies with all aluminum blocks. Chrysler stopped making them in 1971. Now they have the same design with all custom made race parts. It wasn't always that way. They dominated so they became the standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Black_(engineer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBc6ib9krdc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px7yT2CvtC8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clGU7V44QRI&feature=relate

@Tyler, You really need to go to an NHRA event before you talk out of your ass. Pro stock use MOPAR Hemi Engines.

http://www.allpar.com/racing/nhra/neon-nhra.html

http://www.mopar.com/community/events/sema/2011/vehicles/2012-nhra-pro-stock-dodge-avenger.html

http://www.mopar.com/community/events/sema/2011/vehicles/2011-nhra-stock-dodge-avenger.html

HEMI PRO STOCK
C. Block, Hemi Pro Stock
This 2006 Hemi Pro Stock Block is legal for NHRA Pro Stock racing and features
4.900-inch bore centers, four-bolt splayed mains and a 9.100-inch deck height as
shipped.
1
P5153651 Block, Hemi Pro Stock
D. Block Hardware- Hemi Pro Stock
1
P5007138 Plate, Rear Seal Retainer, Hemi 99
1
P5155086 Seal Kit, Contains Front/Rear Crank and Front Camshaft,
1999-08 Pro Stock
E. Valve Covers, Hemi Pro Stock
Cast Magnesium Pro Stock Valve Covers with cast-in Hemi® logo are designed
for Hemi Pro Stock Cylinder Heads only. Single plug design (sold individually).
1
P5007300 Valve Cover, 5.00" Bore Center, IHRA, Hemi Pro Stock
F. Cylinder Heads, Hemi Pro Stock
NHRA ProStock series heads are made of heavy-duty 355 aluminum and feature
a 6-bolt head pattern. Both ports are designed with material for porting and the
intake ports point straight at the carbs. Valve alignment is E-I-I-E-E-I-I-E. Heads
uses individual rocker shaft system. Oil drain is located at each end of the head.
Requires finish machining and porting.
1
P4876883AB Cylinder Head, Aluminum, 4.90" Bore Centers, Hemi 99
1
P5007178 Cylinder Head, Aluminum, 5.00" Bore Center, IHRA, Hemi
Pro Mod
1
P5153447AB Cylinder Head, Aluminum, NHRA Hemi ProStock

"The competition is tough, but the power of our Mopar engines keeps our drivers up front. The 2012 season is shaping up to be another memorable one for Mopar and Ram in the TORC Series."
http://www.moparspeed.com

Just two-and-a-half weeks after Mopar introduced the new 800-horsepower V-10 Competition Race Engine at the 2011 SEMA show, the off-road racing derivative of the crate engine made its debut in last weekend’s 44th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, powering a Ram 1500 driven by Kent Kroeker and Alan Roach to the Class 8 win .
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2011/11/mopar-v-10-race-engine-wins-in-baja-debut

MORE GUTS

MORE GLORY
MORE ASS KICKING FORD & CHEVY RAM

@Tyler, He introduced his aluminum version of Chrysler's 426 Hemi in 1974. This was the fuel category's "bread-and-butter" engine for the better part of the next decade.
http://www.keithblack.com/history.html

Sorry to burst your ignorant bubble. Chrysler Rules!!!!

Tyler, It wasn't a Chevy version. It wasn't a Ford version.

IT WAS A CHRYSLER VERSION! AND STILL IS TO THIS DAY MAKING 10,000 HORSE POWER NOW.

Build a bridge and get over it. Ford and Chevy got nothing on Chrysler.

WoW HEMIv8 is the biggest TOOL on this SITE now . BoB your off the hook for now ?

Hemi V8- IT WAS A CHRYSLER VERSION! AND STILL IS TO THIS DAY MAKING 10,000 HORSE POWER NOW.

I wonder how their dynoing that.

They don't, the power numbers for a fuel car are just estimates taken from all the information available. Also as for the the Hemi always being king...the cards may have fallen that way, but lets not forget what the late Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins was able to to do with a little SBC in a 66 Chevy II.

These Torc trucks are pure race vehicles so of course they are not really all "brand x". Think about it, whats been one of the best combinations out there. Hemi, Powerglide, and a ford 9".

With the exception of the Super Stock and
Stock categories, automotive drag racing in
the 21st century is essentially dominated by
three types of engines: the aftermarket engine, based
on the late-model Chrysler Hemi, for Top Fuel and
Funny Car; corporate and aftermarket versions of
small- and big-block Chevrolets; and the relatively new
Pro Stock Dodge Hemi.
The factors behind the reduction in type and brand
of engines being used vary from traction potential to
economics. Ever since the early Chrysler Hemi
emerged on the scene in 1954, it was far and away the
most powerful, but it offered no distinct advantage
because the tires at the time simply could not provide
enough traction to handle the extra horsepower.
Consequently, you could go to any drag racing
event in the 1950s and early 1960s and see Top
Eliminator entries powered by a wide variety of
engines, including small-block Chevrolets, Buicks,
Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs, Mopar wedges, and even such
luxury-car engines as Cadillac and Lincoln.
“You have to remember that in the old days, the
dragsters smoked the tires for the entire length of
the run,” said Dale Armstrong. “That meant that just
about any type of engine, if it was prepared properly,
was good enough to get the job done. The initial
appeal of the Chrysler 392 wasn’t its power but
rather its serviceability. It was a very easy engine to
work on.
“But when better tires came along in 1967, along
with the slipper clutches, power became a bigger
factor. The late-model Chrysler Hemi, which was
introduced in 1964, took about three to four years of
development work before it had a significant power
advantage over the old 392. But when that happened,
everyone started to switch over.”
Funny Car teams, which arrived on the scene in
1965, were initially more reluctant to switch to the
Hemi because of the fan appeal associated with
running the same brand engine as the body style.
Chevrolet diehards like Bruce Larson and Kelly
Chadwick always ran big-block Chevy engines in their
Camaros or Vegas. But when the most popular
Chevrolet hero on the match race trail, “Jungle Jim”
Liberman, switched to a Chrysler Hemi in 1969, most
other teams followed.
http://www.nhra.com/userfiles/file/ndlivefiles/features/Engines.pdf

THE PRO2 AND PRO4 USE THE MOPAR A8 ALUMINUM BLOCKAND THE PRO LITE USE THE 360 MAGNUM ENGINE. THE A8 MAKES 750 TO 900 HORSEPOWER WHILE THE 360 MAKES ABOUT 400 BECAUSE OF RULES AND REGULATIONS.



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