Experience a Pikes Peak Record Run Plus 360° Interactive Ride-Along

Scott Birdsall of Chuckles Garage just shattered the record for the fastest diesel to complete the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, covering 12.42 miles and 156 turns of pavement at the edge of a mountain in the “Old Smokey” F1 Truck in just 11:24.065.

• Pikes Peak Hill Climb Record Shattered by a 1949 Ford Truck

Luckily for the rest of us who don’t have a 1,400 horsepower diesel monster to sling around a mountain, Birdsall recorded the entire run from right where he was sitting. Grab some popcorn and enjoy 11 minutes of black smoke and screaming tires flying up a mountain at an average speed over 100mph…

Easily the most impressive part of this insane run, Birdsall ran the entire course unassisted by any sort of traction control or stability management — it’s all driver and machine here.

• Build Biology: How to Build a 1200hp Diesel

Watching the last section of the course, we can actually see the truck lose much of its speed and torque as it goes into limp mode due to engine heat.

In spite of these handicaps, Birdsall still beat the previous record held by a modern Mercedes C300D by more than 13 seconds. This ’49 Ford is without a doubt the baddest diesel truck on the whole planet right now, and we’re all itching to see what the next record attempt for Birdsall and his ride will look like.

360° Interactive Pikes Peak Hillclimb Record Run in Old Smokey Driven by Scott Birdsall ~ Part 1

Ride along from staging to the run on the roof of Old Smokey F1 during Scott Birdsall’s 1,400hp record-breaking diesel monster, filmed on a 360° Gopro Max camera. Works with VR headsets too!

Part 2