F-150 is literally breaking in half by the end of the video, but it keeps winning races.
If you go to a Tough Truck race anywhere in the United States, the odds are good that you will see more than one Ford F-150 in action. You might seem some of them winning and you might see some of them being destroyed on the rough track, but the half-ton truck in the video above from the Midnight Madness 4×4 YouTube channel shows us an F-150 that is both being destroyed and winning. In fact, as the damage gets worse, the old Ford actually seems to perform better.
Ford F-150 Tough Truck
There are no details accompanying the video above, but based on the appearance, we know that it is a Ford F-150 from the ninth generation and that this driver is sponsored by Steve Frey Auto Salvage. We are guessing that this truck may have come from the salvage yard, as it wasn’t in great shape to start the first race, but in any case, it sounds like it is powered by something other than a V8, so we are guessing that it is packing the 4.9-liter inline-six engine.
As for modifications, the trucks looks and sounds stock, with the exception of the wheels and tires. It looks like the rear end might be a little higher than it would have been when stock, but in the long run, we would guess that this old F-150 is more or less stock.
The downside to running a stock truck is that the jumps and bumps of the Tough Truck course tend to destroy street vehicles, but that doesn’t stop this F-150 from piling up the wins.
Winning While Falling Apart
In the video above, we get to watch this ninth generation Ford F-150 participating at the Bloomsburg Tough Truck track in Pennsylvania against a variety of different competitors.
In the first race, the F-150 driver is being careful as he races around the track, avoiding any substantial damage. He starts the second race with the same level of caution, but as the driver guns it over the final jump, it gets big air and lands hard. This damages the front suspension, the frame, the exhaust and the front end of the truck.
In the third video, the truck looks like it is about to break in half when the race begins, with the front wheels buried high in the wheel wells. With the truck being so badly damaged, the driver goes all-out and slams over every jump, gradually doing more damage, but it the old half-ton never fails. Even on the final run, as the truck continues to take a brutal beating, the old Ford takes the win.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
