About DragTruk

Pickups on the dragstrip?

Sure, why not? In recent years, trucks have become more and more common on the streets, so it only makes sense that they'd start to show up on the strips too. What better vehicle to lull your opponent into a false sense of security? Trucks are slow, right? You wish.

Just as with cars, there are some slow ones, some fast ones, and a whole bunch in between. So, if you ever find yourself with a truck staged next to you, be forewarned; looks can be deceiving! There are some wicked trucks prowling the streets and strips. Cargo isn't the only thing they can haul, if you catch my drift...

The ones on this site are but a tiny sampling of this growing segment of the automotive realm. So sit down, strap in, and enjoy the ride! (If you are a truck owner who has some performance data on your ride, then by all means, feel free to add yourself to the site!)

DragTruk Info

This site (DragTruk) is set up as a "database" of trucks, more or less. Each truck is stored separately on disk, so when an entry is added or updted, these pages are automatically regenerated via a pseudo database engine comprised of a series of custom scripts to compile the data and create the HTML files. This gives me the freedom to present the trucks in several different ways. You can view the trucks sorted by the name of the owner, their 1/4 mile ETs, their 1/8 mile ETs, 60 foot times, or make (i.e., Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, etc.). All of the trucks are on each of the above pages, they're just sorted differently. In addition, I had the database engine compute the best three 1/4 mile, 1/8 mile, and 60 foot times, and create a seperate page for each one, to highlight the quickest trucks on the site. (Nothing like a little recognition to get the competitive juices flowing, eh?) I considered highlighting the slowest trucks too, but I figured that'd be too cruel.

Regrettably, the mechanism that determines the best times is a bit brain-dead. In the event of two identical ET's and MPH's, it would sort them by the owner's name and give first place to the person whose last name comes first in the alphabet, rather than granting a tie. Also, in the event of two identical ET's with different MPH's, it would give first place to the ET with the slower MPH, which is probably a bit backwards. However, due to the major hassle involved in trapping these cases and the rather slim chances of it occurring, that's the way its gonna stay. Hey, you get what you pay for...

Another little feature is that a "pecking order" has been established; each truck is ranked, with 1st being the best, 2nd being the second best, 3rd being the third best, etc. In order to be elegible for this ranking, you must have a 1/4 mile time, as that is the determining factor. The quickest ET gets the best ranking. In the event of identical ETs, the 1/8 mile ET is the tiebreaker. In the event of identical 1/4 AND 1/8 mile ETs, the 60 foot time is the tiebreaker.

Behind the Scenes

So who started this whole thing, anyway? A good pal 'o mine from the Dakota Mailing List, Sean Meldrum (spm@c3net.net), originally created DragTruk and hosted it on his "Real Performance by Meldrum" web site. When he moved on to other things, he turned over maintenance of DragTruk to me. Originally, I made some changes (the different sorting options, etc.) but the overall look and feel of the site was basically the same as when Sean was running the show. As time went on, however, it became more and more difficult to keep up with the site. I would enter every new truck and update by hand, and the updates were lagging behind by days, weeks, and even months! Obviously, something had to be done. Near the end of 2001, I got together with fellow Twisted Bits programmers Andy Davidson and Jaek Smith to create a custom Java Servlet to handle the additions and updates. At the same time, I added the message board, and changed the look and feel of the site somewhat, also adding some new features.

If anyone cares, I'm Jon Steiger (jon@dragtruk.com). Among other things, I also created and maintain the Dakota Mailing List and the related web site(s). Sean was a DML member too, which is why DragTruk started out with mostly Mopars, specifically, Dakotas. Most of the original entries were submitted by fellow DML members. Anyway, I intend this site to encompass all makes, foreign and domestic. If you race a truck or van, its welcome here!

In 2009, Kevin Tolliver joined DragTruk as a volunteer admin. Should you need any help or have a question for Kevin, he can be reached at kevin@dragtruk.com.

View DragTruk sorted by:	Name	1/4 mile	1/8 mile	60 foot	Make	Year	Date	Stats

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