In theory, pickup trucks are not meant to be raced. They are made to be used primarily for work and adventures outside the paved roads. But as always, there are exceptions to the rule as some manufacturers build extremely powerful and fast trucks. Some people even race them in a special series. It’s time to find out how a road-legal performance truck competes against a lightweight race truck.
The video attached at the top of this page comes from Carwow on YouTube and shows us a drag race between two very capable machines. There’s a Shelby F-150 Super Snake on the left, which is a heavily modified version of America’s best-selling vehicle, the F-150. In this form, the truck has a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 under the hood generating a peak output of 770 horsepower and around 640 pound-feet of torque. That output is channeled to all four wheels through a 10-speed automatic gearbox. It’s pretty heavy at 4,846 pounds, though.
Gallery: 2021 Shelby F-150 Super Snake
Against it is an actual race truck that is not legal for use on public roads. The Monster Pro Lite was built by Casey Curry and is currently owned and driven by Luke Woodham. It is a relatively lightweight machine with an engine that sits literally in front of the driver and acts as a dashboard. That mill is a Ford Winchester V8, which in its current form has around 450 hp delivered exclusively to the rear wheels via a 3-speed semi-automatic transmission. The truck tips the scales at around 3,087 pounds.
Usually, the machine is used in truck races on dirty circuits. This is where the steel chassis and Fox Racing suspension with 12 inches of travel at the front and 14 inches at the rear, as well as the 265/75 R16 mud-terrain tires, come in handy. But in this particular race, other factors are more important.
Obviously, this isn’t your typical drag race. Which truck is your favorite here – the street-legal Shelby-tuned one or the race truck? Let us know in the comments section below before you watch the video at the top of this page.
