A dragon of a truck needs a dragon tamer for a driver. This week Team Toyo’s Brad Gallard announced he would be steering Peter Kittle Motor Sport’s NASCAR powered trophy truck in 2015. Here, we take a preview look beneath the panels of the un-stickered truck.
While PKMS is taking the final steps in preparing the latest weapon in its off road racing arsenal, team manager Rob Richardson pops the panels and offered an inside look at the angry Jimco, very close to completion.
The centre piece of the truck is an engine that aspiring off-road racers day dream about. A snarling, NASCAR-spec, Toyota Racing Development PH9 V8.
In pride of place on a throne of gold heat reflective coating, the tall velocity stacks amid the anodized fittings offer visual indication of the chest thumping noise that will emanate from this trucks exhaust.
Throwing that pride-of-the-USA power at the dirt is an especially designed Albins ST6 high-speed sequential gearbox. The stout, compact ST6 was originally designed to do battle in V8 supercars. You would be hard pressed to find a faster or stronger way to shift cogs.
Preventing the truck from taking flight are Alcon rotors and calipers. The big stoppers are capable of clawing the truck down for those tight, mallee scrub covered turns that so often follow 200km/h+ straights.
Unfortunately, Rob Richardson wouldn’t give up all the murky details, no matter how much we cajoled.
If we were to speculate, it isn’t unreasonable to think that most of the 700 to 800 horsepower of naturally aspirated bark that is normally wedged between the strut towers of a NASCAR might have survived the journey from the oval track to the outback.
The truck’s lightweight rims will be shod exclusively with Toyo M/T-R’s, a race version of Toyo’s Open Country M/Ts, an off the shelf option for 4x4 enthusiasts looking to get a little dirtier. The team will start with the 37 inch tyre and intends to graduate to the 39 inch, dependent on track conditions.
With a dragon for a truck and a dragon tamer for a driver, Rob Richardson explains the team’s ambitions for the coming season.
“Trophy trucks are really coming to prominence in off-road racing and ex-buggy drivers tend to want to drive trophy trucks like buggies. They are very different beasts: a truck has to be driven like a truck and we want to get on track with the right driver.”
“With a lot of tight races on the calendar, turbo buggies will always have an advantage, so while I would love to, I won’t say we are going for an all-out championship. That said we are absolutely aiming for a trophy truck class win in 2015.”
PKMS team manager Rob Richardson (left) and Toyo driver Brad Gallard.
Brad Gallard is ready to strap in and turn tyres, excited to shake the big girl down and blaze a bright path for trophy trucks.
“The truck is very strong, and I’m excited to get in it and drive. We will have a couple of shakedown runs this year to make sure I’m up to speed,” he said.
“Of course, we wouldn’t run anything but Toyo tyres on the new truck.”
Scott Modistach will be next to Brad in the new truck, which will retain number 454 and receive a brand new, top secret livery, to be revealed in the months to come.
“Scotty will still be sitting next to me, and I am keeping the same #454 team and number, but it will be great to join the PKMS camp.”
“We will benefit from pooling with the PKMS team’s AORC experience; they have competed many times and have had a lot of success and wins.”
The combination of PKMS and Gallard has been a subject of much discussion that heated up further after the teams shared a pit tent during the Toyo Tires Riverland Enduro. With the rumours now confirmed, all that is left to do is better acquaint Brad with the trucks’ personal details.
“Even the mildest of trophy trucks is a wild animal, and I can think of no one better equipped to tame the new PKMS brute than Brad Gallard,” said Toyo Tyres Australia marketing manager Jose Angeles.
“His aggression is unmatched in the discipline, tempered only by his strategic and measured approach to every last inch of a race.
“The new Kittle truck is a fire-breathing beast, with the best parts, the best platform and the best rubber; with no compromises.
While the new truck’s campaign is set for 2015, expect to see the truck out at local rounds this year, as Gallard and PKMS get their eye in and ensure that they are razor sharp and ready for action come the new year.
