THE CONTENDER

AN OWNER-BUILT 1,500HP RAM TAKES AIM AT UCC

-  JASON SANDS

Kenny Bruner’s ‘06 Dodge Ram is unquestionably over-the-top. From the bright paint and tilt front end to the big-horsepower engine and partial tube chassis, Kenny built his truck with one purpose in mind: to compete in the Ultimate Callout Challenge. “I really liked the idea of building a UCC truck,” says Kenny. “In addition to those types of events, I can still do dyno events, and when I can’t sled pull I can drag race. When I can’t drag race, I can pull. You can just use the vehicle for so many things,” Kenny continued. While he’s owned the truck for a few years, in 2019 things got serious, and the Ram went through a complete transformation.

Kenny knew that in order to compete in the drag racing portion of UCC, the truck needed to be light, so he put an immense amount of time in that area. “Once I went to a Hamilton Cams solid block, I knew I wasn’t going to street drive it anymore, so I could go full race truck with my build.” After saving up his nickels and dimes for a couple of years it was time for the full fiberglass and Lexan treatment. All four doors, the custom front end, and rear bedsides are all GTS fiberglass parts. They’re also removable for maintenance purposes, and to switch the truck from pulling to drag trim and back. The interior is long gone and was replaced with a single Kirkey racing seat and PRP seatbelts. A host of autometer gauges made their way into the truck, as keeping an eye on the powertrain was still vital. Kenny even went as far as to make a tubular rear frame for the Ram out of .083 wall 1 5/8-inch Chromoly tubing that’s both light and strong. The fruits of his labor came when the truck crossed the scales at 5,250 pounds incredibly light for a 4x4 diesel.