Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/472327
54 | Overdrive | March 2015 Custom Rigs While ChampTruck requires instal- lation of certain safety equipment – a full roll cage, a racing seat and harness, electrical kill switches and a fire system that covers the truck – it also requires use of stock engines and transmissions. Trucks also have to be at least five years old and governed to 100 mph with a restrictor plate. ChampTruck also requires use of stock drum brakes and street-legal tires. "Everything we've done is to try to keep costs down and maximize safety," says Condren. "The trucks look like real trucks and run like real trucks. And the competition is going to be really close." In its first season, ChampTruck already has attracted diverse com- petitors. Teams include small fleets, owner-operators, a major team on the European truck racing circuit, a for- mer NASCAR driver and companies such as Minimizer, which is entering two trucks. Competing is as simple as "reading the rules, building a truck, register- ing your team and showing up," says Condren. Morgan is a testament to that sim- plicity and the series' inclusive spirit. He didn't have a big budget, but he does have big intangibles. "I've got more heart than any of those other guys," Morgan says. "No one else up there will have had a hand on every nut and bolt on their truck. I have everything to lose by not doing well, so I'm going to be putting it all on the line." Morgan started work on his current racer in November 2013, though he'd done some work on another truck before changing his approach. Nearly all of the build work was done in his home garage during nights and week- ends, with a little help from friends and his 6-year-old son. The base of Morgan's racer is a '99 Mack, which he crafted by combining parts from two different Macks. It's powered by a 2007 Mack MP7 en- gine. He has a small sponsorship from Winrock Truck Sales in Tennessee, but nearly all of the investment came from his own pockets. He's still trying to find sponsors to carry him through the season, but he has just enough cash to get to the first race in April. "I've done everything but sell the house to make this thing happen," Morgan says. "We're going to need help after New Jersey, but I will be there in all my glory trying to put this Mack truck out front." Boles, like Morgan, has been work- 88 Mike | Mack tech Mike Morgan has been a diesel technician for more than 20 years and drove hot shot prior. He built his racer out of two Mack trucks, and he has a 2007 MP7 engine under the hood. He chose the No. 88 for two reasons: "88 Mike" is the name for a truck driver in the military, and he wanted to catch the eye of the National Guard, which formerly sponsored the No. 88 car in NASCAR — Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car. No. 88 also used to belong to the NASCAR circuit's Dale Jarrett, who was sponsored by UPS, and Morgan's Mack used to be a UPS-branded truck.