Check out Red Eye's interview with Mike Ryan and Gale Banks; Pikes Peak Hill Climb participants.
The Freightliner Cascadia racing machine of Mike Ryan is truly like no other. It competes in hill climb and drift competitions and currently holds records in both the Pikes Peak “Race To The Clouds” and the Mount Washington “Climb To The Clouds” events. The truck is equipped with a 14.0L Detroit Diesel 60 series engine with a compression ratio of 15-1 and a fuel redline of 2700 RPM. The body is constructed entirely of fiberglass and carbon fiber, even still weighing in at just over 5 tons. Like any well balanced race vehicle, it is a mid-engine design. This truck truly tests the merit of each and every one of its systems. Good acceleration requires a responsive engine, high speed requires massive horsepower and cornering and handling require extreme braking capability.
At the 2012 Pikes Peak event, Mike Ryan met Gale Banks, and that began a classic racing partnership of race car owner and engine specialist. The compound turbo system that the truck was equipped with was sufficient to maintain dominance in the trucks specific race categories, but it was slow to respond and allowed for too much wasted fuel resulting in heavy black smoke. Mike wanted more power and Gale is just the guy to provide it.
For more information on Mike Ryan: http://mikeryanmotorsports.com/about-2/
For more information on Banks Power: http://www.bankspower.com/pikespeak