Cummins-Powered Gale Banks Sidewinder Sets Bonneville Speed Record At 217 mph!

Gale Banks is a true believer in diesel power. Banks, a Southern California entrepreneur and former hot-rodder, runs Gale Banks Engineering, a fast growing automotive accessories company specializing in performance enhancement kits for diesel pickups and RVs.

Banks believes that diesel engines offer the power of the future for clean, efficient and high-performance light-duty vehicles. And a few years ago, he set out to prove it.

First, he needed the right diesel engine partner. Two years ago, at a Turbo Diesel Register (TDR) rally in Long Beach, California, Banks met John Stang, Cummins Vice President – Light-Duty Automotive. He told Stang of his plan to showcase diesel power and break the land speed record at the Bonneville, Utah, Salt Flats.

Stang enthusiastically signed up the Cummins Light-Duty Automotive (LDA) team and the Cummins 5.9-L Turbo Diesel used in the Dodge Ram to support the Sidewinder Land Speed Record project.

Through enhancements to the cylinder head, intake and exhaust manifolds; the addition of a Holset HY55 Variable Geometry Turbocharger; auxiliary ice water cooling tank; and new controls software; the team produced an engine with 735 hp and over 1300 lb-ft of torque.

"The whole idea of the Sidewinder project is to show that a diesel can be an extraordinary performance engine configuration," said Banks. "For twenty years I’ve believed that the future fuel is diesel – there is an inherent efficiency," he added. Banks calls the Cummins 5.9-L engine "anvil tough" and the ideal platform to showcase both the efficiency and power of the diesel engine.

Nearly two years – and many modifications later – on October 17, 2002, Banks blew away the land speed record, not just for diesel-powered pickups, but for ANY pickup – with an average speed of 217.314 mph (and overall top speed of 222.139 mph!) with his Cummins-powered Dodge Dakota.

Unlike other race vehicles, the Sidewinder is street driveable. In fact, while other contenders arrive in trailers, Banks’ crew drives the Sidewinder to the Bonneville Speed Trials, towing its spare parts in a trailer. The Sidewinder project has received a lot of press – from the cover of Diesel Progress to a mention by Gale’s friend Jay Leno in his Popular Mechanics magazine column.

© 2003 Cummins Inc., Box 3005, Columbus, IN 47202-3005 U.S.A.