4-second eighth-miles or bust. That’s the goal Michael Dalton, owner of RLC Motorsports in Cookeville, Tennessee, has set for himself and his Pro Street program for 2021. Chassis tweaks, a new shock package fromPRS, and a changeover to Hoosier slicks have all been performed on his ’12 Ram 1500—the bright orange, two-wheel drive short bed that’s been a regular on the ODSS scene for the past few years. “That is thee goal,” he told us. “The hunt to get into the 4’s and be able to play ball with the four-wheel drive trucks.”

Having already spent time in the 5.2’s at trap speeds approaching 140 mph, Michael is hopeful that more of the horsepower trapped inside his Shredder series Cummins can be applied to the track this year. The filled, sleeved, and deck-plated 6.4L sports a wet cylinder head, and competition-level injectors and dual CP3’s from Industrial Injection that are supported by dual FASS lift pump systems. To help drive the big single GT55 that feeds the engine, Michael entrusted our competition 24-valve T-6 exhaust manifold. With both Nitrous Express stages in the mix, the Cummins sees 75-76 psi of boost heading down the track, and burns clean doing it.

One thing that will remain the same this season is Michael’s transmission recipe. His proven, overdriven 48RE package was made possible thanks to SunCoast, and it comes complete with a non-lockup converter that complements the high rpm the engine likes to see, while a deeply-geared rear diff helps keep load off the transmission. In 2019, Michael was able to squeeze more than 60 passes through the 48RE before a refresh was needed, and to date he’s only cracked one transmission case—an impressive track-record for a 4,400-pound, 2,000hp truck. Hardway Performance’s Ryan Milliken will continue to perform his keyboard wizardry in the truck’s CM849 ECM.


Within a week to two weeks of reading this, Michael and the rest of the RLC Motorsports race team will be at the track, testing and preparing for the 2021 race schedule. If they are finally able to put the weight transfer and traction issues they’ve struggled with in the past in the rearview mirror, expect another truck to join the 4-second club over the summer.