College's diesel drag truck: a 25-year 'overnight' sensation

For 25 years, a vintage Mack road tractor – appropriately nicknamed “Accelerated Learning" – has served as a rolling lab that continually reflects the latest industry technology available to diesel students at Penn College's Schneebeli Earth Science Center.

And while there have been periods of highs and lows in enthusiasm during that quarter-century of transforming the vehicle into a drag truck, the current level of excitement and activity is off the charts.

"The objective of our project has always been multifaceted: to directly market our program to prospective students and motorsports enthusiasts; to exhibit our level of technology within the diesel, heavy equipment and power generation programs; and to create an opportunity for our students to experience the detail, teamwork, expense and safety measures required to achieve our performance goals," said Mark E. Sones, instructor of diesel equipment technology, who has been involved with the truck since day one.

When the project began in 1998, Sones envisioned two or three years for completion.

"I may have missed that mark by just a little!" he admitted. "Development of our truck has spanned exactly 25 years of my PCT career, primarily due to our commitment to complete this project without any college financial investment." All funding to support the effort has been accomplished through industry support, fundraising efforts by 47 student members of the Penn College Diesel Performance Club, and by Sones' personal financial commitment.

Another reminder of the project's longevity? Brad R. Conklin, who joined the full-time faculty as an instructor of diesel equipment technology in Fall 2015, was a student when WNEP visited the ESC in 2002 for a Newswatch 16 story. (Watch for him around the 37-second mark.)

Students now spend an average of two evenings per week – plus Fridays as a club activity day – preparing the truck for its next outing. Club members and faculty have kept the truck very busy over the past several years, attending many car/truck shows: Carlisle Diesel Truck Nationals, several appearances at Motorama in Harrisburg (where it once took honors as “Top Race Vehicle”), as well as multiple local show awards.

"'Accelerated Learning' finally hit the dragstrip this past spring at Numidia Dragway and once again this semester at Beaver Springs Dragway for test-and-tune sessions," Sones said. "Both events brought nearly 60 Penn College Proud students, as well as a half-dozen diesel faculty for technical support. It was another career 'high' for myself and fellow faculty to see our students bursting with excitement seeing their creation finally 'roll coal' and put down some impressive baseline numbers its first trips down the track."

Once the students and their faculty mentors are satisfied with the truck's performance, he added, it will appear in a series of higher-profile competitive events focused on the industry and its enthusiasts.

The vehicle chosen for the project is a classic 1959 B-61 Mack single axle road tractor, long respected as one of the great pioneers of heavy commercial trucking – and the perfect old-fashioned subject for up-to-the-minute technology.

"The vision was to cosmetically restore this vehicle to its original external appearance," Sones said, "but 're-power' it with the most modern technology available to our industry while meeting all of the sanctioning bodies' safety regulations and certifications."

The power is based on a 1998-2003 Mack E-Tech 460, 728-cubic-inch six-cylinder, with triple turbochargers in two stages developing near 80 pounds per square inch of boost pressure, custom high-volume fuel system and several internal engine modifications.

"New electronic fuel mapping will put our power in the 800-horsepower range," Sones explained. "This power is transmitted to the driveline through a custom Allison HD4060 six-speed automatic transmission built by our certified Allison program students. The rear differential is an Eaton 23,000 series locking unit originally built and then redesigned by our diesel equipment technology students."

"The current performance has shown us 15.35 seconds and a best mph of 99.87 in the quarter-mile, not a bad starting point for an 11,500-pound vehicle!" he said. "Our latest electronic modifications and boosted horsepower and torque should get us in the high 13-second range, with additional mph on our next test-and-tune event."

"We as a club have a lot more work to do," said Marcayla M. Lutzkanin, diesel club president, "but we are excited to get the truck down another track really soon." 

The club's progress can be followed on Facebook (pctdiesel), Instagram (@pct_dieselclub), TikTok (@pct_diesel_club) and YouTube.

And for more about Penn College's related majors, visit the School of Engineering Technologies.