Mike Ryan will debut his new 2008 Freightliner Cascadia racing truck at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on July 20.


With his newly designed truck in its final stages of fabrication in Southern California, Ryan will welcome a new paint scheme and a new Detroit Diesel engine. Ryan hopes to set a faster time than the 12:43.66 result from 2006. If he does, it will mark Ryan's seventh world record in 12 attempts.

At the heart of the new Cascadia is a hand-built, custom-made race chassis designed and originally constructed by volunteer engineers at the Freightliner test center. This new mountain assault vehicle is powered by a 1600-horsepower Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine, and was race-prepped by engineers at the Detroit Diesel Reman Center. The truck will appear in Shell Rotella T livery, as they are this year's premier sponsor.

The race is run on a 12.42 mile course that begins at 9,390 feet and finishes at the 14,110 foot summit of Colorado's Pikes Peak. The course is home to 156 turns over 12.46 miles while climbing a near mile in elevation. There are few guardrails. There are no padded walls. This year''s race has 11 classes and features a variety of automotive, semi truck, exhibition, open wheel, super stock car, pro truck and motorcycle classes with a field approaching 200 competitors.

According to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb web site, also scheduled to run the course is Shane Chapman of Hastings, Minn., in a 2003 Freightliner Century Class ST.

More info: www.ppihc.com