Courtesy of Engine Builder
When it comes to the 2022 Ultimate Callout Challenge, you have to give credit where credit is due. Of course, we’re talking about the competition’s new rule that competitors were allowed to compete with two trucks. Despite that rule change, a few diesel shops decided to keep it old school. In fact, five competitors opted to put together single trucks that survived all three of the weekend’s events – drag racing, a dyno pull and sled pulling. Of those, Chris Patterson saw the best overall finish of the group with a fourth place.
Eric Merchant was another single-truck competitor, and although he placed towards the bottom of the competition, his LML Duramax-powered GMC earned him a second-place finish in the sled pull on the final day of the event.
Merchant has spent nearly 30 years in the automotive industry, with the last 18 being dedicated specifically to the diesel market. He first began doing brake and alignment work in a small shop in 1993, which then led to a 10-year career at a GM dealership where he progressively rose the ranks. In the early 2000s, he bought a Duramax truck and quickly became known as a diesel guy.
