Iowa Iron – Tyler List’s Ford Pick-Up is More Than Meets the Eye!
At first glance, Tyler List’s 1971 Ford F100 doesn’t scream ‘twin turbo drag truck.’ With its weathered patina and modest stance, it looks more like something you’d see hauling scrap than chasing timeslips. But once the lights drop, this Iowa-built pickup speaks in turbocharged tones — and it has plenty to say.
Tyler bought the F100 three years ago from a seller in Mississippi with a clear mission in mind: make it to Motion Raceworks Sick Summer 2024. That plan took a twist when the turbo kit didn’t make it onto the truck in time. Instead, he ran it naturally aspirated, using the time to get to know the truck and dial in the basics. But 2025? That was the year the boost hit.
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Under the hood sits a 5.3 LS with an Elgin Sloppy Stage 2 cam and upgraded valve springs, force-fed by a pair of 78/75 turbos. A Crown Vic front end was mated to the F100 frame, with an electric steering rack from an S550 Mustang and a matching IRS rear from the same platform.
The build came together just in time, firing up only two weeks before Motion Raceworks Sick Summer 2025 kicked off.
“Our group just wanted a good time,” Tyler said. “We came out here knowing we weren’t going to win anything. We wanted to show people you don’t need a 10-second car to have fun on a drag-and-drive.”
The group, calling themselves Slow Ass Racing, had four cars registered this year: Eric Spark, Jim Shipley, Jaren Niewinski, and Tyler himself. Tyler’s personal aim was humble but precise: run an 11.50 ET (the quickest he could go without needing a cage). The closest he would get was a 12.48 at a big 130 mph, fighting through a host of issues to get there.
“My biggest hurdle this year was fuel issues,” he said. “We burned up two external pumps before Sick Summer and we converted to in-tank pumps. We then had issues with the secondary pump not coming on. We got the fuel system all straightened out by Wednesday night.”
Then came the boost control issues — something they’re still chasing.
When he’s not wrenching or racing, Tyler’s traveling the countryside installing cell towers — seeing America one small town at a time. Cordova is home turf, and Sick Summer is the hometown event.
Despite the setbacks this year, Tyler wouldn’t change a thing. For him, Sick Summer is about more than quarter-mile times. It’s about friends, family, and a shared week of beating the heat and the highway.
Written by Luke Nieuwhof. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
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