The loss of diesel-enthusiast/YouTube and social-media influencer Thomas “Turba Tom” Borrell has been on my mind a lot. If you were one of his 20,000 plus loyal followers you probably feel like you knew him personally through his videos, even if you never had a chance to actually meet him.

Turba Tom from Quarryville, Pa., passed away July 29 at the young age of 37, from injuries he sustained in an on-track accident at the Outlaw Diesel Super Series’ Rocky Top Diesel Shootout drag race in Crossville, Tenn.

It took only minutes for the news of his death to spread throughout our tight-nit diesel community, but it will most likely take a lifetime to really sink in that he’s gone. In his early 30’s diesel performance caught his attention and like everything else, Turba Tom just ran with it. Diesels soon became his life and this passion is on full display in his countless videos. He built and fabricated his own pro street drag truck while documenting his build over the course of several years and gaining thousands of followers. His work ethic and never-give-up attitude will live on as part of his legacy.

Montgomery Noble is a 21-year-old college senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he is studying aerospace engineering and specializing in astronautics, which is the designing of rockets, satellites, and other objects in space. But when he is not in school studying the coolest thing ever, he can be found pursuing his various hobbies, all of which seem to have something to do with a motor, such as riding four-wheelers and dirt bikes, riding his Yamaha Raptor 700R, going on the boat fishing, and working on cars and trucks or whatever he can get his hands on. In fact, this summer between college semesters, he has been rebuilding a project 17.5-foot boat from the ground up, replacing the stringers and transom, installing a new deck, and doing all of the fiberglass work. Montgomery has even been working on restoring a 1998 Dodge RAM 12-valve Cummins! But his real passion is his 2012 Ford F250.

In order to pay for his expensive hobbies, he does a lot of commercial and residential painting jobs, as well as sells rock lights on the side and goes onto Facebook Marketplace to find items he can flip for some quick and easy cash. And this is in addition to the part-time job he works during the summers when he’s not in college, as well as working on other people’s vehicles.

Rikki Martinez grew up in Idaho where trucks are almost a part of the state’s culture, so it was almost a given he would eventually be exposed to trucks in some way, shape, or form. His journey into the world of trucks actually began with a gasoline truck with his first Silverado 1500. But soon after, a couple of his friends let him drive their diesel trucks and that’s all it took. He says there is no comparison, thinking his 1500 had a softer ride, but that a diesel truck has everything else including extra power to spare.

“It was night and day for me. So I knew my next truck I had to get was a diesel,” Rikki said.

He got his first diesel, a 2005 Duramax, back in December in 2012 and he hasn’t looked back even once. It didn’t take long for him to fall down the rabbit hole of modding his cherished diesel where he picked up some tricks from his friends but really taught himself through YouTube. And it’s a good thing he likes learning everything and anything new about trucks!

Darcy Brownell has always had the grit to put the sweat down to the grindstone. She started wrestling when she was 7 years old and competed in the sport all throughout high school, amassing more than 100 wins against her boy competitors! And the hard work converted over into her professional life, helping her earn a manager position at a cheese plant. And she’s also never had a fear of getting dirty with her adventurous spirit, loving all sorts of outdoor activities such as fishing trout, hunting deer, blazing dirt trails on side-by-sides, snowmobiling—she loves it all! She has a spirit of self-reliance and sustainability, and all of this has translated right over to her passion for diesel trucks.

Where It Began

Darcy’s whole family loves Mopars, and her dad had numerous muscle cars while she was growing up. She practically has burnout smoke in her lungs.

I get that stealing has been around for centuries, but am I alone in thinking it feels like crime is getting worse these days? When I’m just out running errands I don’t necessarily worry about my truck being stolen. Maybe somebody swiping loose sunglasses off the dash is a possibility if I forget to lock it, but you’d have to be brave (and extra stupid) to steal a truck in a Walmart parking lot in the middle of the day.

However, when my truck spends a little time unattended, I do worry about it getting swiped. I take extra precautions to keep it safe, but I’ve never considered investing in some type of a tracking system in case it was stolen over the fear of long-term contracts or prices I couldn’t justify.

This product falls into the category of, “Why didn’t I think of that?” followed by the required head slap. Have you ever been in a shop where music wasn’t playing in the background? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Battles for control over the shop radio can be epic. Have you ever worked on an engine and wished you had a little more light under the hood? Of course. Well, Infinity X1 has come up with the ultimate must-have worklight for any shop and it’s called the Hoodie.

The Hoodie is adjustable so it fits all hoods up to 78 inches wide, plus each 1,000 lumen light has five different modes. The unit also folds in half for easy storage and the two rechargeable power stations can be easily charged with the two USB cords that are provided.