Mamut Racing's Diesel Drag Truck Carries on Mack Trucks Family Legacy
Hector 'Mamut' Rivera races a modified Mack Granite with a custom chassis, honoring a family tradition of driving Mack trucks.
1,000
Mack Granite
What Happened
Hector 'Mamut' Rivera, a second-generation truck driver from Florida, founded Mamut Racing in 2005. His loyalty to Mack Trucks spans generations: his grandfather and father both drove Macks, and Rivera insists no other brand is allowed in his shop. He recalls his childhood in Puerto Rico, where Mack trucks were a common sight, and his father bought the first orange Mack on the island in 1979.
Rivera built a race truck from a modified Mack Granite, using a 1969 Mack RL700 aluminum frame and a handmade chassis approved by the NHRA. He customized the vehicle in-house, chopping the cab to save weight. The truck runs on diesel only, with twin turbos and a 1,000-horsepower engine.
“When I drive a Mack, I feel it inside, and I don’t get that feeling with other brands.”
1,000horsepower
Twin-turbo diesel engine in Mamut's race truck
Why this matters
The story shows how deep brand loyalty can drive custom vehicle building and preserve family heritage in the trucking industry.
Terms in This Story
- EV
- Electric vehicle, a vehicle powered fully or partly by electricity.
- ICE
- Internal combustion engine, the conventional petrol or diesel engine type.
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