From the 450 hp (456 PS) Chevy El Camino SS LS6 of the early 1970s to the latest Hellcat-powered Ram TRX, by way of the supercharged GMC Syclone of the 1990s, we’ve all become familiar with the idea of trucks traveling extremely quickly.

But those trucks were all dedicated performance pickups, upgraded by their manufacturers specifically to go fast. What would have happen if you lined up three of the current crop of traditional diesel-powered working trucks on a straightaway and let them rip?

That’s exactly what Colorado-based YouTube channel The Fast Lane Truck did. The TFL team got hold of a 2022 Ford F-250 Power Stroke, a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Duramax and a 2022 Ram 2500 HD and sent the three trucks down a quarter mile of an air strip to see which reached the end first, and which was left to, well, pick up the pieces.

On paper the Ford looks like it has this one in the bag. The F-250’s 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 makes 475 hp (482 PS) and a massive 1,050 lb-ft (1,424 Nm) of torque, whereas the Chevy’s 6.6-liter V8 can only muster 445 hp (451 PS) and 910 lb ft (1,234 Nm). Yeah, that’s the twisted world of truck torque for you, one where you can hate on a Silverado for “only” making 910 lb-ft.

Related: Watch Rivian’s R1T Toast An F-150 Raptor While Towing A GMC Syclone

The Ram, however, looks like it’s going to be in trouble. The 6.7-litre motor has plenty of capacity, but it’s two cylinders down, and can only summon 370 hp (375 PS) and 850 lb ft (1,152 Nm). It also makes do with just six forward gears compared with the 10 in the other trucks.

The Ram does have a short 3.73 rear axle ratio to help it get off the line, but it’s not enough. The Cummins-powered truck loses two out of three races, but strangely it’s the Chevy that takes the flag in the first match, and it looks like it’s about to repeat that feat in the second one thanks to a 60 ft (18 m) time that’s almost 0.5 seconds better than its rivals’. But mid-way down the straight it’s as if the Ford suddenly stops scrolling Tiktok on its phone and suddenly remembers it’s in the middle of the race. It storms past the Chevy to take the win in the final two bouts.

By TRX or Rivian standards, the quarter mile times (Ford: 16.05; Chevy: 16.52; Ram: 17.05) might seem laughably slow, but they’re not bad for circa-8,000 lb (3,629 kg) leviathans that were designed to haul boats and trailers, rather than ass.