Diesel Power just got back from ATS' event, Diesels on the Mountain, which was part of the 51st annual Truck Fest held at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado. At the mile-high track we saw diesel-powered big rigs and pickups of all shapes, sizes, and power levels. Besides the trucks, there were quads, snowmobiles, rockcrawlers, new and old heavy equipment, and gasoline-powered drag racers. For many Westerners, this was their first look at sled pulling, because unlike in the Midwest, tacky soil is not that common in the Rocky Mountains. We were told the National Sled Pullers Association (NSPA) officials in charge of preparing the track actually hauled in a few loads of dirt to get the right consistency. Still, the pulls went on as if they’ve been doing it for years and everyone enjoyed the high-altitude action.inline_mediumwraptextrightDiesel Trucks26708674/events/0911dp_diesels_on_the_mountain0911dp_01+diesels_on_the_mountain+diesel_trucks.jpgTrue

Deep in Illinois' corn country, there's a sled pulling circuit that hosts more than 70 events per summer, runs everything from small garden tractors to Pro Stock semis, and is known for providing some of the most competitive diesel events around.

Just a few short years ago, diesel performance was a phrase uttered by a scattered few. Now more and more people are hitting the track, whether it be hooked to a sled or beside another racer at a dragstrip. The fact that diesel performance is alive and well was illustrated at this year's Pro Diesel Challenge—an event put on by Spruill Racing in Creswell, North Carolina.inline_mediumwraptextrightThe 7.70-second Bracket Class (which is approximately the 12.0-second Class in quarter-mile terms) featured a lot of strong-running street trucks, like this overfueled Duramax.Chevy Duramax25479266/events/0911dp_pro_diesel_challenge_lll0911dp_01+pro_diesel_challenge_lll+chevy_duramax.jpgTrue

The annual Big Sky Nationals hosted by G&J Diesel out of Billings, Montana, is an event in every sense of the word. It was not simply just a drag race or sled pull-there were vendors with products at rock-bottom prices, a dynamometer for those who wanted to test their diesel's horsepower, an awesome barbeque, and more. The vehicles that attended were also top-notch, such as Chad Riley's '67 Camaro drag car, which is powered by a 5.9L common-rail Cummins.

When we heard West Coast Customs was having a big rig show just down the street at California Speedway in Fontana, California, we jumped at the chance to attend.

The 4-Wheel Jamboree in Indianapolis, Indiana, presented by Family Events, is known to bring in thousands of truck and off-road enthusiasts year after year. When it was declared that one of its sister events, the 3rd annual 4-Wheel Jamboree held in Springfield, Illinois, would be hosting a diesel sled pull event in 2009, we quickly marked it on our calendars.

Drag Race
Last year in the thin air of Utah, an 11.41- second pass down the quarter-mile was good enough for First Place in the drag race, but Bowling Green, Kentucky is just 529 feet above sea level, and right off the bat it was clear we were dealing with some very powerful trucks. Matt Larson and his lightweight regular cab clicked off mid 11s with ease, as did John Duncan and Chris Klar. Then Robert Evans stepped up with an 11.07 at a blazing 127 mph in his '04 Dodge that left everyone else scratching their heads. Then the troubles began. Randy Overton blew his turbo as soon as he hit the nitrous button, Matt Gainer was fighting a limping transmission, Dan Schoenfelder was blowing intercooler boots, and Jess Spruill was fighting traction problems all the way down the dragstrip.

Robert Evans

There is no other way to describe the TS Performance event-it's the biggest show in the diesel industry. Year after year, thousands of fans from all over the country flood the town of Bowling Green, Kentucky, to see the very best in diesel competition. Every year this one-of-a-kind gathering spotlights how big diesel motorsports has become-and is still becoming. With a massive vendor row, thousands of trucks in attendance, big cash payouts, and all-night sled pulls, the atmosphere that surrounds the TS Performance event is like no other experience. So if you haven't yet attended-check out www.tsperformance.com for info on next year's event. Until then, here's a recap of what went down in the bluegrass state this spring.

The first stop on our Midwest tour this summer brought us to La Porte, Indiana, for the 2009 Truck and Tractor Nationals. The goal of the event was to present a family-oriented exposition showcasing nearly everything the automotive enthusiast would want to see. Best of all, it provided yet another venue for diesels to perform in, and do so in front of the masses.

It's Diesel Power Challenge time, and once again we've invited readers from all over the planet to bring their pickups together for the ultimate diesel truck battle. Our Diesel Power Challenge formula is simple, we invite 15 competitors (five Fords, five Dodges, and five Chevys or GMCs) to run their trucks on the dyno, the dragstrip, and down a sled-pulling track. We also have a 100-mile ride-and-drive to ensure the streetability of our participants, as well as an eighth-mile, 10,000-pound trailer tow test for elapsed time. To give the Challenge continuity, we invite the previous year's winner back to compete as a benchmark.

This quote was originally spoken more than twenty years ago to describe Mathew Broderick's character, Ferris Bueller, but it applies today as well--to diesel trucks. At a recent dyno event at Bartling Enterprise in Queen Creek, Arizona 895-0545, www.bartlingenterprise.com), almost every facet of the diesel community was represented. There were first-generation Dodges next to 6.0L Power Strokes, and LMM Duramaxes parked beside IDI 7.3Ls. The crowd was just as diverse. Diesel fuel has a way of bringing together ranchers, farmers, veterans, engineers, and more. On this dyno day in particular, more than 30 trucks made a combined 100 dyno pulls during the course of the day at Bartling Enterprise. Another 20 diesel trucks showed up just to watch and learn a thing or two about which part combinations make the biggest power. Everyone who attended had one thing in common though: they knew better than to wear a white shirt to a diesel dyno competition.

The NHRDA hosted its second annual Diesels in the Desert on March 9th of this year, and boy did some interesting vehicles show up. There were tube-chassis vehicles, two-wheel-drive drag trucks, and even some street-tire trucks running 10-second quarter-mile elapsed times. The classes were Sportsman E.T. (a bracket class where anyone could enter) Super Street (a class that had weight and tire requirements) Pro Street (a more race-oriented category for two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive trucks with slicks) and Pro Stock Diesel and Top Diesel, where the rules were basically unlimited. In addition to the racing, there was also a manufacturers' midway, where the fans could check out the newest diesel products, and a chassis dyno, where diesel enthusiasts could measure their vehicles' horsepower. Enjoy the event coverage and mark your calendars for next year's race--this is a West Coast event you won't want to miss.

Industrial, commercial, and agricultural industries all have one thing in common--they depend on diesel-powered equipment to get the job done. In the agricultural world, diesel is just as much a necessity as the food we need to survive, so the two of them go hand in hand. The World Ag Expo drives this point home year after year, as the latest and greatest in diesel engines, equipment, fuel, and emissions are showcased to both farmers and the general public.

Without a doubt, this year's Redneck Nationals kicked off a long list of must-attend diesel events for 2009. New to this event, Stuckey Racing combined its yearly drag race with Sun Coast Converters' annual open house, and thanks to Air Werks, TS Performance, Dynomite Diesel, and Competitiondiesel.com, the outlaw diesel eighth-mile event brought competitors and enthusiasts from all walks of life down to Holt, Florida. And, like all outlaw events, rules and complexities were kept to a minimum, allowing racers to just go out and do what they do best-race.

July 18
American Le Mans Series - Lime Rock Park, Connecticut
Watch the Audi R10

It seems that diesel dyno competitions have become more and more popular lately. And, while it is sometimes hard to convince the wife and kids to spend the day at a concrete building in an industrial complex watching black smoke roll, more dyno competitions are being held as part of larger events to cater to families, communities, and even to our nation as a whole. Chris Brahs, of High Desert Ravelco, recently held such an event at Performance Flat Four in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The rollers on Flat Four's Dynocom dyno didn't stop turning all day, but there were plenty of other activities to keep everyone entertained while they waited for their turn on the rollers.

After hearing about an eighth-mile drag racing event called Diesel Play Day, hosted by Dr. Performance, we made the trek over to Weatherford, Texas, to see what it was all about. When we rolled into town, we were surprised to learn the races had been canceled by track officials (on account of cold weather). Not to worry, the guys at Dr. Performance were willing to improvise, and cordially welcomed everyone who had shown up at the track back to their shop for an impromptu dyno day, or should we say dyno night?

Persistence pays off. At last year's Diesels on the Mountain, ATS president Clint Cannon misfired on the sled pull. While he came with a high-caliber load and aimed high, his Boogie Max Chevy fell just short of his intended mark, losing out to Mike Skinner and Brad Ingram in the Super Street class.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association show held every year in Las Vegas is a prime place to find the latest and greatest in diesel performance, and this year was no different. Throughout the week-long event in November, it seemed like the underlying theme behind the '08 SEMA show was fuel economy. Nearly every diesel-related booth had at least one product designed to combat high fuel prices. However, with companies like PPE, ATS, Bully Dog Technologies, Edge Products, and Turbonetics in attendance, plenty of brand-new power-adders were also showcased. From the unveiling of Gale Banks' new Top Diesel dragster to the latest in diesel efficiency, Diesel Power was there covering it.

You gotta love Canadians. Besides being known for their warm hospitality to foreign visitors, they also have a thing for diesels. After all, how else could they tackle those endless prairies, the tar sands, and long snowbound winters? Oil-burners are a way of life for hearty Canucks.

Hot Rod Magazine's Drag Week event is simple: non-stop drag racing for five straight days, on five different racetracks. Here's the catch: you have to drive your vehicle the whole way, then blast down the track in record time. Each day brings a 200 to 300-mile drive, along with as many dragstrip passes as you need. This is Diesel Power's third year in a row at Drag Week, and we had quite an interesting group.

One diesel event you don't want to miss is the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, held every year in Terre Haute, Indiana. Dan Scheid is the man behind the scenes, and over the years he's built up his yearly gathering to extraordinary proportions. How about more than 60 sled pullers for the 2.8 class alone? Just as many were in Work Stock, and twelve Modified trucks showed up to give the crowd a feel of what 1,500-horsepower diesels really sound like. There was also eighth-mile drag racing, where six-second elapsed times in full-weight trucks were recorded. That's high 9s in the quarter, folks. The Scheid dragster made an appearance, running in the 4.50s in the eighth at almost 160 mph. There were two chassis dynos, and between them almost 200 trucks hit the rollers that weekend. Since this is our "Top Ten" issue, we're going to not only include coverage of the event, but we'll list the top ten pullers in each category, along with the 10 highest dyno numbers. Since more than a few drag trucks had problems, we'll list the five quickest times at the drag strip. Enjoy our coverage of the 2008 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, and mark your calendars for August 28-30 of next year so you too can see the diesel mayhem in 2009!

For the past four years, the Central Texas Chapter of the Turbo Diesel Register (TDR) has been holding an annual dyno event. The past three years have been held at American Racing Technology (ART) and the event has gotten bigger and better every time. For last year's coverage, see "Smokin' in Buda", July '07. We knew it was going to be a big event this year when we had visits from the local sheriffs one day, and the fire department the next.