Diesel drag racing is back—and the first ODSS event of the year wasted little time leaving its mark.
Sunny and 75 with a side of diesel drag racing made for an ideal start to the 2024 Outlaw Diesel Super Series racing season. Many race teams, hungry for warmer weather and a chance to test out their winter upgrades, made the trek south to Orlando Speed World Dragway for the first event of the year, which was held in conjunction with the newly-relocated Florida Truck Meet. Early arrivers were privy to watching a few ODSS heavy hitters make test hits, perform changes in the pits, and then head right back onto the track.
As the action unfolded the weekend of April 5-6, fresh Pro Mod and Pro Street records were established, new personal bests were set, and first-time and repeat winners alike were crowned. Along the way, plenty of teams struggled through staging, traction, or chassis issues, or dealt with breakage—and the damage ran the gamut, from transmission to engine, and turbo to axle issues. If what happened in central Florida is any indication of what we can expect to see on the rest of the 2024 ODSS schedule, this is going to be a very busy year for us at Green Handle.
Team Firepunk, fresh off of significant engine changes and 3,200 hp hub dyno numbers over the winter, took full advantage of Thursday’s open test session at Orlando Speed World Dragway. But despite making a solid 4.18 at 183 mph A to B pass, the Plum Crazy Pro Mod would present a chassis riddle that proved difficult for the team to solve. During Friday’s first round of qualifying (Q1), a healthy amount of tire shake forced driver Larson Miller to back out of it, and Q2 produced a similar result. However, overnight changes performed on the Duster proved more than fruitful for Q3 on Saturday, when Larson pulled off a 4.12-second pass at 194 mph—a new ODSS Pro Mod trap speed record.So what changed between Friday’s Q2 pass and Saturday morning’s record-setting Q3 blast? It’s complicated, but Firepunk’s Lyn Miller filled us in the best he could. First, a stator change was in order, as the one in place on Friday was way too tight and actually pulled the engine down (eliminating the flares they like to see between shifts). The next step was to make chassis adjustments, but only after they could get the tires to stick, a problem that had come and gone throughout the weekend. Without a doubt, Firepunk’s new Pro Mod has been tricky to dial in, but the crew from Plain City, Ohio is up to the challenge. Here, Lavon Miller pores over data collected during the car’s previous pass.The twin-turbo, Duramax-powered Hollyrock Customs dragster ran like it was on rails Friday, with driver Mattie Graves sending it through the eighth-mile in consecutive 3-second intervals. The fastest woman in diesel initially ran a 3.991 at 192 mph, a pass that gifted her a new personal best trap speed but that also earned her the number one qualifier spot in Pro Dragster. Timing system issues made Mattie’s next trip through the ‘660 unofficial, but the dragster’s data revealed the rail ran a 3.97-second pass. She would return to the staging lanes later that afternoon and put another 3.99 on the board, this one with a trap speed of 188 mph.A to B passes evaded Michael Cordova and the S&S, Freedom Racing Engines and WrenchWorkz supported dragster for most of the weekend. The chassis just didn’t seem to want to hook and tire shake was a common theme for the record-holding rail. However, Michael and team would prevail in the end with a wild finish in the finals. Lined up against Mattie Graves, Michael cut a .016-second reaction time to Mattie’s .323, but shook the tires roughly 40-50 feet out. Luckily, Michael’s rail recovered quickly. In the other lane, Mattie exploded her wastegate pipes on the top half of the track. Ultimately, Michael’s quick reflexes on the tree earned him the win (he went 4.24 to Mattie’s 4.13).Watching the Stainless Diesel Corvette pull the driver side front wheel off the ground never gets old. After making a 4.2-second pass right off the trailer, Johnny Gilbert and crew battled through their fair share of issues before the car came back around to running low 4’s. But despite their struggles, the defending Pro Mod champs ended up getting the win in Florida. Additionally, they reset the ODSS Pro Mod ET record thanks to a 1.024-second 60-foot paving the way for a 4.10-second pass at 184 mph.Picking up right where he left off in 2023, Justin Zeigler and his Pro Street Dodge lived in the 4.80s and 4.90s all weekend. However, his first 4.84 (straight off the trailer) proved a bit eventful on Thursday when the fuel cell exploded. 1X Precision’s Cody Fisher went to work fixing it, although Justin did miss Q1 on Friday. When Justin did make it up to the staging lanes for Q2, his seemingly automatic streak of running 4.80s resumed—and this 4.84 reset the ODSS Pro Street trap speed record at 159.66 mph. Justin would bring home First Place points once again, making it seven wins in a row for one of the most consistent and storied rides in all of diesel drag racing.Mitchell Wicklund earned his first 5.90 Index win in Florida, and it was well-deserved. His path through qualifying consisted of a Q1 that was too slow (for his standards) and Q2 and Q3 passes in the 5.80s. After grabbing the E1 win on account of Jerry Parrott suffering a broken second gear band, the stage was soon set with Brett Marcum in the finals. There, Brett actually drove around Mitchell at half track, but after hitting the scramble button Mitchell catapulted back in front. Then Brett checked his brakes but actually grabbed them a bit too much—and Mitchell won by a tight, tight, .005-second margin. We say it every year, but the racing in 5.90 Index is as close and entertaining as it gets.It’s one of the only 7.3L Power Strokes you’ll find running the quicker index classes at an ODSS race, but David Beach’s OBS Ford was out on the track for a reason. His 5,600-pound Super Cab competes right on the money in 6.70 Index and his built engine does it in a nitrous-fed yet low-boost manner (only 40-psi of boost is made) and cuts consistent 1.5-second 60-foots. Despite putting up a 7.37-second eighth-mile in Q1, David quickly got to work removing tenths, going 7.09 before arriving in the 6.80s and eventually moving on to the finals. There, he would finish second to his neighbor in the pits, Jeremy Strickney, a sound start to the racing season.After a winter full of changes, including a complete rewire of their ’05 Silverado, hard luck landed at Collin and Paul Edwards’ door in Orlando. While Collin brought the Stainless Diesel S485 up on boost during staging, the front differential blew apart, essentially becoming a two-piece unit. Due to the rare (ish) ring and pinion the Edwards run (3.42), it wasn’t simply a matter of locating a factory replacement somewhere local, so their weekend of racing ended before it ever had a chance to begin. On the bright side, it’s better that the diff failure happened on the starting line rather than on the big end of the track.Fresh off a dyno-melting, 3,059-rwhp performance at the Fitzgerald Truck Fest in March, Greg Alberalla brought his ’05 Dodge down to Florida for the season opener. In Orlando, the beastly, 6,200-pound third-gen was penciled in for Pro Street, and in Q1 it put up a solid 5.44 at 140 mph. In the third round of qualifying, Greg A. nearly went for the ride of his life when the steering wheel departed the column after the launch. For E1, Greg A. was pitted against number 1 qualifier, Justin Zeigler, where his mid-5-second pass was no match for the defending champ’s 4.93. Keep in mind, 5.40s isn’t all this nasty crew cab has in it. We calculate that roughly only 2,500-rwhp was being used (likely in an effort to keep the 48RE alive).If ever a truck appeared to be taking off at the end of the runway, it would be Austin Doidge’s common-rail second-gen. This truck is serious, and it’s one of the only four-wheel drive vehicles that competes in the ODSS Pro Mod category. In Orlando, we watched Austin go 5.04 followed by a 5.00 at 143 mph, with his 4,000-pound Dodge eventually putting up a 4.98. Austin left Orlando with Third Place points, a nice start to the season, but also as the winner of the coveted S&S Friday night grudge belt.Ryan Reiser’s ’12 F-250 is easily one of the most impressive trucks we came across at the ODSS season opener. Not only is his Super Duty powered by a 6.7L Power Stroke, it competes in 5.90 Index. Right off the trailer, Ryan put together a 5.907-second pass in Q1. Power is created and managed thanks to S&S Diesel Motorsport fuel (200-percent over injectors, a DCR in the valley with a belt-driven, 10mm CP3), a MoTeC stand-alone ECU with S&S calibrating, a MoTeC-controlled 4R100 from BTS, and a 76mm Precision turbo. It’s a build aimed at pushing the 6.7L Ford platform to new heights.There was trouble out of the gate for Nathannial DeLong and the Rudy’s Performance Parts Pro Mod Ford. Unfortunately, what the guys at Rudy’s thought was initially a blown head gasket actually ended up being a block failure you don’t see every day. It meant an abrupt end to the weekend for them and the 6.4L Pro Mod, but they didn’t exactly head for home. Instead, Rudy’s crewer, Zack Pierce (Pierce Diesel Performance), lent a hand to Charlie Baird’s efforts in 5.90 Index, helping him dial in his Dodge’s suspension. Charlie would ultimately lay claim to Fourth Place points.Everyone knows Hunter Coffey likes to party, but when you’re on the heavy side in Pro Street you don’t really have an option not to—at least if you want to win. It goes without saying that Hunter is leaning on his new, Wagler-built, billet-aluminum Cummins pretty hard. In Q2, his 4,700-pound four-door rocketed to a 5.13 at 156 mph, an indication that north of 2,500 hp was being applied to the track. Up against Paul Cato in the first round of Pro Street eliminations (another low-5-second truck), Hunter was beaten on the tree (.147 vs. .067) and, after throwing everything at the truck in an attempt to run him down, popped his turbo. This is a matchup we could watch over and over again.Aaron Karrer’s Dodge has come a long, long way since its brush with the wall at the 2023 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza. Even better yet, Aaron looks extremely comfortable behind the wheel. This was evident during Thursday’s test session and carried on into qualifying, where Aaron grabbed the top qualifier with a 5.901-second pass in Q1. After sitting out the well-deserved first round bye, he lined up against Mitchell Wicklund in E2 and, completely out of place for him, red lit. Keep an eye on Aaron this season. We have a feeling he’s just getting warmed up.From his initial, four-tire-fire pass to swapping new Mickey Thompson slicks into place, and from tearing the passenger side window and upper latch out of the frame to melting his turbine housing divider, Paul Cato was busy in the pits in Orlando. Fortunately, after facing all of that his common-rail second-gen went 5.04 at 149 mph in Q3. Unfortunately, Paul’s troubles returned in E1. Up against Hunter Coffey, and even though he pulled out the win, Paul’s engine lost significant power late in the race. The issue, a mystery at the time but that was traced back to a damaged piston post-race, led him to trip the beams in the final against Justin Zeigler and start the season Second Place in points.In addition to taking home the 6.70 Index trophy, Jeremy Stickney gets the long-haul award. Jeremy trekked 1,500 miles (one-way) from Nebraska to Orlando, and he and his Cummins-powered ’04 Dodge made the most of it, going rounds and ultimately winning the last race of the weekend. But while this marked Jeremy’s first ODSS event victory, it’s worth noting that he’s no stranger to the winner’s circle, or running 6.70s with extreme regularity. Last year, he took home the NHRDA 6.70 Index championship. This year, he may be gunning to do the same with ODSS.The 7.70 Index turnout was lower than normal for an ODSS affair, but that didn’t mean it was less competitive, as David Hurst can attest to. He and his regular cab ’05 Ram worked their way through the field and ended up in the finals. There, David faced off against Emanuel Yoder’s quad cab third-gen and pulled out the win. Like many other race teams, David journeyed roughly 1,000 miles to do battle in Florida.Alex Tucan did the Duramax faithful proud in ET Bracket, taking the win with his classic body, regular cab Chevy. Similar to 7.70 Index, racer turnout was fairly low in ET Bracket—reason enough to double-dip. After also going rounds in 7.70, Alex wound up with fourth place points to start off the year. If he keeps it up, he’ll be a formidable threat to win two racing categories this season.
