ODSS drag racing returns to Kentucky—and leaves a host of fresh records, new personal bests, and a fiery accident in its wake.
Ninety-five-degree ambient temps, a track surface reading as high as 150, and a handful of new records—sounds like Bowling Green, Kentucky in the heart of summer. Once again, the Outlaw Diesel Super Series found itself at Beech Bend Raceway, a venue that’s played host to some of the largest events in diesel drag racing history. For 2024, more than 80 racers braved the heat, and while that’s no attendance record there was plenty of entertainment. Michael Cordova’s 3-second rail set a new world record with each pass it made, Ethan Patterson proved a 68RFE can run 5.60s, and Paul Cato scored his first Pro Street win.
A slew of the ODSS’s usual suspects showed up and performed as expected. Among them were Brett Marcum in 5.90 Index, Jeremy Stickney in 6.70, Emanuel Yoder in 7.70 Index, and Ken Phillips in ET Bracket. Hardship also played a part in the warm weekend in Kentucky, with no shortage of minor equipment failures (and fixes), one torched piston scenario, and an explosive fire permanently taking the Stainless Diesel Pro Mod out of contention. For the full recap of the wild weekend at Beech Bend, keep scrolling. Next up: Scheid Diesel Extravaganza.
We would be remiss if we didn’t start things off by covering all the accomplishments Michael Cordova had in Bowling Green. Long story short, the hometown hero set a new world record (which at this point, amounts to him beating himself) every time he came to the lanes. Right off the trailer, the WrenchWorkz, Freedom Racing Engines, and S&S Diesel Motorsport-backed rail went 3.87 at 204 mph, which topped the new world trap speed record he set at ODR/UCC. On the next pass, and despite cutting a slow (for Michael) 1.049-second 60-foot, the dragster still managed to go 3.85 at an even faster 206 mph—resetting the trap speed record again. And then finally, with a sub-1-second 60-foot and lockup entering the picture sooner, Michael and team put together a blazing 3.79-second blast at an unreal 209 mph.Paul Cato could write an entire book about the trials and tribulations of campaigning his second-gen common-rail in the Pro Street category, but the weekend of July 12-13 it all finally came together for him and the Maverick Diesel team. Sporting a fresh Cummins (the third engine repair this season) thanks to help from the guys at D&J Precision Machine, Paul started the weekend with an A-to-B, 5.29-second pass at 120 mph to collect some data. He then missed the second round of qualifying (Q2) to solve a valvetrain issue in the pits, and then had to replace a rocker after his 5.11 at 150 mph in Q3.Saturday morning, Paul added a little timing to the truck’s tune-up and it responded with a 5.07 at 156 mph for the number 1 qualifier. In the final, pitted against Zack Pierce’s formidable low-5-second Ford, power was pulled out of the launch and then poured back in mid-track. It worked, with Paul taking his first Pro Street win on a 1.3-second 60-foot, a 3.37-second 330-foot, and a 4.96-second eighth-mile at a blazing 157 mph.WP Developments’ Ethan Patterson made headlines recently with the first-ever 5-second pass for a 68RFE, and then promised to improve upon it in Bowling Green. After feeling out the track and battling through a nitrous issue, a blown transmission cooler line and a cracked high-pressure fuel line fitting, he and his team definitely delivered. The Pro Street Ram went 5.89 at 117 mph locking the converter at 50 mph, which set the stage for what was to come next.In the first round of eliminations (E1), pitted against Zack Pierce, everything seemed to fall into place. Ethan drove the ’68-equipped third-gen to a 5.66-second eighth-mile at 125 mph, setting the bar extremely high for a transmission platform most have given up on. With a 1.33-second 60-foot indicating Ethan has the first half of the track figured out, look for him to add some mph (and shave some tenths) on the back-end as the season progresses.After struggling with leave issues all day on Friday, Austin Doidge was finally able to fend off the gremlins and put together his quickest pass to date behind the wheel of his common-rail second-gen. The 4.93-second lick at 145 mph marked a new personal best for Austin, across the board (60-foot, 330-foot, eighth-mile ET and trap speed). He would meet (and beat) Nathannial DeLong and the Rudy’s Performance Parts Ford in the Pro Mod final (shown).For the last qualifying round on Friday, Johnny Gilbert and the Stainless Diesel crew finally figured out how to navigate the hot, 140-plus degree track, putting up a 4.13-second pass at 177 mph. Unfortunately, this was to be the last ride for the split-window Pro Mod Corvette. Around mid-track, a catastrophic explosion occurred, which blew the engine oil pan apart and destroyed the car’s belly pan. While Johnny was able to get the car stopped in short order, a melted steering wheel release mechanism and smoke infiltrating his helmet kept him from escaping the cockpit as quickly as possible, and he suffered second-degree burns and worrisome levels of smoke inhalation as a result. Although the Corvette is a total loss, Johnny is expected to make a full recovery. You’ll find a full recap on the experience and an update on his post-race condition here.You’ve got your work cut out for you in 5.90 Index any time Brett Marcum is in town. Right off the trailer, Brett’s ’06 Dodge put up a 5.900 at 123 mph in Q1 to secure the number 1 qualifier. He wouldn’t stray far from that number the rest of the weekend. In E1, Brett beat Brad Helton (competing in his new 5.90 Index Ford) on the tree and then took the win light against a locked-in Cody Lambert. Here, Brett is in the midst of running the 5.94 at 122 mph that topped Will Cunningham in the final round. Heading into the remaining two races of the season, the 5.90 points race is about as close as it gets, and Brett is leading the pack.Carnage found its way into David Beach’s lane in 6.70 Index, which was unfortunate given how high he ranked in the points chase heading into Bowling Green. Shortly after the 7.3L-powered Ford launched (and as the progressive nitrous system began to come fully online), the turbo locked up. With a healthy amount of N2O on tap, plenty of fuel, but no boost, the inevitable nitrous backfire took out the driver side bank’s head gasket. With a new head gasket sourced, David was prepared to perform the repair in the pits and run eliminations the next day—until he discovered the number 4 piston had a hole in it. A tough break for a driver still well within striking distance of class front-runner, Jeremy Stickney.Zack Pierce was coming off a huge win at Outlaw Diesel Revenge. Unsurprisingly, he kicked off qualifying at the Bluegrass Truck Jam on the same ODR/UCC tune-up that got him in the winner’s circle in Indy. Despite the extreme heat, Zack managed to squeeze a bottom 5-second pass out of the 6.4L Power Stroke each time out. In E1, he took the win over Ethan Patterson. For E2, the final round of Pro Street, Zack faced Paul Cato. Neither driver was asleep on the tree, but Paul pulled away on the big-end. Zack leaves Kentucky second in points.Jeremy Stickney has owned his ’04 Dodge Quad Cab for more than 15 years now. Most of its life, it served as a work truck in the construction business. Currently, and thanks to his driving talents, it’s one of the most consistent 6.70 Index trucks in the nation. Jeremy has won all three ODSS events he’s made it to in 2024, and that includes this one. Going rounds, the worst pass we saw him make all weekend was a 6.81. In the finals, Jeremy put a 6.73 on the board against tough customer Andy Hacker, who actually broke out. Topping things off, Jeremy beat good friend Avery Micek in the S&S grudge race the same afternoon.Just as it seems to be at every ODSS race, 5.90 Index qualifying was tight. After Q3 alone, the top five trucks had all gone 5.90x through the ‘660. S&S Diesel Motorsport’s Ryan Reiser, behind the wheel of his ’12 F-250, put a 5.954 on the board during qualifying. Here, you can see Ryan edging out fellow competitor Aaron Karrer, who sits Fourth Place in the 5.90 standings. During the next round, Will Cunningham returned the favor. To date, Ryan is still yet to activate his truck’s nitrous system. His fuel-only, 4R100-equipped, MoTeC-controlled/S&S-calibrated and fueled 6.7L Power Stroke has been impressive to watch.The driver of this Cummins-swapped Ram 1500, Neal Nissen, has been getting in on the ODSS action recently. Despite missing the first two races of 2024, out of more than 50 registered drivers Neal sits 15th in 6.70 Index points. In Bowling Green, Neal would even double-class, running both 6.70 and ET in order to accumulate some seat time. Friday afternoon, a cracked fuel cell—repaired in the pits using JB Weld (which worked)—ended his day. However, the next day Neal made it all the way to the semifinals in 6.70 before being put on the trailer. With this truck seeming to get better with each pass, we’re curious how much further up the points ladder Neal will climb before the end of the ODSS season.Rudy’s Performance Parts put in a strong showing in the Pro Mod category, with Nathannial DeLong doing a bit of driving as the 6.4L-powered, four-wheel drive Ford skated all over the track during qualifying. Up against Steve Royalty’s triple-turbo, mechanical Cummins-powered Dodge Dakota (“Climate Change”) in E1, Nathannial told us the nitrous bottle went dry on the back-half. The unexpected N2O shortage made for a nail-biter at the stripe, with Nathannial winning the race at the tree and going 4.87 at 150 mph to Climate Change’s 4.89 at 152 mph. Team Rudy’s wound up in the finals, where Austin Doidge ultimately took the win.It’s always a treat to catch up with JH Diesel & 4×4’s Justin Hildebrand, especially now that the Florida native is following the ODSS circuit. His workhorse, an MTKB Racing tuned LB7 Duramax packing plenty of fuel, a single S480, and still rocking an Allison 1000, was signed up to run 6.70 Index in Bowling Green. Showing consistent progress throughout the weekend, Justin went from an 8.30 to a 7.41, and eventually a 6.93. His intentions with the truck are to be competitive in 6.70 for a bit, bump up to 5.90 Index, and then end up in Pro Street. How cool would it be to have another Duramax in that category!A victory in Kentucky allowed Emanuel Yoder to collect back-to-back wins in 7.70 Index. In a little over a year’s time, he’s become a force to be reckoned with in one of diesel drag racing’s busiest classes. Behind the wheel of his ’08 Ram, Emanuel showed on-point consistency all weekend. He earned the W against Tyler Stacy, a driver who went deep in both 7.70 Index and ET Bracket. With repeat wins, Emanuel will carry a solid points lead into the next round of racing at the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza.Former ET Bracket champ, Ken Phillips, was back in the saddle in Bowling Green. He had to work to pinpoint the truck’s happy place in qualifying, but by the time it was time for eliminations to start his ’06 Dodge was dialed-in as well as we’ve seen it. Once he’d fought his way through the field, Ken lined up against Brett Wanninger’s Mega Cab in the final round and got the W. It’s a win that slingshots Ken right back into the thick of things in the ET Bracket points chase, right behind the tough Dustin Mintern and front runner, Alex Tucan.
