Records, championships, grudge racing, and tight margins of victory—the final ODSS race of the year had it all.
If ever there were a finale race that lived up to all the hype, the inaugural Snyder Performance Engineering Outlaw Finals was it. Serving as the last stop on the 2024 Outlaw Diesel Super Series schedule, New Alexandria, Pennsylvania’s Keystone Raceway Park became the place where a new Duramax world record was set, where countless personal bests were achieved, and where some of the closest heads-up races we’ve ever seen went down. Friday night was capped off with the grudge race to end all grudge races: a spectacle where the winner enjoyed a 0.021-second margin of victory. Unbelievably, Saturday’s Pro Street finale would top that with a race that was won by a 0.0008-second margin. It was a thrilling finish to a memorable ODSS season, and we hope you’ve enjoyed our coverage of this unique racing series.
Heading into the last race of the season, everyone could see it coming: a Pro Street final between last year’s champion, the class E.T. and trap speed record-holder, Justin Zeigler, and current points leader, Paul Cato. In what was perhaps the closest heads-up race in diesel history, Paul’s 4.89 at 158 mph beat Justin’s 4.85 at 160 mph by a .0008-second margin! That’s a little more than 2-inches if you break out the tape measure. Without question, this was the final of the year. Post-race, Paul equated his victory to David defeating Goliath. And with Justin being arguably the most formidable, proven, and intimidating racer in the business, it’s hard not to agree with that analogy.Following a winter that was chock full of changes—some of which included chassis updating at Precision Chassis, Inc. and a billet-aluminum block and head Duramax from Wagler Competition Products—Paul Vasko picked up right where he left off in 2023. His first qualifying pass put a 4.04 at 179 mph on the board, but bigger things were coming. In Q2, Paul and team let it rip, blasting through the eighth-mile in 3.90 seconds at 185 mph—a new world record for a Duramax. Paul’s pass in the 3’s would be the quickest ET of the weekend.Aside from the wild Pro Street final between himself and Paul Cato, Justin Zeigler and his fire-breathing Dodge had other business to tend to. He was locked in against Austin Doidge’s Pro Mod common-rail second-gen for the final S&S Diesel Motorsport Friday night grudge race of the year, and to say the two Exergy-fueled, D&J Cummins-powered machines made a show of it would be an understatement. After Austin won the race to the ‘330 mark, Justin unleashed a bevy of horsepower and ultimately drove around Austin at the stripe. Margin of victory: 0.021 seconds. Zeigler: 4.81 at 161 mph. Doidge: 4.76 at 151 mph. 2,800 hp vs. 2,200 hp.Scheid Diesel’s short-track game with the rail has definitely improved this season, but up until the final round of action in Pennsylvania a 3-second pass had eluded them. Longtime driver of the P-pumped Cummins-powered rail, Jared Jones, had gone 4.05 at 190 mph in qualifying and 4.01 at 192 mph in a win over Mattie Graves, but everything changed in the final against Paul Vasko. After grabbing a 1.051-second 60-foot, Jared drove the rail to a 3.93 at 193 mph, marking the first time team Scheid has gone 3’s at an ODSS event. With the new, centrifugal clutch setup all but figured out now, look for the Scheid crew to make a strong bid for the Pro Dragster points championship in 2025.Firepunk Diesel’s Pro Mod Duster has proven a hard nut to crack in terms of traction on big tires this season. Despite running a pair of bottom 4’s during testing on Thursday (and venturing into the 3’s back on September 8th), the car’s chassis issues returned once the event got underway on Friday. Still, team Firepunk found themselves in the Pro Mod final, pitted against points leader, Austin Doidge. The race proved to be another pedal fest for driver Larson Miller, but the Duster crossed the stripe first, and in doing so overtook Austin in points and secured the 2024 Pro Mod championship.Coming into the final race of the year, Austin Doidge told us he added another kit of nitrous to the mix. His Pro Mod Dodge responded by stringing several new personal bests together, including a 4.83-second ET, a 4.79 at 151 mph followed by an even quicker 4.76 at 151 mph during the grudge race with Justin Zeigler, and a 4.78 at a new personal best trap speed of 152 mph against Rudy’s Performance Parts in eliminations. A new personal best 60-foot of 1.18 seconds was also earned on the weekend. Incredibly, Austin’s truck makes an estimated 2,200 hp on a single Exergy Alpha 550 14mm CP3.This was the first stateside race for Canadian-based JDB Diesel Performance, and the company brought its nasty 6.7L Power Stroke with them to compete in the 5.90 Index category. Right out of the gate, they set the qualifying mark to beat at 5.92. In Q3, their F-250 stormed through the eighth-mile in 5.74 seconds, matching the ET record they hold for a truck equipped with a 6R140 TorqShift transmission. Unfortunately, the Power Stroke’s oil pump self-destructed at the end of the pass, but the Ford from the Great White North definitely made an impression at the event.Brett Marcum (near side) has been a regular on the 5.90 Index scene since the class came into existence—and at this point he practically has the task of running the number down to a science. This weekend, he also had the benefit of S&S Diesel Motorsport’s Ben Shadday being on hand to help with his calibration and other needs. The combination proved lethal for the competition, as Brett grabbed the number 1 qualifier, proceeded to knifed his way through eliminations, and meet Cody Helms and his P-pumped second-gen in the finals. Cody (far side), who’d struggled through several turbo issues, persevered in order to make it to the finals, but in the end it was Brett’s day. He would get the win with a 5.92 to Cody’s 5.88 breakout.Between engine troubles, a missed race, and no event wins, it was a rough year for the fastest woman in diesel, Mattie Graves. At the Snyder Performance Engineering Outlaw Finals, the Hollyrock Customs team got back to basics, with a goal of making A-to-B passes and inching back toward bottom 4’s and high 3’s. In Q1, the twin-turbo, Duramax-powered rail went 4.30 at 164 mph. On Saturday, Mattie would collect a 4.42-second time slip before going 4.20 at 172 mph on her final qualifying pass. Up against Jared Jones and Scheid Diesel in E1, she won the short-track battle, with Jared Jones eventually driving around her (a 4.21 to 4.01 loss). Crew chief Mike Graves told us they plan to go through the dragster from head to toe this winter and come out swinging in 2025.Less than two weeks after buying Mark Rojee’s 5.90 index championship-winning truck, Ben Francis looked at home behind the wheel. Despite breaking out with a 5.88 against Mitchell Wicklund in E1, Ben went 5.94, 5.96 and 5.87 during qualifying, indicating that the truck still has what it takes to win, but also that Ben was noticeably comfortable piloting the ’07 shortbed 2500. This is the same, full interior, 5,800-pound truck that won the 5.90 Index title under Rod MacMaster, as well as the aforementioned Mark Rojee.It was a busy weekend for ODSS newcomer, Jayle Wagler. Not only was she competing in 5.90 Index, but extra seat time was earned by also racing in the Pro Dragster category. While an unfortunate jump took her out of 5.90 contention in eliminations, we did see her dragster run a new personal best 5.40 at 122 mph. The brainchild of Jayle and her father, Jeremy Wagler, it’s a racing project that proves low horsepower, lightweight, and sourcing parts on the cheap can make for a very competitive vehicle. Thanks to the dragster’s 2,000-pound race weight, the Streetfighter series Duramax only has to produce roughly 450 hp to run 5.90 Index.Coming on strong at the end of the 2024 season, Jesse Pittman finished the year with back-to-back wins in 6.70 Index. In the final round of eliminations, and up against good friend, Michael Lively, Jesse ran the number while Michael broke out (6.68). His classic body Duramax gets much of its consistency thanks to a Sun Coast Duraflite M3GA Comp 48RE swap. Jesse’s late-season charge also landed him in the runner-up position in points. As a bonus, he also ran a 5.96 in testing on Thursday. This crew cab Duramax definitely means business.Tyler Stacy earned his second 7.70 win in a row in Pennsylvania, but it didn’t come easy. When you factor in the mechanical failures and electrical issues he faced—along with leaving a rag over the air filter during qualifying—everything was earned the hard way. In pursuit of his win, he put rookie, David Hurst, on the trailer, and then met up with Ryan Westrick and his Duramax-powered square body in the final. With the win, Tyler finished 2024 Second Place in 7.70 Index points and, being a formidable double-classer, ended up third in points over in ET Bracket.After winning the first three events he attended, Jeremy Stickney went out early on in eliminations at both the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza and the Snyder Performance Engineering Outlaw Finals. Luckily, he was far enough ahead of everyone else on points that it didn’t matter. Jeremy sewed up the 6.70 Index championship in Pennsylvania. Along with Brett Marcum, Avery Micek, and several others from the west Iowa, east Nebraska crew that travel and race together, he covered a lot of miles following the ODSS circuit this year.Within the ranks of 7.70 Index, Emanuel Yoder proved a dominant force in 2024. Uncharacteristically, he lost in E2 at the final race of the year. However, thanks to his wins at Outlaw Diesel Revenge and Bluegrass Truck Jam, a runner-up finish in Orlando, and a strong effort at the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, Emanuel had the 7.70 championship all but locked up prior to the season finale. Between him, Tyler Stacy, David Hurst, and several others, 7.70 Index is one of the most competitive classes of racing you’ll find anywhere.Taking full advantage of all the test sessions made available at Keystone Raceway Park, Neal Nissen was getting darn close to running 6.70 right on the money by the time racing got underway. Essentially hot-lapping his 6.7L Cummins-powered Ram all weekend, his lightweight, two-wheel drive half-ton made countless 6-second passes, and the truck proved just as consistent in ET Bracket as it did in 6.70 Index. In fact, Neal went all the way to the finals in ET Bracket, ultimately winning on a double breakout against Clinton O’Neel.After addressing backed-out differential bolts and nursing some cooked C1 clutches in his Allison, Dustin Mintern’s Silverado somehow survived another race of abuse and then drove all the way back to Wilmington, North Carolina. One week prior, he was racing at the NHRDA World Finals. But Dustin did more than just survive, he wrapped up the ET Bracket championship, his first ODSS title. Throughout the season, Dustin and his high-mile Duramax were steady and consistent. Pulling double duty, he also ended the year with a Fifth Place finish in 7.70 Index.A mover and a shaker, David Beach sold his 6.70 index Ford prior to the ODSS finale, but that didn’t keep him from buying a tech card and entering his tow rig in the ET Bracket action. The High Output ‘24 Super Duty ran 9.70s repeatably enough to be a contender in the class. Unfortunately, the 500 hp Limited eventually put a 9.55 on the board (considerably quicker than his dial-in) in a breakout loss against eventual ET Bracket winner, Neal Nissen.
