Matthew Parker Wins Again—And This Time Pockets $100K

It’s like he was born for this. A driver’s driver, Matthew Parker just won the ultimate prize in diesel—again. This time, the setting for the Seventy 2 Fast race was Ennis, Texas at the NHRDA World Finals. With an even larger cash payout up for grabs this go ’round ($100,000), the no-time, heads-up action produced the closest competition to date. Believe it or not, the name Nathan Wheeler was even on the guest list… The high stakes and the gravity of the situation didn’t seem to matter to Mr. Parker, whose common-rail second-gen Cummins never skipped a beat in the Texas heat. With the win, Matthew has pocketed $170,000 in Seventy 2 Fast race winnings this year alone.

OEM News

GM Officially Introduces America To 8-Liter Diesels In Pickup Trucks

Did GM just engineer a “better” predator? With Ford’s 6.7L Power Stroke (i.e. “Scorpion”) leading the pack for years, General Motors developed a new 8.3L V-8 Duramax and named it Mongoose… a mammal that’s known to eat a steady diet of scorpions. Get it? GM’s new “L6P” Duramax boasts a CGI block, a forged-steel crankshaft, forged-steel rods, steel pistons, cast-aluminum cylinder heads, and a valvetrain like the L5P. The 8.3L also features electronically controlled piston cooling jets, intake manifolds directly incorporated into the heads, an oil pump gear-driven off the rear, a VGT with integrated EGR ports and a close-coupled DOC, and a water-to-air intercooler system. At launch (’27 model year HD trucks), the L6P will produce 555 hp at 2,500 rpm and 1,230 lb-ft of torque at 1,400 rpm.

At The ‘Strip

New NHRDA Top Diesel Record

Back at the NHRDA World Finals… It was impossible to ignore the presence of S&S Diesel Motorsport’s Michael Cordova and his record-holding dragster. With a fresh transmission in place following the loss of all forward gears at Trucks Unleashed, Michael and team wasted little time putting an impressive pass together. And thanks to plenty of shutdown area at the Texas Motorplex, Michael was able to run it out the back door. The result? A 3.77-second 1/8-mile at 205 mph—setting new NHRDA Top Diesel ET and trap speed records. Even better yet, Michael had an incredible 0.003 reaction time on the record-setting pass.

One Season, Two 5.90 Championships

You’ve heard of double-classing, but have you ever heard of double-champion-ing? If not, Brett Marcum can fill you in. Upon securing another ODSS 5.90 Index championship (with one more race to go, no less), Brett brought his winning ways to the NHRDA World Finals to compete for the organization’s 5.90 crown. Not only did Brett get the win in Texas, but he left the Lone Star State the 2026 NHRDA Super Street (5.90) champion. Brett’s Nebraskan neighbor, Jeremy Stickney, would follow a similar path, with the ODSS regular bringing his A-game to Ennis and departing the NHRDA World Finals not only as a race winner but as the 2026 NHRDA 6.70 Index points champion.

Big Progress For TSD’s Project Blackbird

The NHRDA World Finals proved worthwhile for the Truck Source Diesel team from San Antonio. In Ennis, the company’s aluminum bodied Super Duty coined “Blackbird” went the quickest it’s ever been. Following a trip though the 1/8-mile in the 4.80s, owner Chris Buhidar and the rest of the TSD team began to lean on truck even more. Passes of 4.72 at 161 mph and 4.69 at 163 mph would follow before the Freedom-built, billet Cummins laid down a 4.64-second pass at 164 mph. With things progressing so quickly, TSD’s IFS-equipped, tube chassis 4×4 creation could eventually be a threat to Derek Rose’s 4×4 1/8-mile diesel record (4.41 at 173 mph).

Written by Mike McGlothlin