HEADLINES: Justin Zeigler’s Fiery Moment Behind The Wheel

After making a string of record-setting passes at Outlaw Diesel Revenge last weekend, Justin Zeigler’s Pro Street Dodge caught fire (due to a loose high-pressure fuel line) and suffered an engine runaway on the return road. A few days ago, in-cab footage of the incident was released on social media, and it illustrates something we’ve seen before. When a common-rail engine develops a fuel leak, rail pressure defaults to maximum pressure in an effort to keep up with demand, hence the runaway scenario. Unfortunately, Justin never removed the safety pins from the truck’s onboard fire-suppression system, which made it unusable when he needed it. Luckily, he kept his cool in exiting the cockpit, the engine is salvageable, the truck is being repaired, and it’s likely Justin won’t miss the next ODSS race. How’s that for bouncing back quickly!

Drag Racing

The Quickest Part-Out In Diesel History?

You know you built a truck the right way when the rest of the world can’t wait to get its hands on it the minute you list it for sale. This was the case for Travis Trent and his Cummins-powered, Pro Street Ford. Last Monday, Travis announced he was parting out his storied Fummins—and buyers from Maryland to California pounced. By Wednesday, everything on the truck, other than the turbo, was paid for and either on its way to its new owner or would be very soon. It’s a bittersweet end for a truck and driver many of us watched come up through the ranks of ODSS over the years to eventually compete at an elite level. We hope to see Travis back on the track one day, but for now we wish him all the best in the new direction he’s chosen.

Event Of Interest

$10,000 Winner-Takes-All AWD Shootout

A chance for diesels to perform on the big stage should never be allowed to slip away, which is why Derek Rose, owner of the fastest 4×4 diesel truck in the world, gave Cleeter’s AWD Shootout a shout-out last week, when registration opened. The $10,000 winner-takes-all AWD race will take place October 2 on the top end of the track at Bradenton Motorsports Park—and Garrett Mitchell (a.k.a. Cleetus McFarland) made it clear that he hopes to see some diesel trucks sign up… With any luck, the 32-car field will attract the likes of some of the heaviest hitters from around the country and the diesels will put on a show.

Transmission Tech

Finally, A Trans Brake For The Allison

It’s something Sleytown Diesel has had in the works for a long time, but after teaming up with Firepunk Diesel to fine-tune and finish the system, a sell-able trans brake kit is finally on the horizon for Allison owners. A PTO cover, with circuits built into its billet cover, will house the trans-brake solenoid. The minimal wiring leaving the PTO cover will serve to apply (and release) the trans brake. Main line pressure, fed by a spot in the transmission near the external spin-on filter, feeds into the PTO cover/trans-brake circuitry and then leaves the PTO cover bound for the C5 clutch circuit located in the tail housing. The PTO cover with trans brake and a modified tail housing are part of the kits Firepunk will eventually have on the shelf, ready to ship.

Emissions

OEM Fleet Averages Will Have To Be 50+ MPG By 2031

Once again, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is one of few organizations shining a light on the looming, de facto ban on internal combustion engine vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) recent final ruling on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards will effectively force gas and diesel-powered vehicles out of the American car market. This is because the only way to meet the new CAFE standards—50.4 mpg by 2031—is through the use of a EV-dominated fleets. In a June 7^th press release, the AFPM also went on to say that the NHTSA acted unlawfully in setting the new mpg standards, as EV’s cannot be included in the baseline when establishing CAFE standards.

Written by Mike McGlothlin