It’s Showtime: The 2025 ODSS Season Kicks Off At Rudy’s Spring Truck Jam
The ODSS season begins in North Carolina, a 1,300hp Cummins windows a block, and American-made diesel parts are alive and well.
The Outlaw Diesel Super Series season got underway over the weekend at the annual Rudy’s Spring Truck Jam. There, at world famous Rockingham Dragway, the organization’s new racing classes were run for the first time, and a mix of both fresh and familiar faces left North Carolina with W’s. In the new Top Diesel category, Jayle Wagler piloted her featherweight “No Maintenance” Duramax rail to victory, while Justin Zeigler drove his Wagler CX Cummins-powered Dodge into the winner’s circle in Super Diesel. In the newly created Pro Truck class, Brian Jelich got the win behind the wheel of his latest 7.3L Power Stroke build, and S&S Diesel Motorsport’s Ryan Reiser brought home the hardware in the all-new 5.70 Index class—his first-ever ODSS win.
More From Rudy’s
The remaining winners at Rudy’s included Jeremy Stickney, whose ’04 Dodge showed up sporting a brand-new look and then proceeded to steal the show in 6.70 Index. Jeremy had to turn in a 3,000-mile round-trip from Nebraska to North Carolina and back, but grabbing the First Place hardware and a $1,500 payday made it all worth it. In 7.70 Index, the ever-consistent Dustin Mintern got the W. Look for him to improve on his Fifth Place finish in 7.70 from a year ago. Last but not least, Ryan Riddle made his return to ODSS drag racing—and he and his third-gen Cummins didn’t disappoint. Ryan would prove unstoppable in ET Bracket, ultimately earning the win and kicking off the season with the all-important points lead.
Carnage Corner
Windowed Block And Still Running—Only With A Cummins
Stock bottom end, compound turbos, and 1,300 hp… Something tells us Christopher Lynn Frampton knew this could happen. Succumbing to the abuse that comes with 1,800 to 2,000-plus lb-ft of torque, his common-rail Cummins chucked a rod through the block. Believe it or not, this is a common failure point in the beam of a factory connecting rod at extreme power levels. Firepunk Diesel’s Lavon Miller ran into Christopher in the pits right after it happened and, believe it or not, the engine fired up and ran (take a look!). On the bright side, the wrist pin/connecting rod combination makes for a great paper weight or conversation piece in the office or at the shop!
Engine Tech
Wagler—American-Made Products
Wagler Competition Products is doing the thing. The Odon, Indiana powerhouse is producing Duramax engine blocks, from start to finish, right here in the USA. That’s right, from raw material, to heat treat, to finishing, Wagler is manufacturing, machining and readying 6.6L crankcases for assembly in mid-America—and with zero tariffs. This is the same, walk-in Mazak CNC machine that produced the aluminum factory replacement block that became part of Paul Vasko’s record-holding Duramax combination. Vasko’s rail became the first diesel to ever run a 5-second quarter-mile last fall.
Form AND Function With WC Fab Up-Pipes
Leave it to Wehrli Custom Fabrication to make up-pipes an art form on the Duramax. But not only that, the company’s heavy-duty, 2-inch diameter units improve flow over the factory, 1-5/8-inch versions, and their 11-gauge stainless steel construction makes them significantly more durable (i.e. they won’t crack and leak a mess of soot everywhere along your truck’s firewall). Quicker spool up, lower exhaust gas temperature (EGT), and added support for higher horsepower are part of the package, too. The 2-inch up-pipes shown here were developed for a compound turbo arrangement on an LB7 Duramax, but WC Fab also offers them for single turbo applications (and that have OEM or Wehrli Custom Fabrication exhaust manifolds).
State Of The Industry
What Nathan Wheeler Said!
It’s clear Nathan Wheeler is fired up about the current state of diesel drag racing, but he recently summed up what many others haven’t quite been able to put into words. A decade ago, it was the hunting for horsepower era, he stated. But today things are different, he went on. “All the advancements got us D&J, Fleece, and others. We aren’t so much hunting for hp anymore when you can buy a diesel engine that will outshine your chassis. Now, competing at a high level means competition similar to real race cars. Chassis, suspension, team, tuning, maintenance, partners, and the dreaded losing a lot of races to get anywhere. Diesel racing isn’t dead. It’s just that the ceiling lifted, which gives us the best chance at winning big races.” In case you didn’t know, Nathan and his “Crazyhorse” Ford did indeed win a very big race recently. You can read all about it here.
Written by Mike McGlothlin
