Winter sets in at the Texas Diesel Nationals.
The one thing thats always guaranteed about Texas: if you don’t like the weather, wait a bit and it’s bound to change. That was the case at the 2012 Texas Diesel Nationals at 1/8th mile North Star Dragway, just outside of Denton. When we arrived on Friday, temps were in the high 70s to low 80s. But by Saturday morning, an early winter cold front moved through, dropping the highs to the low 50s under a fully overcast sky.
Cold, windy and overcast weather could not deter diesel fans from coming out to the fourth annual Texas Diesel Roundup.
Three classes of diesel ran on the North Star Dragway 1/8th mile, which included a diesel-powered van and a 24-valve Cummins transplant into a `74 Buick Riviera.
They say everything is bigger in Texas… guess we’d have to agree.
Complete Performance rolled out their big rig display truck, and apparently sold out of sweatshirts and diesel parts as well.
The other good thing about Texas is that you can’t dampen diesel event enthusiasm with some semi-inclement weather. People in Texas know how to dress for the cold and rain, and wouldn’t miss a chance to see side-by-side diesel drag racing action, and a full field of sled pullers making maximum horsepower thanks to the cool temperatures.
Jerry Putman was not afraid to take his clean Cummins 12-valve powered `75 International flatbed down the track in the sled pull. Check out the custom chrome octagonal stack out back.
Dan’s Diesel rolled out their chassis dyno, and with cold temps and the possibility of making good numbers, they were rockin’ the rollers all day.
A Diesel World feature alumnus was back this year, sporting some new wheels and tires, and a set of stacks, and pulling a race truck.
A regular on the Texas diesel scene, Joshua Harris’s Duramax-powered van made it into the finals before breaking. The truck made consistent 10-second passes all day.
And the cold weather did not deter local diesel companies from showing up as well, with Classic Ram, Complete Performance, Valair Clutch, Majestic Turbo and Zimmerman Kubota all on hand, along with several of the NADM’s national sponsors, including Pro-Flow Exhaust.
Nice use of LEDs on the front valance.
Another regular at Texas diesel events is this 24-valve Cummins powered `75 Buick Riviera that finished first in Quick Diesel.
The event had all the hallmarks of a diesel-only event; drag racing on the 1/8th mile, vendor row, packed show-and-shine area and plenty of room for track-side parking along both the dragstrip and sled pulling track. By mid-afternoon, the crowd had moved to the newly constructed sled pulling track for an afternoon of black smoke and flying dirt. With a near-record purse on the line, the event brought in some heavy hitters from the local sled pulling circuit.
This wild 2011 Dodge belonging to Curtis Hicks picked up Best of Show honors in the Show and Shine competition.
You’ll find all sorts of real world diesels in Texas including these clean OBS Fords.
The fourth annual Texas Diesel Nationals is the crown jewel diesel-only event for one of the oldest diesel clubs in the US, the ODRA. Diesel Motorsports and the ODRA run a year-long drag racing series at North Star Raceway which will continue in 2013. For more information on next year’s Texas Diesel Roundup, visit www.dieselmotorsports.us or www.runnadm.com for information on all 2013 events.
| Sponsors: | ||
| Title: H&S Performance | ||
| Product Sponsors: | ||
| South Bend Clutch | ||
| Fluidampr | ||
| Industrial Injection | ||
| ARP | ||
| Fuelab | ||
| Flo-Pro Exhaust | ||
| Champion Blue Flame Oil | ||
| K&N Air Intake | ||
| Mahle | ||
| Carrillo | ||
| Victor Reinz | ||
| Sinister Diesel | ||
| Covercraft | ||
| Pure Power! | ||
| SSBC | ||
| Custom Diesel | ||
| National Rifle Association | ||
| Alligator Performance | ||
| Ny-Trex | ||
| Vulcan Performance | ||
| Little Power Shop | ||
| CRC | ||
| Class Sponsors: | ||
| Workstock – Rollin Smoke Diesel.com | ||
| 2.6 Class- Second Wind Performance | ||
| Quick Diesel – New Era Diesel | ||
| ET – ODRA | ||
| Event Sponsors: Classic RAM | ||
| Sled Pulling: Valair Clutch | ||
| Show-N-Shine: Majestic Turbo | ||
| Drag Racing: Complete Performance | ||
Drag Racing Results:
Name Vehicle Time and Speed
ET Bracket:
1. Adam Lessner `90 Dodge 11.18 @ 62.68
2. M. Kubik `05 Ford F-250 21.01 @ 48.09
Quick Diesel:
1. Brian Carr Buick Riviera 10.35 @ 70.90
2. Joshua Harris Duramax van Broke in Final
Unlimited:
1. C. Perales `01 Dodge 7.30 @ 93.46
2. Jim Jones `02 Chevrolet 31.12 @ 55.05
Sled Pulling Results:
| 3.0 Street Diesel | |||||
|
|
Name |
City/State |
Year |
Make, Model |
Distance |
| Dan Vallance | Mineral Wells, TX |
2007 |
Dodge |
324.08 |
|
| Leah Scott | California, MD |
2003 |
Dodge |
321.07 |
|
| Buck Hyndman | Keene, TX |
1997 |
Dodge |
315.03 |
|
| J.T. Fondy | Bangs, TX |
1998 |
Dodge |
314.04 |
|
| Chance O’Daniel | Coahoma, TX |
1995 |
Dodge |
310.01 |
|
| Jesse Knight | Lebo, KS |
2007 |
Dodge |
309.03 |
|
| John Weatherby | Big Lake, TX |
2007 |
Dodge |
297.06 |
|
| Vanessa Finstad | Keene, TX |
2003 |
Dodge |
288.01 |
|
| Jeremiah Peek | Graford, TX |
2006 |
Dodge |
279.03 |
|
| Ritchie Shafer | Burleson, TX |
1997 |
Dodge |
274.09 |
|
| Brandon McCrae | Saginaw, TX |
1995 |
Dodge |
265.11 |
|
| Brian Slimp | Lipan, TX |
1998 |
Dodge |
260.01 |
|
| Cade Piper | Stephenville, TX |
1998 |
Dodge |
227.10 |
|
| Gary Wolf | Weatherford, TX |
2007 |
Dodge | broke | |
| 2.6 STREET DIESEL | |||||
|
|
Name |
City/State |
Year |
Make/Model |
Distance |
| Jesse Knight | Lebo, KS |
2007 |
Dodge |
325.02 |
|
| Dan Vallance | Mineral Wells, TX |
2007 |
Dodge |
324.01 |
|
| Leah Scott | California, MD |
2003 |
Dodge |
321.06 |
|
| Dan Clarke | Marengo, IL |
2005 |
Chevy |
321.03 |
|
| Buck Hyndman | Keene, TX |
1997 |
Dodge |
311.04 |
|
| Chance O’Daniel | Coahoma, TX |
1995 |
Dodge |
305.00 |
|
| John Weatherby | Big Lake, TX |
2007 |
Dodge |
301.01 |
|
| Chris Simpson | Fort Worth, TX |
1994 |
Dodge |
275.00 |
|
| Jeremiah Peek | Graford, TX |
2006 |
Dodge |
271.10 |
|
| Vanessa Finstead | Keene, TX |
2003 |
Dodge |
267.05 |
|
| Brian Slimp | Lipan, TX |
1998 |
Dodge |
257.04 |
|
| Jerry Putman | Weatherford, TX |
1975 |
International |
250.05 |
|
| Gary Wolf | Weatherford, TX |
2003 |
Dodge |
20.10 |
|
| WORK STOCK | |||||
|
Hook # |
Name |
City/State |
Year, Color |
Make, Model |
Distance |
|
1 |
Paul Harris | Ben Wheeler, TX |
2007 |
GMC |
320.11 |
|
9 |
Josh Harris | Lindale, TX |
2006 |
Chevy |
317.09 |
|
3 |
Cory Chupp | DeLeon, TX |
2004 |
Dodge |
275.07 |
Show-n-Shine Competition:
Best of Show: Curtis Hicks – 2011 Dodge
Runner-Up: Jerry Putman – 1975 International
Text and Photos by Kevin Wilson