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Endless Entertainment: Riffraff Diesel Performance’s 2015 Event

The grass roots feel of dirt drag events has been growing in influence this year and was a welcome addition to the Riffraff Diesel Performance Event in Newport, Tennessee, this summer. The family style event has grown every year and become an important event on many diesel enthusiasts’ calendars, and this year was no exception. Diesel junkies flocked into the Cocke County fairgrounds on July 18th 2015 eager to see the stunning Show-N-Shine trucks, hear the spool of engines on the dyno, watch Riffraff’s first dirt drags, and of course, witness the sled pull.

The high-powered trucks showing their power on the DP-Tuner dyno drew in a large crowd throughout the day. Phillip Mullet’s GMC made the second most power of the day.
Patrick Riner topped the charts with his 949 horsepower Ram 2500, taking home the highest power title at the Riffraff event.
Will Riner’s behemoth show truck clinched the overall Best in Show title along with the Best Ford and Best Paint awards for his radical suspension and flashy paintjob.

As in year’s past, the event was family friendly and everyone was welcome to come and have a good time, including the young ones who were able to enjoy some bounce castles, cotton candy and snow cones, even with the scattered showers that poured on spectators and their trucks. Though the event originally catered to the Power Stroke clan of diesel lovers, a variety makes and models made it to this special event.

The eventual Modified Diesel class winner and 2nd overall dyno competitor, Phillip Mullet, blasted past his competition every round he entered.

The DP-Tuner Dyno started off right away and very quickly had a long line formed behind it waiting for their chance to prove their metal and lay down the power. The highest horsepower honor eventually went to Patrick Riner with his ‘06 Ram 2500 with an impressive 949 horsepower and 1,822 pound feet of torque. The top Duramax and top Power Stroke both rounded out the top three overall with Phillip Mullet’s ‘03 GMC 2500 coming in with 786 horsepower and 1,050 pound feet of torque followed by Colt Minton and his 2010 F-250 at 618 horsepower and 1,201 pound feet of torque.

Next to begin after the dyno was underway was the inaugural dirt drags. Still showing their welcoming attitude and “run what you brung” attitude, Clay Note and his Riffraff West Coast based crew set up five different classes for the drag racing activity. The quick arm-drop style dirt drags had a good pace and kept fans excited, as they flew down the 300-foot track with dust flying. Adam Doan grabbed the win in the 4WD Gas class as the brackets wound down, while Kamen Drae won the 4WD Stock Diesel through his competitive group. The 2WD/Manual classes were won by Gabriel Williams in the gas division and Dustin Coons on the diesel side. Phillip Mullet showed his trucks ability by placing second highest power overall on the dyno and coming out on top of the Modified Diesel dirt drag class, as he pounded down the track ahead of the rest down to the final. The dirt drags were a hit as fans enjoyed watching the homegrown style, head-to-head racing with mixed clouds of clay dust and black smoke.

Just a tad bit of smoke from Will Riner’s Ford as it spun the dyno rollers.

By the time the dirt drags were wrapping up, judging had been tallied for the crowd of Show-N-Shine contestants. With a variety of trucks entered, vehicles were divided into six distinct categories and competition was held across those to determine the overall best-in-show. One of the largest classes of the event was the Old Body Style (OBS) early Ford group. Jackson Camb was able to take the win in the Work Stock group, and Justin LaFollete took home first in the Best Dodge category. Kevin Martin and his slick OBS (custom painted black with deep, dark red flames and carbon fiber effects) was able to nab first in both the Cleanest Ride and Best OBS. But Will Riner’s custom-built, massively lifted, gray, flamed Power Stroke show truck with bright yellow and blue accents and clean underbelly came out on top by gathering the Best Ford and Best Paint category wins and taking the Best in Show title, literally towering over ogling spectators and judges alike.

Ernie Huling and his Dirty Money truck’s outlandish graphics held the crowd’s eye as it muscled down the track to finish third in the 2.6 Class.
Though this diesel rat-rod was only able to lay down one pass, the unique truck turned heads its entire way down the track as it crossed the finish first.

Rolling out next was the Dirt Hog II sled for everyone’s favorite home-style sled pull. The stands swelled again to watch the trucks struggle to drag the sled down the Tennessee clay. The Riffraff family showed their open door policy by again allowing a wide range of classes to allow anyone excited to try their hand at a hook to enter, even giving a bright blue semi a chance at the track in an exhibition round. The popular work stock, stock, and 2.5 classes are some of the staples of outlaw sled pulls, enabling many to sample the sport they love to watch, dialing in project trucks and just having a good time. And Riffraff’s pull didn’t disappoint these categories or the fans in the stands.

These two Fords battled off the arm drop start line kicking up the dust and scrambling for traction as they launched.

Many competitors entered multiple classes and really put their trucks to the test, like Hollis Morton, who was able to land first place in both the Work Stock and Stock Classes (he ended up as the largest pack of the pull with 15 trucks competing). He pulled a 361-foot run in Work Stock, nabbing the longest pull of the night and a 346-foot pull in Stock. Rick Eckerle at 318 feet then Jason Pandolph with 313 feet trailed behind Morton in the Work Stock Class and Ryan Evers’ 330 feet followed by Cole Bailey’s 307 feet rounded out the podium in the Stock Class.

Riffraff ensured fun for all ages when they had the local theatre in Newport, Tennessee, take over the center of the horse track on the fairgrounds with colorful bounce houses, cotton candy and snow cones.
Justin Goode nabbed the win with a 319-foot pull in the 2.5 Class in his black Duramax.
Pulling ahead of the rest of the pack, Bruce Wilson and White Lightning won the 2.6 class with a 331-foot run.

The Open Class was small but still a crowd pleaser with its four entrants, the top two being Adam Doan who finished second with a 236-foot run and Eric Whitfield who won with his 294-foot pull. Another double classer actually pulling two different trucks was Justin Goode who snagged the win in the 2.5 Class with a 319-foot pull and landed a podium finish in the 2.6 pack. Zach Green took second, coming in with 295 feet while Michael Moore finished third in the 2.5 pack with a 273-foot pull. In the 2.6 Class, Ernie Huling came in third at 320 feet behind Justin Goode’s 326-foot run in second and Bruce Wilson in the top spot with 331 feet. The pulls that started in the early evening and wound into the night gave the fans the thrill they were looking for at the family event.

Kevin Martin and his pristine custom painted F-350 took home the Best OBS and Cleanest Ride categories in the Show-N-Shine competition.

The Riffraff team came together again and put on another great event with something going on around every corner the entire day. From kids laughing in a bounce castle, turbos spooling on the rollers and tires squalling on dirt and clay, you were bound to have a great time. DW

SHOW-N-SHINE RESULTS

Best of Show: Will Riner

Best Ford: Will Riner

Best OBS: Kevin Martin

Best Dodge: Justin LaFollete

Cleanest Ride: Kevin Martin

Best Paint: Will Riner

Work Stock: Jackson Camb

DIRT DRAG WINNERS

4WD Gas: Adam Doan

Stock 4WD Diesel: Kamen Drae

Modified Diesel: Phillip Mullet

2WD/Manual Gas: Gabriel Williams

2WD/Manual Diesel: Dustin Koons

SLED PULL RESULTS

Stock Class
Place Driver Name Distance
1 Hollis Morton 346
2 Ryan Evers 330
3 Cole Bailey 307
Work Stock Class
Place Driver Name Distance
1 Hollis Morton 361
2 Rick Eckerle 318
3 Jason Pandolph 313
2.5 Class
Place Driver Name Distance
1 Justin Goode 319
2 Zach Green 295
3 Michael Moore 273
2.6 Class
Place Driver Name Distance
1 Bruce Wilson 331
2 Justin Goode 326
3 Ernie Huling 320
Open Class
Place Driver Name Distance
1 Eric Whitfield 294
2 Adam Doan 236

DYNO RESULTS

Thursday 5.28.15
Name Year Make HP TQ
Patrick Riner 2006 Ram 2500 949 1,822
Phillip Mullet 2003 GMC 2500 786 1,050
Colt Minton 2010 Ford F-250 618 1,201
Jonathan Sals 2005 Ford F-250 550 1,024
Jackson Ferguson 2008 Ford F-250 521 1,033
Tammie Crews 2008 Ford F-350 512 950
Mike Kha’rzada 2002 Ford F-250 497 962
Garret Ricker 2008 Duramax 496 957
Ian Dunn 2004 Ford F-250 483 840
Will Riner 2005 Ford F-350 481 886
Neal Sawyer 1997 Ford F-250 469 760
Tyler Moore 2004 Ford F-250 458 842
Justin Manuel 2010 Dodge 3500 441 1,136
Bret Banks 2007 Chevy 2500 437 760
Clayton Bellen 2005 Ford F-250 421 751
Dustin Koons 1995 Dodge 2500 399 801
Christian Carmen 1997 Ford F-250 395 768
Blake Mull 2013 GMC 2500 389 1,174
Andrew Krause 1996 Ford F-250 385 720
Doug Brown 2000 Ford F-250 359 712
Adam Uinson 1999 Ford F-350 302 651

Sources:

Cocke County A&I Fair
423.623.7162
CockeCountyFair.com

DP-Tuner Mobile Dyno
828.221.0076
DP-Tuner.com

Riffraff Diesel Performance
541.879.1052
RiffRaffDiesel.com

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