Diesel World Drag Race: Round 2

Diesel Racing Returns to Indiana for Round 2 of the Diesel World Drags

With much of the racing world still struggling through some sort of regional, legal or logistical paralysis following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, we kept things simple. We returned to Wagler Motorsports Park for Round 2 of the Diesel World Drags. The blazing-fast encore to our first Covid-19 era drag race was held on July 11th and some of the heaviest hitters in the business turned out to compete—and this time spectators were allowed through the gates. Among the All Star cast of Diesel World drivers that answered the call were Jared Jones in the Scheid Diesel rail, Firepunk Diesel’s Larson Miller in the Hot Shot’s Secret Pro Mod S10, and Johnny Gilbert in Stainless Diesel’s 2,500hp Pro Street Dodge.

In addition to many of the usual ODSS suspects, several new builds went down the track for the first time. This included the long-awaited debut of Ben Shadday’s new Cummins-powered Corvette Pro Mod, Wagler’s ear-ringing blown Duramax rail, and Cameron Davis’ 6.70 Index Duramax. The humid summer air was hot and thick, but the track prep was amazing, yielding a 1.07-second 60-foot at one point, a slew of 4’s and low 5’s, and at least one new personal best trap speed over the course of the weekend. In short, a lot happened. Lucky for you, if you missed the Diesel World live-stream, we’ve got the full recap of all the action in the pages that follow.

Steve Royalty Climate Change Dragster Ben Shadday Amsoil Corvette Dragster Sheid Diesel Rail Dragster

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1963 Corvette Diesel Dragster, Ben Shadday, Amsoil — There wasn’t a fan or fellow driver on the grounds who wasn’t anticipating the debut of Ben Shadday’s latest creation. His Pro Mod ’63 Corvette sports a full-on, billet-aluminum CX400 Cummins from Wagler Competition Products. Under the massive cowl hood, a 94mm GT55 from Stainless Diesel feeds the beast, while triple CP3’s and injectors from S&S Diesel Motorsport feed it. Right out of the gate, Ben put down a 4.77 at 156 mph. Seen here in the WyoTech sponsored lane.

Cummins Diesel Rail, Scheid Diesel — Although Scheid Diesel was once again the only game in town in the Pro Dragster field, it didn’t stop them from trying to dig their way to bottom 4’s. In fact, driver Jared Jones was able to put together consistent passes in the 4.20’s all day long, including a 4.25 at 174 mph followed by a 4.22 at the same trap speed. In an effort to better the dragster’s eighth-mile ET’s, Dan Scheid and his team switched to taller, 3.25 gears (vs. a 2.73 ring and pinion) over the winter. Seen here in the WyoTech lane.

Anteater Diesel Drag Truck, Austin Doidge — You could say Austin Doidge had a good weekend. After recently making the swap to common-rail power, his 5.90 Index second-gen (known as the Anteater) turned in a 5.77 during Friday night’s test session. Then, with the proper adjustments made, he kicked off Saturday with a 6.02 at 114 mph and improved the next time out with a 5.92. In the finals, another 5.92-second effort was good enough for the overall win.

Cameron Davis Duramax Diesel Drag Truck — On a fresh 6.70 Index build, Cameron Davis had a lot of slowing down to do. His standard cab Duramax blasted off to a 6.40 E.T. its first time out, rolling across the stripe at 110 mph. Next he clicked off a 6.66 (with a 6) and then got close to where he needed to be with a 6.69-second pass. For now, Cameron’s classic body beauty is equipped with an Allison, but if he decides to push the truck into 5.90 Index in the future, that will likely change.

Johnny Gilbert, Stainless Steel Diesel Dragster — While last season was geared more toward accumulating points, defending ODSS Pro Street champ Johnny Gilbert of Stainless Diesel told us that 2020 is all about pushing the limits. He must’ve meant it because the kind of trap speeds his ’01 Dodge was laying down at Wagler’s indicated that some pretty big horsepower was being applied to the track. After the truck’s first pass of 5.26 at 148.94 mph was in the books, Johnny came back around for a neck-snapping 5.06 at 149.73 mph later on. Then finally, on an exhibition run after the day’s drag racing had concluded, he set a new personal best trap speed of 150.26 mph.

Austin Denny, 6.0L Ford Diesel Drag Truck — Having already gone 5.70s, Austin Denny’s 5.90 Index Super Duty represents one of the nastiest 6.0L Power Strokes in the nation. Prior to Round 2 at Wagler’s, Austin and his crew added AFCO Racing coil-over shocks up front, along with a rack and pinion steering swap.

Larson Miller, Firepunk Diesel Drag truck — As the winner of the first round of the Diesel World Drags (and based on everything he and the crew at Firepunk Diesel have accomplished in the past), Larson Miller was the favorite in the Pro Mod class. Unfortunately, rare transmission issues took Larson and the 3,200hp S10 out of contention during qualifying. Seen here in the Exergy sponsored burn out box.

Wagler Competion Diesel Rail Dragster — This was the first time we had the privilege of seeing Wagler’s blown Duramax dragster in action. The full skinny on the Duramax entails 385 cubic inches, S&S fuel injectors and CP3’s, a PSI blower designed specifically for low-rpm diesel applications, water-methanol, and nitrous. The 50/50 mix of water-meth is used to cool the blower and utilizes four Billet Atomizer injectors, while the two jets that are part of the Nitrous Express system are employed to lower air intake temps. A Motec ECM controls both the engine and the water-meth system, and a Powerglide from Coan Engineering transfers power to the rear end.

Climate Change, Ben Shadday — With team Firepunk out of the action, it was up to Steve Royalty and the Climate Change crew to take down Ben Shadday’s hard-charging Pro Mod Corvette. Shadday would get the W, running a 4.94 to Royalty’s 5.22, but it was one of the better races of the day. Royalty’s wild, triple-turbo Dakota is getting quicker and smoother, while Shadday’s new car continues to log passes and gather the kind of data his team needs to make it even faster.

Anteater, 6.0 L Ford Diesel Drag Truck — In another nail-biting side-by-side drag race, Austin Denny’s 6.0L Super Duty went up against Austin Doidge’s common-rail second-gen in the 5.90 final. Denny grabbed the quicker reaction time, but Doidge made it to the 60-foot mark and 330-foot mark sooner. Denny made an attempt to run Doidge down, going 6.02 at 118 mph, but Doidge’s 5.92-second pass at 116 mph earned him the victory.

Wagler Competion Rail Dragster — Driven by Andre Dusek of S&S Diesel Motorsport, Wagler’s ultra-responsive rail cut a 1.078-second 60-foot during testing and then went on to run a 4.86 at 134 mph despite Andre having to lift for nearly a full second. On its third pass, full-throttle had to be abandoned once again, but the dragster still managed a 4.74 at 145 mph. Trust us, this thing is loud. Not quite Top Fuel loud, but definitely worthy of ear protection—something many diesel fans aren’t accustomed to.

Mike Skinner Cummins Diesel Drag Truck — Mike Skinner trekked all the way from Colorado, but even though he fought spooling issues the entire weekend we’re glad he made the trip. His Pro Mod, well-known as “The Ramifications,” sports one of Wagler’s CX400 series all-aluminum Cummins power plants, complete with a 98mm single and a trio of CP3’s from S&S Diesel Motorsport.

Mike Skinner Cummins Diesel Dragster — Although he knew things weren’t quite right, Mike Skinner still put together a test pass for our cameras. After struggling to get things lit on the starting line, Mike rolled out, with the big single coming online around the 330-foot mark. Once the issues he faced in Indiana are ironed out, this little Dodge will have the potential to be one of the quickest in the drag race nation.

Jeremy Wagler, Wagler Motorsports Park — Still, in the pioneering stages of campaigning his blown, nitrous and water-methanol injected Duramax rail, Jeremy Wagler will be the first to admit there have undoubtedly been a few growing pains. After what looked to be a solid pass (the rail’s last of the day), the blower belt gave up the ghost. Jeremy told us “and that was only 40-psi of boost because we’re using slower speed pulleys right now.” In the future, the blower will produce as much as 75-psi of boost—which will hopefully coincide with low 4’s or maybe even the first diesel in the 3’s…

Jeremy Wagler Duramax Drag Truck, Ryan Riddle — Who says the track owner can’t compete on his own playground? As it turns out, Jeremy Wagler is quite the talented bracket racer. By the end of the day, he found himself lined up against Ryan Riddle—one of the most consistent drivers in the industry—in the finals.

Austin Denny Ford 6.0L Diesel Drag Truck — After putting up a 6.08 at 119 mph, Austin’s Super Duty became unsettled during the following launch and wasn’t able to nab its typical 1.3-second 60-foots the remainder of the day. But even with the new suspension gremlins needing to be ironed out, Austin took the runner-up spot in 5.90 Index.

Chase Davis 2018 Ford Power Stroke Diesel — It’s apparent that Cameron and Chase Davis like to drag race. In addition to making hits in their 6.70 Index Duramax, they put the tow-rig to work out on the track as well. The bone-stock ’18 Ford was able to cover the eighth-mile in 9.90 seconds at 71 mph. That’s roughly a mid-15 in the quarter-mile—not bad for any stock diesel.

Hammertech, Ben Shadday, Natalie Ortiz — Ben is back! After selling his Pro Mod Dodge a year ago, no one knew what the future held for Ben Shadday (far right). Little did we know, he had joined forces with AMSOIL, Wagler, S&S Diesel Motorsport, CTT Tuning, and Hammertech Racecars and was piecing together the Cummins-powered, Rossler-shifted ‘63 Corvette he brought to Wagler Motorsports Park. We’d say the car definitely delivered, taking the win its first time out. Look for Shadday’s ‘Vette to continue to go deeper and deeper into the 4’s in the months ahead.

Adam Blattenberg, Ryan Riddle — Of the five Diesel World races Ryan Riddle has competed in this year, he and his ’06 Dodge have won four. But despite the lack of sanctioned events in 2020, it hasn’t been all doom and gloom for Ryan. In fact, he’s been honing his skills with some no-prep racing in his native Ohio and our racing series while waiting for the ODSS circuit to get underway again.

DW-2011-DRAGS-17 — When you forget to lock the transfer case in 4-Hi and your 6.7L Cummins-powered dually has four-digit torque on tap, you’re going to tear up the starting line. Not to worry, all was forgiven after the mishap, as the lane still yielded a new personal best trap speed for Stainless Diesel’s John Gilbert.

Ben Shaddy '63 Corvette, Scheid Diesel Rail — After the days’ action was through and the winners crowned, the Scheid rail was pitted against Ben Shadday’s Pro Mod in an exhibition race. Predictably, the dragster ran away with it, going 4.27 to Shadday’s 4.81, but it served as a reminder of how far the Pro Mod class has come in recent years.

Diesel World Covid 660 Sponsors, Wagler Motorsports Track

Huge thanks to all the Diesel World event sponsors that stepped up to make this happen. Smeding Diesel (Presented by), WyoTech (Right Lane Sponsor), Luxe Offroad (Left Lane Sponsor), Exergy Performance (Burn Out Box Sponsor), Goerend Transmission, S&S Motorsport, Hot Shot’s Secret (Pro Mod Sponsor), KC Turbos, Stainless Diesel and Wagler Motorsports Park. There is no possible way we’d be able to support diesel motorsports without your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Mike McGlothlin

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