Weekend on the Edge 2020

Rain or Shine

2020 was the year of cancelled events. Nothing was what it was supposed to be with the ‘Rona running rampant everywhere. Drag races cancelled. Sled pulls all over the country cancelled. Even the Ultimate Callout Challenge, the biggest diesel gathering of the year had to be postponed and later cancelled. Social gatherings of any kind were being limited all spring and summer long but come fall, some areas were starting to loosen up the reins a bit and a few things could start happening. Luckily, one of those things was Weekend on the Edge, hosted by Edge Products at their Ogden, UT facility

For 15+ years Edge has been hosting this annual fall event and had just about come to terms with the idea of not being able to continue the tradition for 2020, but luckily county regulations let up and the team was able to put together a scaled back version of the event. In year’s past, Edge hosted quarter mile drag races on a Friday night, followed by a Saturday dyno competition and sled pull. Unfortunately, with the closing of their local track in Salt Lake City a couple years back, they’ve tried to continue with their big sled pull and dyno competition every year since. Due to some uncontrollable circumstances with this massive health pandemic around the world, it was decided to hold off on the sled pull event for 2020 and just host a quaint customer appreciation event at their facility with the Northwest Dyno Circuit portable chassis dyno to run some trucks. With next to no marketing and advertising campaign, and mainly word of mouth just weeks before the event, there were still almost 100 trucks registered to compete.

Like previous years, Edge Products hosted a small vendor alley where event sponsors like OptiLube, BD Diesel, Randy’s Transmission, Daily Driven Performance, and Industrial Injection were set up displaying some product and selling swag. Other sponsors for the event included Alligator Performance, Thoroughbred Diesel, Premier Performance, ATS Diesel, Dynomite Diesel, Nitro Gear and Axle, and SureCan. Edge even brought in a few food trucks to setup during the lunch time hours to offer free plates to the competitors, employees and public attending the event. Light rain showers through the morning limited some of the crowd in the early hours, but by lunch the sun was shining, and the horsepower numbers were rolling strong.

Big talk of the show came from the Ultimate Callout Challenge competitor, Shawn Baca, and his Master Shredder truck. As the lead engine builder at Industrial Injection, this truck has proven itself has one of the top diesel trucks in the country when it comes to horsepower. Baca has been pushing the limits for years and with a handful of 2400-2700 hp pulls consistently over the last year there was talk he’d be shooting for that unattainable 3000-horspeower number on a chassis dyno. It’s never been done, but with near perfect conditions, and the excitement in the air from everyone in attendance, the whole Industrial team on site knew it was time to push the limits and break some records.  On the first pull, the truck stood up hard on the rollers, the triple turbos were squealing hard and when the smoke had settled Baca broke his previous best and a new dyno record at 2920hp. With the engine still purring like a kitten, they opted to let it cool down a bit and install a couple larger nitrous jets and go for broke and break that 3000-hp mark. Today was the day.

Unfortunately, on his second pull, the RPM’s climbed to quickly and missed the dyno’s operating window and didn’t record his run so a third pull had to be made.

At this point, the engine was extremely hot and struggled to get up on boost with all that fuel as he started the dyno pull, and the nitrous started to come on hard, the engine block let loose near the camshaft journals and one of the largest, most terrifying, and loudest engine explosions we’ve ever witnessed sent the crowd running. The massive fireball and surrounded the cab where Baca and dyno operator, Kody Pulliam, were able to exit quickly with only minimal burns to their arms and neck. The force of the explosion was enough to send the entire engine block about 8-ft straight up into the air where it later settled back between the frame rails with pieces, parts, and fluids scattering everywhere. Unfortunately, from what we can tell, the entire truck, chassis, engine, and transmission were a total loss, and this will most likely be the last time we see Master Shredder. But knowing Shawn, he’s already gone to the drawing board and started devising a new plan for a replacement to continue pushing the limits. Maybe that 3000hp mark just isn’t possible on a chassis dyno? If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to always be prepared for the unexpected. With his $100k+ truck rolling away, Baca breaking that record is the unexpected at this specific point in time. But we know Shawn well and honestly, we can’t wait to see him break that 3KHP mark.

Weekend on the Edge 2020 was definitely a scaled back version of what we’re used to seeing at this event year after year. But with everything we’ve seen happen this past year, we were so thankful Edge Products was willing to put in the time and the effort to make this happen and give diesel enthusiasts something to look forward to and a place they could get together to share their love for the sport.

NORTHWEST DYNO CIRCUIT – RESULTS