Diesel Motorsports

DIESEL Power Plus Showdown Review 2026 - DIESEL Motorsports!

2026-10-16T09:21:12.496-07:00

California can be in Missouri just outside of the capitol of Missouri, Jefferson City, on highway 50! A small agriculture town that is rich in Americana including their Moniteau County Fairground in the middle of the city.

That is where for two days the event was hosted by DIESEL Power Plus, MSTPA and DIESEL Motorsports! The weather was a bit warm for October but welcomed since the sun came with it and a beautiful evening for sled pulling.

Sled pulling on Friday night included trucks, tractors and semis that run down a 300 foot track in front of the grandstands full of people. The show for both nights ran between 6pm to 11:30 pm which includes a lot of pulling and show of powerful horsepower! Many vehicles powered by 1000-4000 horsepower drivetrains!

The crowds saw a great show of pulling represented from 11 states with over $60,000 in purse monies paid out to pullers! The little town of California grew tremendously those nights and hotel rooms from surrounding areas were hard to find.

Delton Rissler is the ring leader for this event as the owner of DIESEL Power Plus apparel and performance parts. Delton attends many of our events as a vendor that is well represented with truck teeshirts, hats and parts!

This is the 2nd year for the event with the main purpose being a fundraiser for the 118 Foundation. The 118 Foundation supports the 4 county fire/rescue for the Ozark communities. During the winter months the population is normal but being a vacation spot the population raises 600% during the summer months.

The Car/Truck/Semi show had some great builds show up Saturday morning with some people who like power and performance. The show had a wide variety of vendors from truck shops to craft fair shops for people to look at during the day. For the kids they had jump houses and free games for the little ones. DIESEL Motorsports always has decals and swag from our sponsors (parents too) when they stopped by our sponsor's tent!

The photos for the two days can be found on the links below, we had so many photos there is 4 galleries of photos.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1544376757723767&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1544668181027958&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1546475970847179&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1546499414178168&type=3

DIESEL Motorsports wants to thank all of the volunteers, and organizations who help the 118 Foundation for this event. What a great show for Missouri to host! Winners are listed below:

Car/Truck/Semi Show

Best of Show Car – 1928 Ford Rat Rod, Brandon Patrick, Excelsior Springs, MO

Best of Show Truck – 2015 Dodge Ram 2500, Grant Furcinite, California, MO

Best of Show Semi – 2001 Peterbilt #379, Colby Knight, Emporia, KS

Cars

Best Dodge – 2005 Dodge Magnum, Riley Rissler, California MO

Best Ford – 1998 Ford Mustang, Daniel Wininger, California MO

Best Import – 1992 Mazda Miata, Jordan Rissler, California MO

Best Vintage – Model T Pickup (Mini Custom Car), Phoenix Holman, Excelsior Springs, MO

Best Bike – 2010 Honda Fury, Daniel Wininger, California MO

Trucks

Best Dmax – 2025 Chevy 1500, Kyrell Rissler, Covington, OH

Best Dodge – 1986 D100 Butter Brickle, Brian Martin, Versailles, MO

Best GMC – 2016 GMC 2500, Hayden Furcinite, California MO

Best Ford – 1986 Ford F350, Ralph Booth, Eldon, MO

Best Ford/Gas – 2018 Ford F150, Carter Daniely, Osage Beach MO

Best Lifted Truck – Lifted Suburban, Gerloff Construction, California MO

Best Pulling Truck – Bad News Chevy, Chad Mears, Agency MO

Best Engine – Red Thunder Pulling Rail, Kisker Pulling Team, Doug Kisker, O’Fallon MO

Semi

Best Cummins – 2026 Peterbilt #598, Airtec TurboChargers, Cantril, IA

Best Peterbilt – 1994 #379, Joshua Rissler, California MO

Best Service Truck – 2016 Peterbilt #389, Champion Towing, Eldon MO

Best Pete #379 – 2007 Peterbilt #379, Jared Huber, Versailles MO

Best KW – 2023 Kenworth W900, Paul Rissler, California MO

Best Work – California Firetruck

Best Patriotic – Eldon Fire Truck

Best Pulling Semi – DSD Transport, California MO

Friday Oct 9 Pulling

Street Diesel

1. Hillbilly Hooker, Justin Newkirk, Kingsville, MO -294.180’

2. 04 Chevy, Alan Gentges, Tipton, MO -279.560’

3. Pour Decision, Earl Coder, Effingham, KS -274.660’

4. 2016 Dodge Ram, Owen Jones, Latham, MO -270.510’

5. 25 Ford, Jordan Brown, Pilot Grove, MO -267.350’

6. 2000 Ford, Allen Pace, Syracuse, MO -253.460’

7. 07 Ford F-250, Clay Austin, Harrisburg, MO -226.530’

8. 10 Dodge, Cole Gruender, Tipton, MO -226.530’

9. Pawpaw’s Dream, Brotie Covey, Kansas City, MO -73.900’

Street Gas

1. Side Piece, Donnie Rogers, Richland, Mo -299.530’

2. 84 Chevy, Brandon Flippin, Jamestown, MO -271.390’

3. 79 GMC, Chris Harris, Jefferson City, Mo -262.830’

4. Tuffnut, Tyler Coleman, Elfridge, MO -178.640’

Sled Pulling

10.5 Hot Stock

1. Pour It On, Travis Replogle, Niangua, MO -303.250'

2. Cheap Thrills, Craig Replogle, Marshfield, MO -298.230'

3. Pullin for Christ 2, Isaac Powell, Iberia, MO -297.430'

4. Set On Kill, Spencer Wentz, Billings, MO -296.670'

5. 83 Chevy, Les Arms, Callwood, MO -295.660'

6. Gunpowder and Lead, Charlie Christman, Strafford, MO -295.200'

7. Side Chick, Randy Keith, Cole Camp, Mo -292.860'

8. Good Enuff, Troy Replogle, Niangua, MO -289.150'

9. The Memory Remains, Brandon Folsom, Stover, MO -276.380'

6K Light Modified Tractors

1. Wreckless Behavior, Dean Still, Macon, MO -315.480'

2. Hostile, Dasan Sartin, Stark City, MO -310.380'

3. Outlaw Red, Scott Bracken, Pleasant Hill, MO -310.060'

4. Red Thunder, Doug Kisker, O' Fallon, MO -304.950'

5. Anything Goes, Craig Ogle, Princeton, KS -304.390'

6. All American, Tyrone Pankau, Hopkins, MO -255.200'

7. Fools Gold, Andy Baker, Marionville, MO -77.250'

8K 2.6 Diesel Truck

1. Unashamed, Addalea Barcus, Hopkins, MO -310.800'

2. Privileged, Lee Stiltz, Jacksonville, IL -309.220'

3. Gray Area, Chris Moretine, Garden City, MO -309.070'

4. Burkey Farms Dodge 2, David Burkey, Reeds, MO --308.860'

5. Double or Nothin, Evan Rusk, Crawfordsville, IN -308.760'

6. Grey Area, Dylan Manuello, Atwood, CO -308.440'

7. Smokin Goat, Lane Aldrich, Excelsior Springs, MO -308.020'

8. Hicktown Hooker, Justin Newkirk, Kingsville, MO -305.370'

9. In Harms Way, Russ Harms, Virginia, NE -304.450'

10. Farm Boys Dream, Chris Edwards, Urbana, Mo -303.470'

11. Burkey Farms Dodge, Logan Burkey, Reeds, MO -298.590'

12. Disposable Pleasure, Jason Gudde, Holden, MO -296.050'

13. Blow By, Earl Coder, Effingham, KS -295.840'

14. Betty White, Corey Mitchell, Mayer, IA -295.640'

6.5K Light Limited Super Stock

1. Rated R, Rob Koll, Lincoln, Mo -312.770'

2. New Generation Harvester, Mark Klott, Curryville, MO -306.110'

3. Capital Expense, Greg Braun, Jefferson City, MO -301.000'

4. Case, Jaxon Prough, Shell City, MO -291.740'

5. 4240 John Deere, Tommy Stone, Columbia, MO -288.500'

6. Hot Iron, Jerry Volkart, California, MO -267.390'

7. Problem Child, Mike McCoy, Hamilton, MO -210.920'

DQ - Blue Power Express, Josie Otto, Meta, MO (DQ: Out of bounds) -293.830'

8K 3.0 Diesel Truck

1. Trailer Trendz, Paul Ritchardson, Jamestown, IN -305.980'

2. Legal Limits, Skyler Leeper, California, MO -305.470'

3. Common Cents, Tim Tuttle, Paris, IL -303.410'

4. The Grey Truck, Adam Kinkaid, LaGrange, KY -301.640'

5. Chain Smoker, Ritchie Shafer, Cleburne, TX -300.310'

6. Megatron, Jason Wayman, Novinger, MO -299.700'

7. Borrowed Time, Emily Shafer, Cleburne, TX -299.030'

8. Optimus Prime, Preston Collins, Odessa, TX -298.190'

9. Powertrip, Bryan Banghart, Wahoo, NE -297.040'

10. Gambler, Adam Kinkaid, LaGrange, KY -296.850'

11. OBryant Diesel, Adam Kinkaid, LaGrange, KY -296.260'

12. Lessons Learned, Cole Nadrchal, Papillion, NE -296.260'

13. Thunderstruck, Preston Collins, Odessa, TX -292.990'

14. No Limits, Evan Breheim, Sedalia, MO -291.530'

15. Payin Dues, Nathan Bridgmon, Plattsmouth, NE -288.840'

16. CoalTrain, Scott Barcus, Hopkins, MO -288.830'

17. All Hopped Up, Jeremy Bales, Meridian, TX -286.300'

18. Wrecker, Adam Hallian, Fort Wayne, IN -222.740'

19. Hillbilly Bone Unleashed, Colby Knight, Emporia, KS -201.690'

20. Dirty Money, Henry Wadsworth, Salem, IN -183.950'

SEMI Trucks

1. One Bad Binder, Richard Darr, Brighton, IL -337.850'

2. What a Way to Go,

3. Joe Baehr, Wright City, MO -337.180'

4. Black on Track, Brent Roberts, Hopkins, MO -330.050'

5. Dickie Do, Dustin Gauger, Denmark, Wi -329.930'

6. Instigator, Skyler Leeper, Hopkins, MO -315.190'

7. Corporate BankRoll, Don Wood, Denmark, WI -297.410'

8. Blue Collar, Ace Darr -272.140'

SEMA 2026 who is going & why not???

2026-10-01T13:45:52.236-07:00

The halls are full of vendors to see and visit, even outside has extra booths this year! If you are a motorsports fan and appreciate all about the sport you need to go if you have not been! It is eye candy for those who want to see performance and customizing for your vehicle.

The outside will have tons of vehicles to look at from crazy wild builds to the very nice street vehicles. The builders across the US bring out their best for the SEMA show because it is the ultimate Car Show for the USA!

It will take you all 3 days to walk the show and see everything easily walking 4-7 miles a day! Bring your best walking shoes, dress business casual if you want the vendors to talk with you. Yes, there are many there in cutoffs and tees just to enjoy the views.

Bring your pocket books $$$, everything jumps up at least 3 prices more than regular Vegas prices! The Westgate Hotel next to convention hall goes for $62 a night 20 days before and during SEMA it's $205 per night. EVERTHING is $20, beer, burger, Uber, drink, - be prepared to pay $20!

Do not walk about the strip/streets by yourself and watch your belongings while out. It is a fun town to view and see different sights, food, shows and much more but be prepared to pay. And that doesn't even include the gambling at the hotels/casinos, so set a budget and stick to it.

You will be wore out by evening, take some time to re-charge and come back the next day. If you stay out late you will be paying for it the next day lol!

Will you meet some great people and see some unbelievable builds - absolutely! If you are a shop or a competitor it is a great place to gather information for parts and accessories.

Make sure to save a afternoon for the AAPEX show just 10 mins from the SEMA show. It has been known in the past as the battery/hard parts show but has changed very much over the past years. If you have a garage or shop it is a great place to view product you should be selling! The same pass works for both shows, it is a very much casual work dress show.

With fuel at $5 and 6 a gallon will this have an effect on attendance? Maybe on the show vehicles but the show gets a lot of foreign traffic so we will have to see. If you are in the industry and have never been it is worth the trip.

The PRI Show in December 10-12th is more performance oriented with very little show vehicles. It is much easier to get to for us flyover states and a lot more reasonable $$!

Postpone an Event??? Weather related and other causes . . .

2026-09-17T10:00:19.593-07:00

Over 20 years DIESEL Motorsports has canceled many events based on weather, surrounding conditions, and emergency concerns regarding Mother Nature.

Many people whoop and holler about it online whether we were right or wrong, but the real decision comes down to who is putting on the event/promoter! We have many factions we have to consider: weather being one, vendors safety/damage, DM safety/damage, attendance & safety, and people's property!

At our events the vehicles brought for the shows sometimes are $200-300,000 each with many of the show vehicles in the $100,000 range! As a passionate person of motorsports, I for one, do NOT want to see damage to these vehicles! Much less, the enthusiast/competitor who brought them. Mother Nature can literally rain all kinds of damage down on an event in such a short time and 30 minutes later the sun comes out!

It is a hard one to call, but somebody has to do it. We all want to have fun and enjoy our sport, but when it does go wrong every one suffers!

There is one thing I have easily found out, you can not fight or predict Mother Nature! Most of us know the weatherman is the only person on earth who can retain their job with a 50% success/prediction rate!

This last week a promoter in Lake Ozark, Missouri planned a perfect event Bike Fest(motorcycle) at the Lake with lots of vendors. Nothing serious from the weather stations predicted, occasional scattered shower but mostly sunny and hot (80-90s degrees).

Out of no where a storm popped up with straight line winds, heavy rain and lots of damage (roofs blown off of building force)! Total destruction to the show (photos by customers below)! What a blow to the poor promoter and vendors, bikers and enthusiasts who showed up that day. 30 minutes later the sun came out with a rainbow over the event.

NO ONE can predict these natural happenings that spring up but be cognitive and supportive of the people who hold the events and strive to protect all aspects of these shows.

Yes, many people picked up their destroyed popups, and merchandise and will continue on with the show! There is always our people who love the sport so much they continue on for the long haul.

DIESEL Motorsports has held events in every part of our beautiful country and yes, we love good weather and people! The one thing you can count on is you can always live for another nice day for an event if you cancel, sometimes it is hard to come back from a destructive storm at an event. I have moved weekends, dates and locations trying to dodge weather. It works sometime and others it did not work.

East Coast Diesel Nationals Review 2026

2026-09-04T09:45:39.151-07:00

After holding this event for 16 years we had to move the location because of new track management at Numidia Dragway. Moving it to a county fairground has some advantages but also changes the crowd attending the event. DIESEL Motorsports focused on the truck/tractor side of the diesel business as it turns to more agricultural audience wanting to see power.

The Washington County AG Center is a beautiful facility with lots to offer including a very well known pulling arena which also doubled for our dirt drags track. The covered pavilions for our truck/tractor/car/semi show was a BIG plus since most could display on concrete and out of the sun. There was plenty of parking for the 2-3,000 attending as enthusiasts with all ages represented for a family friendly event.

This size of the fairgrounds and the condition of it was top quality along with the people there. The food trucks there had a wide variety of fairground food for group. Plenty of parking for competitors and pullers to bring their trailered vehicles into the event.

The Truck show had great attendance since we filled two pavilion buildings with all types of builds. The semis had to park outside of course because of their size. The quality of the builds was amazing not only for looks but performance also added to the trucks. The Best of Show for all 3 categories was top personal builds with personality put into each vehicle. The Best of Show Truck was a custom 1979 Ford that was lifted and customized at every point including frame cut-outs with the name of "Back in Blue Lumber JAC"! The Best of Show Semi is used daily and this driver rides in luxury where ever he goes! This semi had more chrome and padded upholstery than a Elvis Cadillac! The Best of Show car was a small gem of a Mini Cooper but was customized to match the drivers personality which was a lowered beauty recognized anywhere. Take a look at the photos in the gallery.

The dirt drags had over 45 entries of trucks from street stock to modified with lots of power hitting the 200 ft dirt track. It was a drop flag old style racing with photo finish at the end. There were three different classes Work Stock, Street Stock and Modified with a set of safety rules for power levels. Each class saw rounds continue for over 3 hours on the track giving the crowd quite a show.

The sled pull which started around 6:30 went till 11 pm with 3 classes of trucks, 4 classes of tractors and a class for semi trucks. The crowd filled both the stands and the lawn on the opposite side with 2-3000 people watching the pulls while enjoying some local fair food from the vendors. Sled pulling is still quite popular with the rural farm crowd surrounding the fairgrounds even though we were only 1.5 hours from Washington DC! Just down the highway was Harpers Ferry and the Civil War battle ground Antietam so the area has some longtime history.

No one ever thinks of Maryland being agriculture but this area is quite invested with the University of Maryland's AG Research Center next door.

A shoutout to two sponsors who came to the show Thom from SPAL USA and Larry from Amsoil who talked to enthusiasts all day about their products. A thank you goes out to the Western Maryland Pullers Association, Interstate Pullers, and the Washington County AG Center for their help and partnership in the event. Of course, DIESEL Motorsports crew was there to help where they could and represented our many different sponsors who support these events.

The weather could not have been more perfect being in the low 80s with low humidity under sunny skies. A very pleasant day and event! Winners are listed below with more coming from the fairgrounds crew. Photo gallery links are below for you to view.

Links:

Gallery #1 -

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1504643385030438&type=3

Gallery #2 -

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1504659855028791&type=3

Gallery #3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1504673091694134&type=3

Winners ECDN 2026
Sled Pulling 
Mod Turbo
Logan Smith  Moody Blue  330.76
Scott Kiskadden  Bleedin Blue 329.27
Guy Gochenour Stress Test 328.05
Cubbage Double Trouble 321.35
Matt Smith Fast Forward 310.01
Eddie Ocker/BJ Bull Ride 306.55
Tommy Willliam  fire storm 305.88
Adam House  Virginian  288.49
Jimmy Williams  some assembly required 0.1

Light Turbo
354 BEN FLAHERTY JR SMOKIN' RED 330.04 40
362 RICKY TAVENNER RED TORNADO 329.72 38
370 BRADLEY WASTLER WHISTLIN RED.  323.02 36
361 SUE JOHNSON IRON MAIDEN 300.87 34
364 CHRIS/RYAN LUTMAN SEE-IN-RED 290.19 32
363 WILL LUTMAN HOOKIE HARVESTER. 283.51 30
358 MICHAEL THOMAS STEELIN TIME 59.58 28
375 MARK/HUNTER SMITH 9600 FORD 30.56 26

Show-N-Shine
Best of Show Truck
GB Cavender – 1979 Ford F-150 – “Back In Blue Lumber JAC
Best of Show Semi
Kyle Watt – 2009-Pete 389 – KW Transport
Best of Show Car
Michael Costa – 2016 Mini Cooper – Mini Moonwalk
Best Ford – Chuck Glacken – 2024 Ford F-450
Best Dodge – Ryan Magura – 2002 Dodge Ram 2500
Best GM/Chevy – Jacob Keller – 2016 Silverado 2500
Best Rat Rod – Randall Cooper – 1941 Ford Truck/Cummins
Best Woman Truck – Jensen Shelby – 2012 Ram 2500/Black Betty
Best Mini Truck/Sound System – Big Bill -  1989 Mazda B2200/Game Changer
Best Square Body Truck – Colin Nethery – 1987 Chevy Custom Deluxe/Big Sexy
Best Engine Truck – Jacob Keller – 2003 Chevy 2500/Purple Reign 
Best Truck Highest HP – Brennen Harris – 2023 Ram 2500/the Slabb6.7
Best OBS Truck – Conner Carter – 1997 Ford F350
Best Street Truck – Wade Lemaster – 1994 Dodge Ram 2500
Best Trucks Husband/Wife – James Boxall/Mackenzie Boxell Creighton – 2005 & 2006 Ford F250
Best Truck HD – Eli Weddle – 2011 Ford F250
Best Street Truck Paint – Jacob Laws – 2005 Ford F250
Best Street Car – Katrina Pratt – 1964 Ford Galaxy 500 

Trump pardons EPA charged Diesel Mechanics - What does it mean?

2026-07-10T12:58:52.209-07:00

This past week President Trump along with EPA officials pardoned several people in our diesel industry who was criminally charged by the past administration for violating Federal regulations on exhaust emissions. Granted this is a step forward in the right direction along with possible EO from President Trump regarding DEF and DPF regulations for our diesel trucks.

However, the threat still remains on the books as Federal Law for the regulations. I always thought that criminally charging hard working mechanics and putting them in Federal prisons along with hardcore criminals and murders was way too harsh.

It means the current administration currently also thinks the past actions went too far along with questioning the diesel regulations. We have seen many trucks such as HD pickups along with Class 8 trucks damaged deeply by choking them down with emission controls costing everyone way too much to repair. When the repairs out reach the problem then the regulation is the problem.

It made the cost of our livable products go up in cost because the repair costs are passed up the food chain to the consumers. Trucks got half the mileage along with the repairs costs and who absorbs those losses? The OEMs have to comply in order to sell the vehicles along with fuel stations.

I know of diesel shops who have deleted the DPF systems, made mechanical adjustments, which doubled their mileage and more horsepower/torque. Then taken them to the supposed government emission stations which showed they had cleaner exhaust emissions than the original system! But since the check stations were controlled by CARB and funded by the OEMs they could not certify them cleaner without the original equipment intact.

Something is wrong with our system when the smarter mechanics are punished for innovation, and then fined or thrown in jail.

Let's discuss the past fines many in our diesel industry has had to pay into the government and even had to write checks to NGOs the EPA deemed certified. What happened to those funds and do these people get theirs back? I highly doubt it! No mention of where all of those funds went, EPA director indicated they currently can not track the past funds.

So does this mean all of you can do DPF/EGR deletes again on the repair side?

If you do it will be a gamble on the legality of it for many years. Currently the law has not changed - period! An EO to do so will only be good under current administration (2 yrs) then where does it go? If back to the old standards they will hunt everyone who has done it the past 2 years, if it stands they STILL need to change the current laws with congress.

The regulations are being demanded to the OEMs so it's not their fault. They would love to build less regulated vehicles to the public, they sell more of them at a cheaper price.

If you want to help write your local congressman and explain the additional costs you have occurred over the past years. I don't know about you butI don't see any cleaner air than it was before 2008.

In fact along with world industry not complying for cleaner air I think the air is dirtier now because of other countries. We are currently experiencing dirty air from the Sahara Dessert supposedly along with wild fires from Canada???

The performance industry has ALWAYS lead the way for vehicle innovation such as the old spark plug giving way to injection systems. Same goes for the diesel industry when many of our brighter mechanics has gotten so much more out of the original design! I'm sure Rudolf Diesel would agree with many of us today that the future is with the brightest minds. His original design was changed many times over the years from other people with his approval.

Thunder in Muncie Review 2026! DIESEL Motorsports

2026-06-25T06:45:26.223-07:00

It was beautiful both days of the event with cool temperatures which is great for the turbos and keeping the engines cooler. This was the 25th Year Anniversary of the US 1st diesel event in the country! Back when NO one would let the HD trucks run down the drag strip or pull at local fairs. The sports has come a long way in 25 years going from top HP in 2001 of 600 hp to over 3000 hp in 2026.

Vehicle sales of diesel trucks have increased by 300% since 2001 along with products for the diesel aftermarket. Much has changed since the first event and DIESEL Motorsports has been there for 19 years as part of the building blocks that is now a major business model in the US!

It may not be a major giant event but we like to keep alive the history and remember where it all started by honoring the locations.

DIESEL Motorsports went back to Muncie Dragstrip which we have been absent during the Covid years! It was great to be back to the track with some great runs down the track running the 1/8th mile on the 1/4 mile track.

Good thing it was cooler because the winners ran multiple classes called hot lapping to keep up with the call to the lanes. One competitor used our SPAL fan display to help cool his truck down so he could keep on racing, I think he plans to have them installed soon as he gets home! It was a fun evening and some great wins at the lights.

2nd day took us back to the Gaston Lion's Club Park for the truck show along with sled pulling! Another cool sunny day at the park for the event. We had some great looking trucks at the truck show for the people to view.

While the crowd enjoyed some good eating at the Gaston Lion's Club Food Shack the track crew was prepping the track for the trucks. While we had difficulties with the sound system (hit by lightening a few days before) the crowd saw some great runs down the track by some great pulling trucks.

Many manned by longtime pullers who have attended the event for many years. We had a couple of enthusiasts who said they had come to the original Thunder in Muncie in 2001!

We want to thank the competitors, track personnel and sponsors who helped us out at the event.

Photo Link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=DIESELMotorsports.US&set=a.1442711657890278

Thunder in Muncie 2026 Winners
Drag Racing
ET Bracket
1st- Vince Neiderhauser
2nd – Alex Leahy
7.70 Index
1st – Tyler Baker
2nd Vince Neiderhauser
6.90 Index
1st Vince Neiderhauser
2nd – Kyle Miller

Truck Show
Best of Show – Cody VanMeter – 2005 Dodge 2500
Best GM – Nate Jackson – 2016 Chevy 2500
Best Ram – Blake VanMeter – 2018 Dodge
Best Ford – Joe Kupferschmid – 2022 Ford F350
Best Work Truck – Matt Miller – 2022 Ford F550
Best Rat Rod – Justin Hartzog – 1992 Dodge D250
Best Race Truck – Vince Neiderhauser – 2007 GMC Dmax
Best Paint Job – Mason Zent – 2014 Ford F250
Best Pulling Truck – Gregg Temple – 1996 Dodge 2500
Best Service Truck – Harrison Miller – Ford 2000 F350
Best Overall Appearance – Mike Gaither – 2015 Ram 2500
Best Street Truck – Jack Bullock – 2024 Chevy 2500
Best OBS Truck – Zane Donham - 1996 Ford F250
Best Shade Truck – Matt Glasser – 2013 Chevy

Sled Pulling
3.0 Class
1st – Joe Kupferschmid 315.65
2nd – Luke Martin – 300.48
3rd – Kevin Temple – 298.42
2.6 Class
1st Cody VanMeter
2nd – Trent Davidson
Tractor
1st Cody
Street Truck
1st – Trent Davidson
2nd. Cody VanMeter

The FIRST Diesel Event in the country - 2001 - Thunder in Muncie!

2026-05-29T14:38:00.769-07:00

When the drag strips would not let diesel pickups on the tracks because of the axle height and truck weight, and the fairgrounds would only let tractors pull at the fairground tracks there was one event that allowed both.

Thunder in Muncie - Indiana 2001!

That one event was Thunder in Muncie started by Eric McBride (Diesel Motorsports Hall of Fame) of the old DHRA group in 2001! Drag racing at the Muncie Dragway on Friday night and then it all moved over Saturday to the Gaston Lion's Club Park just north of Muncie.

Back when diesel pickups hovered around 500-700 HP using bolt-on technology for more power. When 12V Cummins and VP44 trucks were the norm for modified trucks.

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the first diesel only event held in the same format as the first one at both locations. How many of you were there in the beginning years? I know I was not until 2005 but many who I have come to know over the years was there. Many of their kids now come and help or compete at the shows while we sit back and enjoy the show.

The trucks have all changed and I would not think too many of the originals are even around anymore, especially since many of the trucks are 1200-1800 hp. Some are even higher with custom billet blocks and performance internal parts that climb 2-3000 hp.

The industry has easily quad-tripled in the 25 years since the first event. I have told people that sled pulling is at every fairground from June to the end of August with easily a sled pull most days of the week in each state from Kansas over to New York. The sport started out getting little time on TV in the beginning with now weekly shows featuring either diesel pickups or tractors.

There are many people who have helped build the diesel performance industry what is today and many are no longer with us. The names are endless and some players are still here, many can be found on the DIESEL Motorsports "Hall of Fame" plaque at the Gaston Lion's Club Park in their Club House. I will print out many of the old photos to put up during the event so many of us can view and remember the people. Were you there or possibly some of the early years of the events?

June 19th - Muncie Dragway Albany IN (just east of Muncie) Gates open 5pm

All local trucks welcome - 1/8 mile racing - Semis, Pickups, rat rods

ET Bracket, 7.70 Index, 6.90 Index and 5.9 or heads-up driver choices

June 20th Gaston Lion's Club Park Gaston IN (just north of Muncie) Gates open 3pm

Truck Show-N-Shine Cruise-In - Semis, Pickups (diesel & gas), Rat rods, SUVs, Jeeps 3pm-6pm Awards given at 5:30 over 25 Categories with a Best of Show Special Award

Sled pulling 6pm- til finished Main arena - Tractors, Semis, Pickup Truck Classes

All local classes welcome to come and compete (local rules apply)

2 BATTERIES IN A DIESEL TRUCK! Which two? Wet vs Sealed?

2026-05-19T12:31:47.356-07:00

Wet vs Sealed – Battery for your diesel trucks!

As most of you know the diesel truck takes 2 batteries as designed by the OEM. Most of the OEM trucks come with wet batteries from the factory. In most cases, they cost less and work in most conditions. Many of you go the least path of resistance if one or more fail and visit the local parts store and just replace it with an appropriate wet battery in stock.

If it works for you why change from the OEM replacement?

There are several reasons if you use your truck for work or in harsh conditions such as hot/cold climates. A sealed, Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) battery is considered an upgrade when replacing the OEM battery. They handle the extreme heat and cold much better with higher Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) when you need it.

So, if you are outside a lot, and it’s so cold your coffee freezes from your kitchen to the truck, you may need a AGM battery with 1100 CCA even at 80% level. The AGM battery is a work horse for when you need extra power for not just starting the vehicle but also powering all onboard accessories.

Being an advanced AGM battery, ODYSSEY® batteries from EnerSys hold much more power than even some of their dry battery competitors. These batteries in my truck that are group 27 have a 1750 pulse cranking amps, 195-minute reserve amps and 930 cold cranking amps! What that means is a lot of power when you need it! For those of you who use group 31 batteries the ratings are even higher with 2150 pulse cranking amps, 220-minute reserve amps and 1150 cold cranking amps!

Let me put this in some perspective ratings. My current wet batteries at 50% charge and at 50ºF (10ºC) will produce a crank/recharge rating of 38.5, while my ODYSSEY® batteries exposed to the same conditions have a rating of 325.3! That means I can rely on these to start my truck even after running some extras on my truck while it was sitting idle.

The newer ODYSSEY® battery models now have Bluetooth technology inside the batteries that connect with your smart phones that monitor the condition of the battery. Set your alerts if the battery falls below a certain level and your phone alerts you! Check from the comfort of your home levels of the battery while your truck sits in the garage or outside.

Yes, they do cost more upfront than the wet batteries ($130 - higher) as to the AGM ($300 - higher), but as with many things you purchase, you get what you pay for! AGM batteries usually last 4-12 years (4 year warranty) while wet batteries last 2-4 years. Plus, ODYSSEY® batteries have a higher level of durability against vibration/jolting in your truck for those of you who are a little rough while driving.

AGM batteries require no-maintenance while wet batteries require checking the acid levels and topping off with distilled water. Wet batteries corrode around the posts while AGM batteries never have an issue. Many old mechanics used to say not to replace the wet with AGMs but that has been proven false with many tests. For those of you who compete in racing or pulling I have had many people rewire their system to one ODYSSEY® battery to drop some weight and they start quite easily every time!

I replaced my old wet batteries on my 1996 12V Dodge and I thought a turbo had been added to my starter! I had never experienced quicker cranks, and power is now never an issue. Even when my starter was going out (290,000 on the old beast) it shorted my system and drained the batteries pretty low, I turned the key first and let it light the gauges. Then hit the key and even though it was cold it kicked over and started.

Once I had the starter replaced, I’ve never had another issue since it totally recovered charging to full power level, my ODYSSEY® batteries have been in the truck 9 years and counting. I have been sold on these batteries for diesels but even more now that I have found they are made in the USA! Both plants for EnerSys ODYSSEY® batteries are right in Missouri within a few hours of my house.

I have never seen or had any idea how batteries are built so I took a trip down to Springfield in my old 1996 Dodge and EnerSys was gracious enough to give me a tour of their facility. I don’t know if an article has ever been done on the actual building of a battery. My words cannot do the manufacturing plant justice since I have to condense the story, but I can tell you it was amazing.

This plant has a little over 300,000 sq ft with over 400 employees at this location. EnerSys has over 30 facilities worldwide with over $4 billion in revenue. With another 3 facilities in Missouri, they employ over 1,000 people in 1-3 shifts depending on workloads. Reading PA is their headquarters for EnerSys in the USA! The employees are treated as a family and the workplace looked very cohesive producing 20,000 batteries a week at capacity.

EnerSys took me from a 2,000 lb. block of lead to a finished battery model walking me through their production lines. Their two plants are all automated and robotized so no human hands touch the lead or acid in the batteries, yet they employ over 400 to maintain the lines.

I saw the lead plates produced and coated with the glass paste (I called it mud) and then heated for 48 hours. Each plate is designated positive or negative and compressed into the cells, which make up the battery. I did find out most of the other batteries use a calcium-based paste that breaks down in extreme heat and vibration, while EnerSys uses another mixture for their ODYSSEY® batteries that does not include calcium.

Through an automated line the cell plates are placed in the battery case, then topped with the connectors that are welded together (see photos)! Even putting the acid in the battery is completely automated and then they go through a wash bath before charging. The room with thousands of batteries being charged is amazing and the batteries are cooled by A/C from underneath. Labeled and packaged for delivery these batteries are ready for distribution throughout the World.

How do you justify a battery that is more than double the price of wet batteries? All I know is once you are caught out in the middle of nowhere or a very cold morning and the truck won’t start those dollars are well worth what you just spent! Ask the customer how much does he use his truck? Ask him how upset he was when the truck would not start that cold morning?

With today’s truck loaded with so much electronics having the correct flow of power running through it is a big concern for your truck’s longevity. Concerned about being built in the USA and talking to English speaking customer service then check out EnerSys ODYSSEY® AGM batteries at any local outlet or warehouse.

For more info: www.Enersys.com

or ODYSSEY®- https://www.enersys.com/en/products/batteries/odyssey/?page=1&capacity=0&brand=&industry=&application=&technology=&design=&voltage=

Horsepower Festival US 36 Dragway Review - 2026!

2026-05-13T09:09:53.083-07:00

Between rainy days we found a beautiful sunny Saturday for the Car/Truck Show that was started during COVID and continues today with some the best builds in the area! We are lucky to have such talented fabricators and performance competitors in the Midwest right around us. People enjoyed visiting each other, the vendors and the food trucks while waiting for the drag race to begin.

We did have a cold front blow thru but no rain which made everyone's day since most had already arrived. Just as the judging for the Car/Truck Show ended clouds moved in with cooler air but it was needed honestly since it was around 86º which is quite warm for this part of the year. As most racers do they looked at the online radar and saw no rain and kept coming in for the next couple of hours.

It turned out to be a good night for racing with a lot of performance vehicles going down the track. I want to thank all of the competitors for putting on a great show along with US 36 track personnel for one great day and evening.

By the time the competitors started to go down the track both sides of the track were lined with people and vehicles watching. It was a fun night with lots of fast vehicles and wheelies off of the line. The winner of the truck classes was Vince Neiderhauser who gambled and entered in both classes as ET Bracket Truck and Heads-Up Truck! He won both spots by hot lapping his truck back to the starting lanes on each round. We saw some fast passes by Chris Calkins with a 6.10 in his Orange Crush Chevy S10 Dmax but later dropped with a broke truck.

As the night fell it did get cooler which made the clothing booth happy with everyone buying all of his hoodies in stock. It went from 86º to 61º in about 4 hours.

This was our 10th year at US 36 and it is alway a pleasure to return every year. Photos are in the galleries and results of the winners are below:

Photos are in 3 galleries (over 500 photos)

https://www.facebook.com/DIESELMotorsports.US/photos_albums

I want to thank US 36 personnel along with sponsors, DM Crew and the competitors for such a fun event in the Spring season!

Horsepower Festival US 36 Dragway 2026

Drag Racing
Super Pro
1st David Williamson, Basehor, KS
2nd Aidan Eckart, Raytown, MO
Semi Adam Stephen Engnes, Plattsburg, MO
Qtr Steve Rivera, St. Joseph, MO
Qtr Josh Henderson, St. Joseph, MO
Pro
1st Hayden Webster, Plattsburg, MO
2nd Jacob Short, Lawson, MO
Semi Chris Anderson, Kansas City, MO
Semi Dan Swank, Truso, IA
Sportsman
1st Jessica Lynn, Oak Grove, MO
2nd Mike Smith, Cameron, MO
Trophy
1st Tim Clinger, St. Joseph, MO
2nd Michael Aborn, St. Joseph, MO
Jr. Dragster
1st Kayden Gallus, Liberty, MO
2nd James Sloan, Gallatin, MO
Diesel Trucks ET
1st Vince Neiderhauser, Rogersville, MO
2nd Derrick Parrott, Atchison, KS
Diesel Trucks Heads Up
1st Vince Neiderhauser, Rogersville, MO
2nd Austin Potter, St. Joseph, MO

Car/Truck Show
Best of Show Car –
Brice Hamann, Osborn MO 1964 Pontiac GTO
Best of Show Truck –
Eric Barrett, Marceline, MO 1959 Chevy Apache

Trucks
Best GM – Neil Taylor, Lathrop MO 2004 GMC 2500
Best Dodge – Derrick Parrott, Atchinson, KS 1991 W250
Best Ford – Ian Langner, St Joeseph, MO 1951 Ford Lightning
Best HD 1 ton – Jason Reeves, Turney, MO 2015 Chevy
Best Work Truck – Mark Hemm, Gower MO 2006 Dodge Ram 3500
Best Custom Truck – Shawn Young, Lathrop MO 2018 Dodge 2500
Best Vintage Truck – Paul Schneegass, Liberty, MO Chevy 1948 3100
Best Rat Rod Truck – Paul Hamby, Maysville MO 1953 (36-71) GMC Cash One Piece a Time

Cars
Best Muscle Car – Rod Pierce, Grant City, MO 1969 AMC AMX
Best GM Car – Kurt Omenski, Oak Grove, MO 1971 Pontiac Tempest
Best Ford Car – Matt Tarl, Winston MO 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1
Best Vintage Car – Clayton Dennis Cameron MO 1967 Chevy Chevelle`
Best Jeep – Rick Gilmore, Bucklin MO 1984 CJ7
Best SUV – Jerry Stevenson, St Joeseph, MO 2008 Toyota 4Runner
Best Land Yacht – Charles Moore, Excelsior Springs, MO 1966 Ford Futura Wagon
Best Street Cruiser – Curtis Eickemeyer, Clarksdale MO 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7
Best Commercial Car – Clayton Dennis, Cameron MO 1957 Chevy Belair Wagon
Best 70s Car – Jesse Wall, Excelsior Springs MO 1974 Chevy Malibu
Best Late Model Car – Trennen Frazee, St Joeseph MO 2009 Pontiac GT
Best Jr Dragster – Coltan Koontz, Holt MO,
Best Family ATV/Jr Dragster Family – Kern Family, Kearney MO
Best Oldest Driver’s Ed Car – Jim Arjabright, Sabetha KS 1955 Chevy 210

Tailgate Shootout Review 2026 - Alabama

2026-04-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

DIESEL Motorsports had a great time down in Alabama last weekend at Strokin Diesel and the Baileyton Dragstrip! Both hidden gems in the South for performance and fun with pickup trucks!

Strokin Diesel is owned by Dylan Edgil and his family since 2015 where they have worked on diesel and gas pickups for many years. They have quite the complex there in Oneoneta Alabama along with garages, storage, gun shop, and in-ground dyno complex. It takes up the entire hillside on the edge of town with trucks sitting all around to be next in line for repairs.

Many enthusiasts hooked up to the dyno on Saturday morning along with visiting the DIESEL Motorsports sponsor’s tents in the vendor building. A great collection of trucks and people showed up to watch the trucks roll on the dyno from 9am to 2pm. Top dyno competitors were Justin Earwood 1278 HP, Chase Conley 955, and Trapper Doyal 915 HP.

It started out as a beautiful day at Strokin Diesel but reports coming in from the track showed inclement weather moving in on the track in the late evening hours. The Baileyton Dragway has been in business and the family since 1966 with many years of fun drag racing with many famous vehicles going down the track. The track was started by Jack Walker and his family still works the track including grandson Russ Easterwood and his wife Sasha!

The Baileyton Dragway is a perfect 1/8th mile track that is like a park with nice paths, pit area and Pit Tower! The track is known as the “Good Time” dragway along with their track mascot “Ole Tater Hauler” which is a 1953 GMC truck! The DIESEL Motorsports regulars said it was one of the better surfaces they have run on in a couple of years.

The races were hurried up a bit since we saw inclement weather moving in about 7:30 pm so the trucks ran quickly down the track. The top two racers standing at the end were Champion - Justin Earwood, Toppa, AL, and Winner - Trapper Royal, Oneonta, AL!

DIESEL Motorsports wants to thank the folks at Strokin Diesel, the Baileyton Dragway and our sponsors that attended the show – PRW Performance, Total Seal Rings, AMSOIL, and PPE DIESEL! We appreciate the support for our industry! This was a first event in Alabama for many years so we move on to a 10 year event next at US 36 Dragway in Osborn Missouri on May 9th!

NEW Season kicking off for our 19th year as DIESEL Motorsports! 2026

2026-04-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

If someone would have told me I would be doing the same thing 19 years ago when we started DIESEL Motorsports (National Association of DIESEL Motorsports) I would have laughed for at least 3-5 minutes!

Here we are 19 years later and I am still doing what I started out doing as sales only for the diesel association (getting sponsors for the events)! I come from the automotive aftermarket side of the business as a marketing agency for many companies which many transferred over as diesel sponsors.

I helped many of my clients start making parts for the diesel marketplace and continue today to help them with new products as we need them. DIESEL Motorsports then markets those parts at the shows held across the country. Since COVID we have held most events in areas with higher concentration of sales for our industry.

The 19 years of doing business in the diesel market has opened many doors and I have met many friends, associates, enthusiasts, and interesting people in ALL parts of the country. I would not have traded out any of it during the years. In fact, many ask why I still keep doing it? It's because of the people and passion for the diesel trucks, helping many who I have met on my event trips.

I have learned a lot over the 19 years and thank many of my teachers along the way! I have passed on much of what I have learned to many young people in this business and I have helped them in the industry. There are many good people in our industry who work hard and deserve recognition. That is why I developed the DIESEL Motorsports Hall of Fame that we recognize every year at the original "diesel only" event Thunder in Muncie June 19/20th this year (25th Yr)!

19 years of stories as you can imagine, only a few of you have heard these stories. Some good players and some bad players over the years that has molded me as a person in the industry. There still has to be a person in charge at these events in order to get them done - that person was me!

It is a business and I can say we have not had (knock on wood) any accidents (insurance claims) at our events in the 19 years. Safety has always been a priority because what we do is dangerous - it's racing or pulling! DIESEL Motorsports holds family friendly events that puts on safe entertainment at the events.

We have gone through many obstacles over the years such as National stock market Crash 2008, EPA hassles starting in 2013-2025, fuel pricing with diesel $6 gal, and industry change over with companies being bought/sold. We have gone from a bolt-on performance industry to a highly technical engine builds for performance in our trucks. All OEM parts have been replaced with heavier parts to withstand the extra horsepower along with the punishment our trucks take in use.

As we host the 25 year celebration for Thunder in Muncie on June 19/20 as the first "diesel only" event we reflect back over the years as the business has increased over 300% since 2001!

See you at the events - remember we started with only one event in 2001!

PRI Show Review 2026 - DIESEL Motorsports!

2025-12-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

DIESEL Motorsports has been with the PRI Show longer than any diesel business starting with the show in Orlando (2011-12) and holding a Friday night drag race! When it moved to Indianapolis obviously we had to stop holding the drag race because of cold weather and snow!

DIESEL Motorsports has had the same location for many years (13yrs) booth #1835 so most people can find us every year! People always come to our booth because of the DM Girls, sponsor's info/decals and event information! Plus giving out FREE tshirts every year helps too!

This is still a performance parts show open to the race industry including competitors and enthusiasts willing to pay $40 entry. You will find every performance parts, fluids. and the tools to make them. Performance shops/repair centers enjoy coming to the show to see what is new for their business.

Over 40,000 attended the show over a 3 day period viewing over 1,000 exhibitors! To say we were quite busy is an understatement, other than the last part of Saturday (snow storm) the aisles were packed the entire day.

DIESEL Motorsports passed out all of our tshirts, over 20,000 decals and 2,000 event schedules in the first 2 days! It was a very successful show for everyone!

More diesel related companies are now at the PRI Show including manufacturers who carry diesel products, many are our sponsors!

The show is still largely circle dirt track and drag racing competitors and enthusiasts, but the diesel motor sports influence is growing every year. The excitement overall of having the automotive restrictions drawn back gave new life to producing and selling performance parts to consumers.

Modifying OEM vehicles to make them go faster is well over a 100 year tradition in the USA. It is quite well and alive at the PRI Show! Real racers/competitors with real shops, tracks and manufacturers of performance parts in one building for 3 days!

Mark it on your calendar for next year!

Who's paying for a BIG Event? Diesel Motorsports

2025-11-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

Just throwing this out there - who wants a $25,000 purse street truck race?

We can do it!

Let's put the rules out there after we announce it and it only costs each racer $2500 to enter! Let's make sure we add in the rules what products you can have on your truck so our people can benefit plus it makes you buy more products! Oh yea we need 20 guys entering - read the small print!

What a deal! And oh yea we can make it even bigger if you pay us $10,000 per year membership so we can pay end of the year points!

Man this is getting better all of the time! We should have thought of this earlier so we can get ahead really fast and make it sound BIG!

DIESEL Motorsports has been doing events for 19 years and never sold products or service - just pushed our sponsor's products at the shows and tried to make it a fair race or pull for all enthusiasts.

What a concept! But we can go either way if you want it!

SEMA/AAPEX 2025 Review . . . DIESEL Motorsports!

2025-11-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

Once again made the trip to Las Vegas for the 2025 SEMA/AAPEX Convention - here is what I saw!

First day I came in late Tuesday morning so went straight to AAPEX for a noon appointment. The center was packed with people and company booths. It was the busiest I have seen it since Covid years. The AAPEX show purpose is for companies to sell bulk products or services to large chain stores, service centers or WDs! We used to call it the hard parts convention but it has transformed far beyond that in today's industry. Everything from OEM part replacement to fluids, batteries and materials you will find the many companies who manufacture these products. In fact I see many companies who used to display at SEMA now displaying at AAPEX or they do both shows.

If you love the automotive industry it is worth visiting the AAPEX Show which is all business to business with office dress attire. At AAPEX there are no vehicle displays or celebrity appearances, it is all industry business.

SEMA on the other hand has become the industry's largest car/truck show with all kinds of entertainment provided along with parts and automotive service suppliers. The SEMA show started out as a industry trade show but it has changed along with the industry in the country. The SEMA show is now attended by celebrities, influencers and top names in the auto custom building industry along with many admirers of that trade. SEMA has brought in entertainment to add to the show with displays and music. It tends to attract more of the youth which is what our industry needs.

This year the construction on the Las Vegas Convention Center seem to hurt the show a little and made it almost impossible to get into the show. I think at times there was more people outside of the show than there was inside the show. However the manufacturers reported a successful show with many meetings. SEMA has faced many roadblocks since Covid but continue to put on a quality show that is worth attending.

The quality of the custom builds and displays outside and at the manufacturers booths did not disappoint. I saw a few new products but most are just trying to keep up with existing inventories with the tariff wars still going on in the industry. Yes, there was fewer US manufacturer booths and more foreign displays added to the mix, but the show was easy to navigate and talk to people at the booths.

The old line - "Oh the times are a changin" - comes to mind! Some good and some bad but I enjoyed the show as usual and will return next year.

Where else can we see so many people in the industry at one location along with some great custom builds!

Someone asked me do you know everybody here? lol Almost! I have been coming a lot of years and have done business with most of them.

Photo Link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=DIESELMotorsports.US&set=a.1252827233545389

Build your truck from the bottom up for competition - DIESEL Motorsports!

2025-10-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

This article is about building your truck the proper way for competition, same rules apply for gas vehicles for years!

BUILD IT FROM THE BOTTOM UP!

What does that mean?

When you add performance bolt-ons in order to increase Horsepower, it feels great out on the street! Every man's dream is having more power beneath you when driving! It's an addiction once you start by adding bigger injectors, turbo, air-intake and so on etc.

Killer vehicle for the street but when you take it to compete be it the dragstrip or pulling track there are rules for safety. Rules made in order to keep your vehicle from blowing up during competition. OEM parts are made for the vehicle's intended horsepower, when you add all the extras you have exceeded those specs for safe operation.

The standard for competition parts are the SFI Foundation which regulates all race parts and organizations such as NASCAR, Formula 1, NHRA and even DIESEL Motorsports. If you read our rule book online (free) you will find many references to SFI approved parts for our vehicles doing more than 12 sec in the 1/4 mile or 7.80 in the 1/8th mile.

This past weekend we had a very fast truck that competed with our regular heads-up class. Great truck and driver as well, he was very proud of building a truck to 1400+ HP to compete. It blew up going down the track, produced a big fireball and totaled his drivetrain. He didn't notice or could tell so he didn't pull over and spread oil, fuel and antifreeze all down the track. It took the track crew 1.5 hours to clean it up and they said it was the worse they had seen in cleanup in their 27 years (parts scattered all down the track).

On clean up we found parts of the flexplate/flywheel on the track and it was OEM rated not the SFI spec required. It is hard to tech this because of it's location. The young man was lucky it chose to go forward when exploding and not back into the cab. There are many parts on the bottom end that need to be replaced when building for HP! Dampers are required after 4800 rpm, crankshafts, cams, Torque converters, headbolts are specified needing replacement as per SFI specs! In other words read the rules first before bringing your truck to compete or before you start building.

Gas competition vehicles found this out years ago when they started to blow up on the tracks, then they started building their engines and drivetrains from the bottom up in order to handle the extra power!

I don't want to discourage people from working on their trucks for performance but think about what you are building before it blows up! A lot less costly if you start from the bottom up. Many of our sponsors have those very parts in order to keep you safe and running while enjoying your truck.

From what I was told the young man had 72,000 miles on the truck and it ruined everything including the engine, transmission and the backend of the truck from fire. A hard lesson and I hope this young man the best on his rebuild.

Starting next year the trucks running heads-up will be required engine and transmission blankets by most tracks. It keeps the tracks from massive cleanups, the materials needed to cleanup a oil down is close to $2000! As many of you already know our trucks carry double the oil and fuel of most gas vehicles.

Something to think about when tearing down for the winter and rebuilding those trucks for competition!

301 Street Car/Truck Race Benefit - 2025 Review!

2025-10-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

The 301 Street Race group from mid-Missouri put on a great BENEFIT event this past Sunday at the famous MO-KAN Dragway near Joplin MO! Over half of the money made at the event went to the local Children's fund for Christmas toys. All types of cars, trucks, diesels and rods went down the track for the entire day. The racing was delayed shortly by a diesel truck fire and blowup on the track which took them over an hour to clean up! I have another blog coming covering this incident and how to build race trucks.

It was a beautiful day on Sunday with sun and clear weather all day! MO-KAN knows how to treat racers and it was good racing clear into the evening hours. DIESEL Motorsports gave out many awards for the Car/Truck Show including the winners of the diesel truck classes.

The amount of family members who came this weekend showed me the entertainment value is still there! The MO-KAN track has great food and things to do for everyone. I saw from the registration that people came from the 4 state area to race one last time as many of the tracks are closing for the winter.

This race was a benefit put on by the 301 Street Race group and we want to thank all of the workers who provided the great day!

Photo Link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...

301 Street Car/Truck Race Winners
Small Tire
1 – Austin Martin
2 – Richard Mahew
580 Index
1 – Don Howe
2 – Gary Watts
Diesel Truck Hds-Up
1 – Preston Hill
2 – Tim Morton
Jr Dragster
1 – Coltan Kootz
2 – Kelbie Newport
NA Small Block
1 – Jesse Hoog
2 – Scott Congrove
Mean Street
1 – Mike Sleeper
2 – Boo Kvamso
Truck
1 – Scott Congrove
2 – Jim Baker Jr
6.50 Index
1 - Dylan Dacus
2 - Allen Watts
ET Diesel
1 - Levi Shrable
2 – Vince Neiderhauser
ET Bracket
1 - Jim Kleine
2 - Kory Petty
NA Big Block
1 - Don Howe
2 - AJ Spiva
Big Tire
1 - Scott Congrove
2 - Wayne Forgey
Show-N-Shine
Best of Show – Amanda Stone
Best Truck – Dallas Belisle

DIESEL Power Plus Showdown 2025 Review - DIESEL Motorsports

2025-10-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

DIESEL Motorsports wants to thank DIESEL Power Plus Showdown for inviting us to be a part of the Benefit Show for the #118 Foundation which funds county fire/rescue for Mid-Missouri! It was a beautiful day for the October 4th event which included Car/Truck/Semi Show-N-Shine along with evening sled pulling with tractors/trucks from Mstpa! The local crowd really showed up to support this benefit event which resembled a county fair and plenty of activities for the children.

The large crowd in the evening filled the grandstands along with the lawn seats plus the special arena truck spots. They got to see a fun show of pulling including a special dinner special and local fair food booths. There was plenty of things ofr the kids to do during the day including bounce house, bucking bronco, games, and a petting zoo with exotic animals.

The car/truck/semi show was first for this event and we saw quite a few polished up semis from local trucking companies, plus many different cars and trucks. It is always fun to talk with the builders to find out what they did to build their custom vehicles.

The #118 Foundation brought fire trucks from 6 different towns along with other emergency vehicles for the kids to look at and talk with the emergency works.

Photo Link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...

Winners listed below:

DIESEL Power Plus Showdown Winners 2025

Car/Truck/Semi Show

Best of Show Semi – Criss Cross Trucking – 1977 Peterbilt/Delta Dawn

Best of Show Truck – Hayden Dowell – 2020 Dodge Ram/Problem Child

Best of Show Car – Jamie Kost – 2015 Corvette/Sunrise Orange

Cars

Best Muscle Car – Daniel Wininger – 1998 Mustang

Best Import – Jordan Rissler – 1992 Mazda Miata

Best Jeep – Angela Karr – 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT

Best Mustang – Wes George – 2009 Mustang/2nd Chance

Best 4x4 – Wes George – 2004 Jeep TJ/Rollover

Best Motorcycle – Daniel Wininger – 2010 Honda Fury

Trucks

Best Vintage – Darrell Schultz – 1984 Dodge D100

Best Chevy – Kurt Howard – 1980 Chevy Luv

Best Lifted – Justin – 2011 Ford F250

Best Truck Engine – Mike Cumpton – Ford Tuff Pulling Truck

Best Street Truck – Jeremy Berry – 1999 Chevy K3500

Best Rat Rod Truck – Ralph Booth – 1986 Ford F350

Semis

Best Engine – Mitch Moore – 1998 Peterbilt 379 Cummins

Best Commercial Truck – Champion Towing – 2016 Peterbilt 579/Red Rock 2

Best Work Truck – Arlin Rissler – 2016 Peterbilt 389

Best Patriotic Truck – Glenn Porter – 2005 Peterbilt 378

Best Semi Appearance – Charly Idlewine – 2018 Peterbilt 389

Best Semi Hauler – Barry Lee Weaver – 2015 Peterbilt 389

Sled pulling

PSD - 2.6 ProStreet Diesel

Chris Moretine 1st Smokin' Goat Reloaded 312.22

Jeff Oermann 2nd Red Line Ram 310.61

Justin Newkirk 3rd Hicktown Hooker 308.74

Matt Brown 4th She Said No 307.97

Logan Burkey 5th Burkey Farms 304.25

Jonathan Hege 6th Shot In The Dark 301.28

Ben Johnson 7th Deception 156.6

Kevin Pipal 8th Side Piece 87.45

HS - Hot Stock

Mike Lefevre 1st Raised On Red 298.09

Jason Gudde 2nd Honeymoon Funds 297.79

William Rehkop 3rd Burnin Green 297.12

Dale Alwood 4th All Deere'd Up 296.31

Kaden Hudson 5th Twintrouble 291.3

Art Sims II 6th Full Rut 288.54

LLS - Light Limited SuperStock

Rob Koll 1st Rated R 317.39

Brad Summers 2nd Summer Storm 303.23

Zach Goeller 3rd Bullet Proof Not 302.53

Kyle Brockhaus 4th Bettin' On Red 298.78

Jerry Volkart 5th Hot Iron 269.86

Bruce Lange 6th The Sound of Freedom 264.73

LM - Light Modified

Daryl Kisker 1st Red Thunder 322.96

Scott Bracken 2nd The Outlaw 304.08

Danny Metcalf 3rd Plowboy Express 300.13

Jim Bracken 4th Outlaw Red 289.73

Craig Ogle 5th Anything Goes 285.87

Dawson Addington 6th The Joker 279.47

Tim Light 7th Tail Spin 237.13

LPF - Light ProField

Scott Burr 1st White Lightning 315.49

Jim Levy 2nd Modified Massey 305.18

Cody Goeller 3rd Fighting Cock 296.52

PF - ProField

Randy Lefevre 1st High on Red 318.62

Jason Gudde 2nd Disposable Pursuit 316.78

John Shorten 3rd Old School Binder 316.06

Dallas Swisher 4th Smokin' Swishers 315.84

Connor Jaegers 5th Rooster 314.35

Rick Johnson 6th Show Me Deere 314.2

Art Sims 7th Osage Deere 288.42

SEMA/AAPEX is it worth our diesel shops to make the trip? DIESEL Motorsports . . .

2025-09-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, I get asked every year! Depends on can you afford an expensive trip and not working at the shop for 3-4 days? If you have never been and you have the funds and time - YES it is worth the trip. You can see some of the most outrageous vehicle builds in the country, plus view manufacturers products firsthand!

The town of Vegas ups their services at least 3 times during this week, expect to pay at least $2-300 per night for hotel! Everything is $20, Uber $20, Hamburger $20, Beer $20 and it goes on and on! Prepare to walk 4-7 miles a day viewing the show and parking($20-60 per day) is at least 3-4 blocks away from the show. Wear comfortable shoes for walking, and casual business clothing.

You will see a trade show of performance products and accessories for your vehicles. The booth counts have downsized because more companies are buying up the old companies and combining them in a larger booth space. SEMA has done their best to fill back in with some interesting products and services, but it is still a great show if you want to see products.

If you are there to meet and talk to people it is very difficult to talk very long since the crowd keeps the people manning the booths very busy. Good time to collect business cards for later contact. Wear business casual clothing if you want to be noticed by the manufacturers, if you show up in blue jeans and tshirts most will consider you as the tire-kicker crowd.

Will the show be a industry business convention like it was back 10-20 years ago? No, our automotive business has changed a lot in the past years and SEMA has adjusted the best they could in order to put on a show for the masses.

You will see a large display of vehicles out front of the show which can take a half day to just see all of it. There are 3 large halls to view so make sure to plot out online where to go on each day.

AAPEX show is more industry business environment with no displays of vehicles. The show is setup to sell to the chain service centers and stores with world wide exposure. It is worth spending a day there in order to see what parts are available for your shop through WDs and distribution centers. It used to be called thte hard parts show but no longer, a widde range of products can be seen there. Main floor are the main US companies with most of the foreign companies being placed in their own sections.

There are buses going to and from the SEMA show available and your pass works at both shows! Yes, you will still walk a lot at the show, it is very large and many products/companies to view.

If you go to also party and gamble via VEGAS then everything is there to take your $$$. The town doess have a lot to see and experience, however be careful because crime is high because of the $$$. Just be smart and travel in groups!

I have attended over 30 years and yes, it is still worth going to in order to do business with industry leaders.

Automotive Transformation into the future - How to transform the future? DIESEL Motorsports . . .

2025-09-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

I first had to take a road trip to think about these changes and what to do about them. The rest is up to you too!

• Original performance companies fueled by original enthusiasts are being bought by investment companies and being led by non-enthusiasts.

Work with these company's principals and show them how the business was built in order to survive for the future - regardless if they have experience in our industry. Take them out or invite to attend events and learn from the very people who buy their products.

• Government overreach curtails many performance advancements for power and efficiency

Reach out to local representatives and send them your thoughts about the performance industry. Send them photos of your vehicles and projects, let them know how much you enjoy your hobby/work.

• Magazines with old editors who with technical backed editorial were replaced or retired by sensational non-techinical internet follower counts

Seeing trucks blow up or promods catch on fire are fun to watch, it's the child still in us. However, to learn a lot of companies are now doing online training sessions and videos. Youtube now has countless ways to repair or watch how to repair problems for our vehicles. Some are good and some are not but it is better than nothing. If you feel inclined to learn about our vehicles and performance take some time to wath the company sessions. Many manufacturers now have these on their web sites.

• US made parts for performance are at ALL time lows

Demand US products when you go to the auto stores and they will start carrying them or go online to find the US products. Some companies are now bringing their manufacturing back to the US because of the tariffs. It's so much easier to get a refund or exchange if it is made in the US.

• Local dragstrips start disappearing because of urban sprawl and land values

Locate your local tracks and go visit them plus attend events. It is getting harder every year with increased expenses such as taxes, insurance and hired help. Many tracks are looking for good help with experience in the industry. I know many cities are experiencing problems with street racing and burnouts with young people - give them an local outlet to do these activities!

• Corporations/investment companies now own F1 and NASCAR race teams

Highend racing with high returns cost way too much for the common man, but you can still participate in the local track activities whether it's a car show or a race. Many do not know but most tracks have a street bracket class you can race in where it's ab out how to time your run down the track not how fast. It's quite easy I have shown countless young people how to race this class.

• Urban youth not learning to drive early or buy vehicles

If you have a relative who needs to learn how to drive offer to help teach them. Invite them and their friends to go to car/truck shows with you. It is unbelievable how fast they will pick up the interest and encourage them to ask questions about the vehicles. As you know most of those guys/gals will talk about their vehicles! I even ask local HS students to help us work the shows along with paying them and buying them pizza afterwards.

• Shop or automotive not being taught in schools

Contact your local schools and see if they offer shop or automotive classes. Offer to bring one of your vehicles to the school for the students to view. Show them the basics of how it works then ask for questions. Show them how easy it is to work on the vehicle. Many will be interested!

I will go out of the way at our shows to help young people work on their vehicles or where to find parts for them to work on them. If there is a local trade school I will invite the students to the show and many times hire them to work the show with us. Most are thrilled to be there and be part of a show.

Pass it on and don't think it ends when you get to the top!

Automotive Transformation into the future - Where is it going? DIESEL Motorsports . . .

2025-09-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Over the past 10 years our performance automotive industry has gone through BIG changes!

• Original performance companies fueled by original enthusiasts are being bought by investment companies and being led by non-enthusiasts.

• Government overreach curtails many performance advancements for power and efficiency

• Magazines with old editors who with technical backed editorial were replaced or retired by sensational non-techinical internet follower counts

• US made parts for performance are at ALL time lows

• Local dragstrips start disappearing because of urban sprawl and land values

• Corporations/investment companies now own F1 and NASCAR race teams

• Urban youth not learning to drive early or buy vehicles

• Shop or automotive not being taught in schools

. . . and the list goes on and on for many in our industry.

For those of us who still need to drive everyday and still enjoy a fine tuned performance vehicle that will get you there FAST (if needed)! Even if it is one of the newer four cylinder turbo powered crossover urban cars. I travel a lot so I get to rent many different kind of vehicles and test them on the road(even high power performance vehicles).

And yes, I still own one of the old kind to play with on the weekends (96 Dodge 12V), and yes I still use it to haul things. It is not a garage queen and has been modified for more performance. Americans have been modifying their own vehicles for decades since Ford rolled the model Ts off of the lines.

I have shown my grandson (15 yrs old) how to work on vehicles using the right tools and he is already driving under a student permit. It's about being independent and going where you want to go on your spare time. It's a get-away to relax and see new things/places.

I still drive to many of my events so I can stop and visit people at shops, restaurants and stores in order to see Americana! Smaller trips is like the old Route 66 trips across the country. It makes you appreciate what you have at home.

Young people need to start making more road trips! They will talk about them for years - we do!

Who is protecting our automotive intellectual property? DIESEL Motorsports USA!

2025-09-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

After NAFTA the China influence came into our business where they copied our US patent performance parts and accessories and then resold them in the US for less. NONE of our patent laws protected our US manufacturers. Blatant copied parts were not only sold to US markets but the big 3 OEMs bought mostly from China. Nothing was done to protect our innovative performance inventors and manufacturers even to this day.

Now the current tariffs are forcing some manufacturing back to the US but is the damage already done? Too little, too late? What about the patent parts that were stolen by overseas manufacturing? Will there be compensation for those original patent holders?

Many of our great performance innovator's products have been ripped off by overseas companies. When the US manufacturers tried to stop them they were faced with huge legal fees and no laws protecting their intellectual property/products.

For many years we were told if you come up with a great product make sure you patent and register the name. Millions of dollars have been collected by our patent office and attorneys following the law. It is all gone now since China not only does not honor our patents but our own courts and laws will not protect US manufacturers.

So when is this great tragedy going to be addressed and corrected??? That is the big question when it comes to automotive! What groups are helping our manufacturers and why would anyone try to come up with something new when it will only get ripped off by somebody sending it overseas?

I know a company of not only did they patent the products but went to the expense of obtaining EPA/CARB EO numbers for their products only to be ripped off by oversea companies. Then their same products were being sold on Ebay without EPA/CARB approval numbers with no inspections. He was told that was another government department and it is not being enforced.

WHY would anyone put extra monies into development right now? Why would manufacturing be brought back to the USA when it will be ripped off again in four years? NO laws protect our automotive manufacturing whether it's OEM or performance!

"What is good for me is not for thee!" DIESEL Motorsports EPA review!

2025-09-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Recently the EPA has moved back vehicle regulations to 2009 which helps in production and vehicle costs to the consumers. However, they are written as reconsiderations in order to advance production and costs. NO LAWS have been changed on the books!

All this talk of going back to the way it was in 2005 is just that - a lot of talk. Granted the number of employees, direction and funding has changed at the EPA - DO NOT be fooled! The raids have let up but there was one in Missouri just last month which went after a diesel shop. So there may be less raids and people coming after our diesel trade, but make no mistake it will return.

Whether the reconsiderations change when congress turns over, new leadership or even a push by the big 3 OEMs they will be searching out the shops who thought all restrictions were lifted.

Even our military and government vehicles have been approved for DPF/DEF delete so they can perform better and get better mileage. So it's ok for the elite but not the consumer? Where did our industry get turned around and controlled by government watch dogs and bean-counters. Motorsports enthusiasts are no longer running our performance companies, but by corporate attorneys and bean-counters.

Let's look back when the attitude changed toward our motorsports industry? Ever since Henry Ford rolled out the first production car home mechanics were tinkering with it to make it better or their own. That spread to other makes and soon the enthusiasts were racing them against each other all across the country.

The motorsports business has now grown into a multi billion dollar business along with parts and repairs for domestic and import vehicles. After the big 3 OEMs got loans from the government to stay in business it seems the regulations started to increase for the vehicles to make them safer and cleaner. The big 3 OEMs started to offer the performance accessories and parts direct to the consumer edging out the US manufacturers.

So writing a warning to our diesel enthusiasts, don't be fooled and proceed under the caution flag!

What we also need to cover is the stolen patent technology! Many of our US companies paid money to patent our performance parts, but that is another blog. . . coming soon!

Mid Summer Industry Review - Diesels!

2025-07-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

The diesel repair business is strong as ever reported by our local shops across the country. Regular maintenance was put off by many owners during the past years as the economy was quite tight for all of them. Even newer model diesel pickups are in need of repair on a regular basis when they are used for regular heavy duty work.

Most warranties have run out on many of these trucks. I have had regular customers call me and ask opinions on repairs, I always advise them to take it to a local shop for diagnosis. Trying to advise repairs on the phone is irresponsible as telling them to read it on the internet for advise. Let a professional trained mechanic do his job, Same as going to a doctor for your health.

Diesel trucks do last longer if you do regular maintenance on them. Parts for regular maintenance are getting easier to find however, there are a few that is still hard to get from supply chains. Many of the WDs are still drop shipping or taking back orders which hurts the local shops from completing their jobs on customer's trucks. WDs were hurt by the supplies and are still recovering to fill their stock. Please be patient and help where you can to re-supply the shelves at local distributors.

Recovery is here but it takes a while to get back to normal especially in the rural areas or the fly over states. As a manufacturer please keep checking on your distributors to restock, as a distributor please restock your top 100 selling items when possible, and as a shop please be patient (call multiple distributors for parts).

As for the performance diesel parts the market is picking up some since the economy is improving and that gives our enthusiasts some discretionary income to pay for upgrades instead of OEM parts. Performance parts means stronger or heavy duty parts which makes their truck last longer plus giving their truck more power. Motorsports is always a motivator when making repairs to their trucks. It's the American way to make your vehicle personalized to your liking!

The rural market is still strong when it comes to motorsports, it takes vehicles to reach destinations in a rural setting where public transportation is not available. The rural people all work from an early age for the rest of their life. Their children are taught to drive early 14-15 years old with many having permits.

That is why DIESEL Motorsports still concentrate on the rural market tracks for our events. It may be a smaller market per population than the large cities but the concentration of buyers for motorsports products are at a much higher percentage than the cities.

East Coast Diesel Nationals Review 2025

2025-06-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Ever since we had the event moved to June DIESEL Motorsports has had to fight storms which we thought would be for cooler days. We had some pretty hot days when it was held in July. It is now apparent we now had to deal with storms all around us but also very hot days when it does clear off.

However we can't feel too bad since the track reported it was the first clear weekend from rain/storms in 6 weeks. It was clear but very hot for the 16th year of the East Coast Diesel Nationals. A lot of top quality trucks and tractors showed up for the day where enthusiasts could view racing, pulling, dyno competition, truck show and vendors.

I want to thank the staff at the Numidia Dragway along with our local DM helpers and regular staff for putting on a flawless event. I also want to thank the sponsors who chose to attend such as Thom/SPAL fans, Scott/TotalSeal Rings, Charles/PPE Diesel and Ken/AMSOIL for your support at the event. Our longtime vendors of Street Diesel Performance and Big Time Kustomz always brings a nice display of products for the enthusiasts.

The Truck Show had some very top notch truck builds which made it very difficult to choose who the awards went to for the competition. From old to new the trucks it was easy to see the owners took pride in what they did to their trucks. The Best of Show went to a young man who won it a few years ago and the improvements done to his truck in just a couple of years was unbelievable - he deserved to win again.

Dyno competition from Ken's Auto mid-day called and announced the winner at 1,851.8 horsepower! i asked what if someone else comes up and she announced with confidence no one will come close, she was correct! This was for a Ford F-250 street truck owned by Steven Giordano.

Racing and pulling are done right next to each other at the same time! Racing had some excitement in the Runwhatubrung Class with several trying ot go heads up racing in the 1/8th mile. ET Bracket had a lot of trucks gas and diesel trying to collect the healthy purse for that street truck class. Same goes for the street truck class for pulling in the Wild Street Class.

Pulling is always exciting with the Interstate tractor classes with some high HP tractors along with local truck pulling classes! Beautiful weather makes for some high HP pulls that tests the sled for holding them back. Forrester Equipment as always does a great job on the track prep and keeps everyone rolling down the track along with the Allison Sled group.

We want to congratulate the winners for the 2025 event and we will see ya all next year!

EAST COAST DIESEL NATIONALS 2025 Winners

Racing

Runwhatubrung Diesel

Dennis Harnish – Champion

Lynard Martin – 2nd

Runwhatubrung Gas

Bill Schneider – Champion

7.70 Index

Daniel Hurst – Champion

Peter Koppenhaefer – 2nd

6.70 Index

Joey Lamond – Champion

Dennis Harnish – 2nd

ET Bracket

Joey Lamond – Champion

Jake Bachman – 2nd

Sled Pulling

Super Stock

Justin Gordan Champion

3.0 SB

Andrew Kicak – Champion

Jared Brown – 2nd

2.6 SB

Chris Lloyd – Champion

Wild Street

Clyde Weaver – Champion – 323.34

Joseph Bayer – 316.32

Ross Harter – 316.02

Nick Harter – 305.28

Mike Garmon – 304.88

Bryan Rarick – 296.64

Benny Stone – 290.58

Lou DiMattro – 283.11

Trevor Marcom – 262.51

Harlee Hollenbach – 247.19

Dylan Miller – 122.82

Kevin Riggle – 4.00

Interstate 8500LB Tractor

Aaron Eberhart – 325.97

Vern Zerby – 333.80

Vern Zerby – 332.01

Scott Kiskeden – 329.74

Justin Lawtour – 327.67

Vern Zerby – 322.34

Eddie Ocker – 319.68

Gary Cubbage – 315.42

Gary Cubbage – 305.23

Matt Dershon – 305.16

Aaron Eberhart – 300.15

Ray Belack – 170.62

7800 Light Limited

Mark Smith – 362.79

10,000 Pro Form

Mark Culbertson – 312.06

Anthony Hammrick – 311.03

Gary Cubbage – 307.85

Shane Steed – 304.06

Marshall Biedel – 293.92

Chris Pangle – 287.99

Shane Steel – 280.45

Truck Show

Best of Show – Brian Wagner – 2015 Silverado 2500 HD

Best Ford – Tyler Kessinger – F250 2018

Best Duramax/GM – Ethan Good – 2018 Chevy

Best Dodge – Reuben Lantz – 2016 RAM 2500

Best OBS – Setth Cbek – 1997 F350

Best Vintage – Darcy Brownell – 1989 Dodge W250

Best Ford Combo – Ben Maurer

Dyno

Highest Horsepower – Steven Giordano – Ford F250 – 1851.8 HP

Highest Ford – Clyde Weaver – Ford F-250 – 980.24 HP

Highest Chavy/GM – Cleason Weaver – Chevy 3500 – 946.85 HP

Highest Dodge/RAM – Brandon Martin – Dodge 2500 – 1341.82 HP

More photos:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1134688128692634&type=3

Horsepower Festival Spring Review 2025

2025-05-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

DIESEL Motorsports has held this event for close to 10 years depending on the format and time of the year! The owners are the Franks which has always welcomed our organization to the track. Before COVID we always held a truck event but during that time local car clubs called me. They wanted to join us because the bigger cities would not allow them to meet. So I had them come during the COVID years and since our truck guys love motorsports we have kept the format and invited them every year.

This year not only did every one show up but we also had a mission to present the family a memorial plaque built by our local company Midwest Performance Fabrication which has done our great trophy plaques. Mike Franks always loved our trucks coming to his track, we were saddened by his passing from cancer during the winter months. His son Vincent has taken over along with Ruth Franks and still provided us a perfect run motorsport event.

You could not have asked for better weather for the 2025 Horsepower Festival Spring event! A little windy and cool in the morning but by 1pm it was a beautiful warm day for a perfect car/truck show with some top quality vehicles in all categories! Throw in some friendly swap meet people, food trucks and vendors and we have a fun afternoon for those who attended! Plus soome killer drag racing come the evening hours with many different drag cars, trucks, bikes and Jr's running in front of a local fun crowd. 

DIESEL Motorsports wants to once again thank the next generation of Frank's for a perfect day of motorsports along with their regular crew which is always nice to our truck enthusiasts.

I also want to thank our crew along with the vendors who made it a fun show to walk and view the many different vehicles. The winners can be seen below and i will post the track classes soon along with more videos of the night. Photos can be found our FB page under albums! 

Photos: 
https://www.facebook.com/DIESELMotorsports.US/photos_albums

US 36 Horsepower Festival Spring Winners:
Drag Racing Cars
Super Pro
1st                          Jacob Short, Lawson, MO
2nd                        Travis Morris, Lawson, MO
Semi                      Nick Bestgen, Osborn, MO
Qtr                         Jeff Wakefield, Kansas City, MO
Qtr                         Brad Janousek, Lincoln, NE

Pro
1st                          Josh Henderson, St. Joseph, MO
2nd                        Clint Acord, Claycomo, MO
Semi                      Billie Teeter, Harrisonville, MO
Qtr                         Tyler Apley, Platte City, MO
Qtr                         Justin Sprague, St. Joseph, MO

Sportsman
 1st                           Tyler Apley, Platte City, MO
2nd                          Mike Smith, Cameron, MO

Trophy
 1st                           Benjamin Apley, Edgerton, MO
2nd                          Emily Gallus, Weatherby, MO

Motorcycle
1st                           Dakota Bomar, St. Joseph, MO
2nd                          Dustin Bomar, St. Joseph, MO

Jr. Dragster
1st                           Colton Koontz, Holt, MO
2nd                          Reagan Smith, Parkville, MO

Drag Racing:
Truck Classes
Heads-Up
1st – Brandon Chivington – Lee’s Summit, MO Tyler Williams – Blue Springs, MO
2nd – Tyler Williams – Blue Springs, MO

ET Truck
1st – Pete Gilbert – Gladstone, MO
2nd – Todd Tucci, Plattsburg MO

Car/Truck Show
Best of Show – Brandon Patrick – 1928 Ford Model A Rat Rod/Diesel
Best Gas – Don Bird – 1926 T-Bucket
Best Dodge/Diesel Truck – Kevin Neal – 2001 Dodge Ram 2500
Best GMC/Diesel Truck – Jared McElfresh – 2002 GMC 2500 HD
Best Dodge/Gas Truck – Al & Terri Roscoe – 1980 Dodge D-100
Best Ford/Gas Truck – Rusty Williams – 1953 Ford F100
Best GMC/Chevy/Gas Truck – Brady Anno – 1983 Chevy K-10
Best Shop Truck – Danny Coones – 1953 Ford F-250
Best Rat Rod – Ian Longner – Ford F100
Best ATV – Dakota Beemer – Polaris Ranger 1000
Cars
Best 70s – Kurt Omenski- 1971 Pontiac Tempest T-37
Best 60s – Steve Hurst – 1964 Ford Fairlane
Best 50s – Ben Mefford – 1955 Chevy /Stella
Best 40s – Art Brant – 1941 Willys
Best 30s – Ron Clemens – 1937 Lincoln Zephyr – V12 Flathead
Best Camaro – Roy Proctor – 2023 Chavy Camaro SS
Best Corvette – Chris Richardson – 1966 Chevy Corvette
Best Mustang – Jessica Silvey – 2017 Ford Mustang
Best Muscle – Walt & Jan Carpenter – 1966 Pontiac GTO
Best Station Wagon – Gary VanPelt – 1966 Dodge Coronet Wagon
Best Convertible – Fred Schmeckel- 1971 Chevy Chevelle
Best Import – Hector Paez – 2020 Subaru WRX