If the 2008 DHRA FASS Diesel Nationals proved anything, it's that sled pulling steals the show.
At O'Reilly Raceway Park just west of Indianapolis, IN, May 31 through June 1, the Super Street sled pulling finals provided some of the best competition and entertainment you could ask for from a pulling event-diesel or not.
Michael Tomac and Jason Smith each made their pulls in the six-man final, with 305.03- and 319.03-foot pulls respectively. But the action started when Tony Burkhard and his "Dirty Hooker" Duramax pulled the sled 325.06 feet-one of the longest pulls up to that point in the night's show.
As the crowd calmed down following Burkhard's run, Jon Schwartzentruber's blue Duramax worked its way down the track to 323.03 feet-just a couple feet short of Burkhard's mark. Only two trucks remained and the top mark seemed secure.
Sheid Diesel rail driver Bo Layne hooked his black Dodge Cummins dually to the sled and got the green flag. Layne launched perfectly, getting the boost up and letting the tires roll with perfect timing. The Cummins rumbled down the track and pulled past Burkhard's mark with the wheels still moving. By the time the sled stopped, Layne's front tires were at the edge of the dirt-over-asphalt track and the sled was marked at 333.11 feet-more than eight feet farther than Burkhard's pull. If it didn't seem like things were over before, it sure did now.
But Ric Scrimager didn't want the checks filled out before his hook. Scrimager built speed on Layne's tracks and the black Chevy Duramax dragged the sled down the track like it was taking a load of Ford 6.0Ls to the recycling bin. Scrimager passed Layne's 333.11 mark like it was set in the Work Stock class. The sled operator probably thought he was headed for the parking lot. Scrimager's mark stomped the field at 353.01 feet. That's 20 feet (one truck length) farther than Layne's. In fact, it was the longest pull of the weekend. How do we know? By the time Scrimager's truck stopped, all four tires were touching asphalt.
Street Diesel was another good class final, with the top five trucks pulling to within 13 feet of each other. Matt McIntosh topped the class with 320.01 feet with Blair Beyer and Jarrod Neal rounding out the top three.
The always-competitive Work Stock class was won by a margin of less than one foot, with Randy Does' 319.03 mark topping Chris Wilson's 318.09. Derek Hamspon finished third with 303.09 feet. Up in the mod classes, Wesley Kuzlick took the sled to 315.08 feet in Pro Modified, followed by Rod Tarr's 313.06-foot pull in his PowerStrokeless truck. Tarr also pulled in his Smokin' truck to an impressive 310.00 feet for third.
In Super Mod, Terry Marten won the class by nearly 20 feet with a 318-foot pull to Ben Miller's second-place 298.03 feet. Eric Stacy took third with 296 feet.
DRAGS
The first of three DHRA National events provided plenty of drag racing action, with multiple entries in ET Bracket, Quick Diesel, Pro Street and Top Diesel classes.
Kevin Meredith's black Dodge Cummins Quad Cab dually proved to be the most consistent of the ET Bracket class. Although he qualified 31st, Meredith's winning run showed a reaction time of .036 seconds and a 15.582 ET at 76.85 mph (anyone else feel like they're back in an algebra lecture hall?). Jeremy Lemming had a higher top speed (95.23 mph) and quicker quarter-mile time at 14.481 seconds in his '02 Dodge Cummins, but in the world of ET Bracket racing, that doesn't matter (for a good laugh, try explaining that to someone new to drag racing).
Karl Mirester was the top qualifier in the Quick Diesel and went on to win the class with a .082 reaction time and 11.984-second quarter-mile at 110.40 mph in his '01 Dodge. Mirester beat out Ron Stutz's '04 Dodge Cummins in the final round.
Pro Street yada yada yada Chris Caulkins. Do we have to fill in the blanks? Alright, Caulkins' famed 1970 Chevy Orange Crush with a modern Duramax under the hood topped the four-truck class. Caulkins' low ET was 9.984 seconds compared to Meachim Evins' 10.428. Caulkins topped out at 132.26 mph in his featherweight truck.
More of a crowd-pleaser than an actual race (although there are points), the Top Diesel class pitted Chad Riley and his radical roadster against Bo Layne and the Sheid Diesel rail. Riley's Cummins-powered car clocked 140.46 mph and crossed the line in 9.057 seconds. Layne's twin-turbo Cummins rail crossed the line nearly a second quicker (8.008) at 180.28 mph. But that was nothing. In qualifying, Layne ran a 7.130 at 192.17 mph. (By the way, Layne's reaction times were hovering around two hundredths of a second. Don't get into a shootout with this guy.)
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
There was a surprisingly high amount of people lined up to destroy a set of tires for a chance to win the pot in South Bend Clutch's burnout contest. Rob Sherfeld won the contest-which was judged by crowd noise-in a '94 Dodge Cummins. Scott Bradshaw made his '00 Power Stroke smoke for second. Steve Hayes' third proved that people will ruin stuff knowing full well there's nothing in it for them.
On the dyno, Chris Werner's Dodge Cummins laid down a 909-horsepower run, winning yet another dyno competition. Ron Flies came close in his '05 Dodge Cummins with a 866.7-horsepower run. Scott Bradshaw was the second-place driver in the burn-out competition, but not for a lack of white smoke.