You Need To Know These 2 Things Before Competing For The First Time

When you read this, you may not be ready to go out and compete yet. You may still be tossing the idea around of fulfilling dreams by building that truck that you want. We know what it takes to get out there and compete at the highest level. We want to create a place where you can go to hopefully better prepare you for that first-time experience.

Diesel motorsports come in all shapes and sizes. If you are simply wanting to make something pretty, there are hundreds of truck shows out there that allow you to spruce up your truck for others to see. If you’re wanting to sled pull for the first time, chances are, there is going to be a county fair or local pull near you to do that. Drag racing, however, is season-dependent. Depending on your location, if you’re wanting to go racing, you need to be prepared.

Tips And Tricks

#1- Registration

Before you get your competition vehicle ready to go, you need to determine what event you want to attend and if it offers something for you. If this is an all Ford truck show and you’ve got a Silverado, this isn’t for you. If this sled pull only has a Super Stock Diesel class and you’re in your daily driver, you don’t fit. Lastly, if this is a heads-up drag racing event and you’re in your close-to-stock truck, you’re wasting your time.

Call the promotion, check the website, search the social media page, find out what they offer. If after you do your research and see that there is, in fact, something there for you, great news, but the hard work isn’t over yet. Unfortunately, you’re just getting started. Now that you’ve found an event, you will learn quickly, at least for the motorsports side of things, safety rules will apply.

#2- Know The Rules

This seems silly, but you would be shocked to see how many people show up to events unprepared and get turned around at the safety/ tech inspection booth because something isn’t right. These promotions put on these events for you to pull or drag your builds, but there is more to it than that. You have families in the crowd, people on the sidelines, therefore, safety is absolutely priority number one.

Where To Compete

If you’re going to compete with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League or the Outlaw Diesel Super Series, you need to head to their websites and scan the rules. There are rules and regulations for every single class of motorsport. Different classes call for different requirements and depending on where you land, the rules may exceed what you have safety-wise.

Find your class, read the rules, and modify if necessary. We understand that safety equipment can be a large expense, but if you don’t have it, you won’t get to compete with your vehicle anyway. Do the right thing, have your safety equipment and use it. Far too many times we have seen people have their helmet visors up, have their gloves off, etc. Do the right thing!

“We encourage anybody with a diesel truck to get out here and try. We know that it takes a lot to compete in front of everyone, but everyone here is open to helping you get better and more comfortable. Make a weekend of it. Come on down and enjoy the fun!”- Gregg Jolly, ODSS Race Director

Once you start to attend more and more events, you’ll start to memorize the rules for each event and know what you can and can’t do. Other than having and using your safety equipment, knowing the rules will stay with you forever. We are wanting to grow each and every division of diesel motorsports and that means you should go out and compete! Just know, though, once you do it, you’re stuck.

The bug of competition in a vehicle will bite you and you will never recover. We’ll see you soon! For more information about diesel truck events, truck features, and tech, stay tuned right here to Diesel Army. Stay tuned as we continue to bring you tips and tricks for diesel events!