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The 2015 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds in Terre Haute, Indiana featured three days of action for fans of everything diesel. The 19th annual event was packed full of truck and tractor pulls, drag racing, show and shine, and a huge vendor’s midway. The parking lot was even a sort of truck show as everyone shined up and brought in their diesel trucks from all over the country.
The event is also notorious for beer drinking and late night partying at the campground as over the course of the weekend 199 people were cited or arrested for various reasons according to Indiana State Excise Police. A few bad apples didn’t ruin the fun for everyone as the three day event had plenty of great motorsports action.
Once you set foot on the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds you realize that there is something for anyone who loves diesel powered hot rods. The manufactures midway showcased several great vehicles from aftermarket companies and the cutting edge products that are being developed to get every bit of power out of today’s turbo diesels. The chassis dyno was a popular destination for those who wanted to see if there hard work payed off by finding out just how much power their trucks had. Smoke was rolling all day on the dyno as a few trucks even eclipsed the 1,000 horsepower barrier.
If dyno pulls weren’t your thing you could take a walk through the show and shine area where there were 100+ great looking trucks on display each day. Truck owners showed off their lifted trucks new and old that all featured diesel power. Whether you were a fan of Chevy, Ford, or Dodge there was something there for you to take a look at.
Once the day wound down the action shifted to the grandstand and the front stretch of the dirt track where the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League Truck and Tractor Pulls were on hand. The nation’s best diesel powered pulling machines would black out the sky as they tried to put all that power to the ground and drag the sled down the 300 feet track. The dirt was flying as several classes off trucks, tractors, and even semi trucks took turns hooking to the sled and put on a show for the packed main grandstand.
Then if you wanted to see even more diesel action you could take a short walk over to Crossroads Dragway which is also located on the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds. The dragstrip featured a different challenge as racers from the Outlaw Diesel Super Series took their turn trying to put all that diesel power to the pavement. Street-driven trucks, tube chassis racing trucks, semi-trucks, and dragsters were flying down the eighth mile strip while spewing that black smoke high in the sky.
Diesel Spotlights
Larry Kilburn’s custom diesel 1932 Hudson rat rod.
At first glance you may just pass right by the rat rod built by Larry Kilburn from Kilburn’s Kustoms for one of the shiny jacked up trucks with big tires. If you were like us we had to stop and check it out only to see that it was one fine piece of craftsmanship and engineering. Almost every piece on this truck had to be hand fabricated and welded into place. The truck body was a truly unique 1932 Hudson that had been chopped and fitted with a full roll cage.
The bare bones interior only had room for two seats with headrests and a fabricated dash with all the gauges to keep an eye on the big diesel. The custom chassis featured an air bag suspension that could be set up for street use or slammed right on the ground when parked.The drivetrain featured a big Cummins diesel with a huge turbocharger high up in the air, and had made more power than the skinny rear tires could handle. There may have been some great looking trucks with bolt-on parts but this rat rod was a work of art built by someone who wanted something nobody else had thought of.
The Scheid Diesel dragster.
The Scheid Diesel Dragster had to be built by a diesel loving mad scientist because it put on a show whenever it took to the dragstrip. On Saturday it shook the parachutes out at the 100 ft mark and still managed an outstanding 4.42 second pass in the eighth mile. Then on Sunday it ripped off several passes in the mid four second range while battling some nasty tire shake all the way down the track. The dragster was powered by a compound turbocharged 12-valve Cummins that featured a 390ci LSM Systems Engineering billet-aluminum block with steel sleeves.
Scheid installed their 14mm P8600 that can flow 1,100 cc to 6 Scheid triple-feed injectors. They also fitted it with an 11-nozzle water injection system that keeps the exhaust gas temperatures from getting above 1,550 degrees. All this adds up to an unheard of 2,500 horsepower at an insane 140 psi of boost. Scheid’s wheelman was Jared Jones for the weekend and he had his hands full with this beast. This machine was on the cutting edge of what a diesel engine could do and made our picks for that reason plus it brought in the crowds and put on a hell of a show.
South Bend Clutch’s diesel mud rail.
South Bend Clutch brought their diesel powered mud rail to their vendor midway booth to show off. This amazing piece of work was another example of thinking outside the box and we loved it. Anyone can throw a blower motor of a mud rail and run fast but to slap a diesel engine in one is awesome.
This thing featured a 700 horsepower 4-cylinder diesel pumping out 1,300 lb-ft of torque with twin turbos and nitrous. Unfortunately they were unable to show off what their creation could do as there were not mud drags. We choose it because we can only imagine how it would look slinging mud and rolling smoke high in the sky.
The Greenline Express II driven by Ross Boersen won the Pro Stock class on Friday.
The Running Buck Wild tractor of Andy Schwenk was hooked up but could only manage a 287.04 ft pull which was good for last place on Friday in Super Farm
Josh Bowers in his Sound of Madness truck would finish 3rd in the 3.0 Diesel Truck class on Friday.
Daniel Pierce had some big problems in the Pro Mod semi-finals as his Cummins powered Mustang slapped the wall.
The Scheid Diesel Pro Dragster of Jared Jones was the class of the field all weekend as he consistently ripped off passes in the mid four second range.
At the end of the weekend, the scores and times were tabulated and the winners crowned. The competition was fierce and passionate, as manny a diesel wrencher did their best to be on top. Whether it was the furthest pull, the fastest ET, highest horsepower, of cleanest show car, everyone gave it their best.
Wrapping It Up
The 2015 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza sponsored by the Purdue Diesel Club saw 74 trucks entered on Friday and a record breaking 111 trucks on Saturday. The winning GM trucks were owned by Chase Davis and Todd Megyese. Doug Hardin and Leon Davis owned the winning Dodge machines. The winning Fords were owned by Dustin Donadio and Zach Soles. While the winning custom diesel vehicles were built by Larry Kilburn and David Hackett.
The Dyno Contest sponsored by Edge Products was won by Keith Burwinkel 853HP and Clay Stewart 1182HP on Friday. The Saturday Dyno Contest was won by Brian Rudoll 1,097 horsepower, and Brian Rudoll 1,241 horsepower.
The Scheid Diesel Extravaganza was an event for the ages with something for every fan of diesel performance machines. The action from all around the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds did not disappoint. The great truck and tractor pulls raged into the night, the dragstrip featured some of the fastest powered diesel machines in the world, and the show and shine showcased some fine looking trucks.
If you like anything diesel or just a good show then you need to check this event out if you get a chance. The Scheid Diesel Extravaganza will return to the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds in Terre Haute, Indiana on August 26-28, 2016 for the 20th annual event and you won’t want to miss it.
