We finally returned home from round three of the Outlaw Diesel Super Series circuit and what an event it was. Mike Graves and the entire Hollyrock Customs crew established one hell of an event and it looks promising for years to come. Although it was a hike for most of the competitors, the consensus as a whole was that everyone loved the new facility and new addition to the series.

Everyone had very high expectations heading into Virginia Motorsports Park as its coined as one of, if not the most, perfect drag strips in the world. All weekend, drivers were commenting on how smooth the surface was for their passes and from a sideliner’s point of view, it looked smooth, too. Personal best elapsed times and speeds were set, but the hunt for 3’s is still ongoing.

Even though everyone was anxious to get there, the mountains surrounding Virginia was too much for some tow rigs. Luckily the diesel community sticks together and made sure everyone made it to and from the event given the breakages.

JAMO Performance Exhaust ET Sportsman Class

The Sportsman class is for someone who either has a dead on consistent truck that trusts their truck can run the number or someone who is green in drag racing looking to get involved. Either way, we encourage everyone to get in there and give it a shot. It’s an exhilarating feeling and who knows, you may even bring home your first win.

In fact, Trent Skinner, Mechanicsburg, Ohio native, has been after a win for some time. This past weekend, Skinner drove his truck from Ohio to the event and entered in the ET class. Although he’s placed 24th in points overall heading into the event, it wasn’t stopping him from a weekend of fun. After a full day of racing, Skinner topped the podium with his first ever Outlaw Diesel win.

Skinner’s fiancé, Kylie, watches anxiously in the last few rounds of racing. Skinner says that she makes one heck of a crew chief.

“It feels amazing to finally get a win with all of the tough competition. I couldn’t do it without all of the support I have,” Skinner said. “Thanks to Firepunk Diesel for the tuning, Exergy Performance for the fueling mods, and PureFlow AirDog for the fuel system.” Skinner is full of confidence and excited to head to the next round of racing in Tennessee.

ATS Diesel Performance / Diesel Power 7.70 Index Class

Full Spool Diesel Performance owner, Nick Morris, piloted his Duramax-powered GMC Sierra to a win in the 7.70 Index class this Saturday. Morris is certainly a threat in both of the classes he races in which are the E.T and 7.70 class. Morris is only 24 points behind the leader of 7.70, Ryan Riddle. These two will battle it out again coming up in Tennesee next month.

“I’ve been chasing a win in the Outlaw Diesel series for a long time. I have won many other events but never here,” said Morris. “Shoutout to all of my sponsors that keep us going. Exergy Performance, Hot Shot’s Secret, and PureFlow AirDog. I was fourth place overall in 2016, fourth place overall in 2017, and fourth place overall in 2018. 2019 is going to be my year. I can feel it.”

Maryland Performance Diesel 6.70 Index Class

Coming off of a win in Ohio, Kyle Hutchinson was eager to get to Virginia and continue his points run. Firepunk Diesel’s Landon Miller had other plans. Miller, knowing Hutchinson was closing in on his points lead, knew he needed a solid outing. Sure enough, the infamous “Firepunk Quad Cab” ended up in victory lane Saturday afternoon.

Miller holds a healthy lead in front of second place, but one bad race can end a run. Who will top the podium next month?

Firepunk Diesel Outlaw 5.90 Index Class

Mindy Jackson, the only girl in the 5.90 class, is starting to figure this little truck of hers out. The guys better be on their A-game.

This Outlaw 5.90 class is getting downright out of hand. At first, it was tough. Trucks weren’t that close to the index making it anybody’s race to win. Now, plenty of races later, these guys and gals are getting these trucks figured out. It’s getting to the point if you aren’t running dead on the number give or take a few thousandths, you’re worried.

Heading into this race, Brett Marcum was solidly in third place coming off of a win in Ohio. Originally, with no intention of coming to this event, given its a 20-hour plus drive, decided to come anyway. It was all made worth it when we drove his dead consistent truck to the podium. Marcum faced off against Rick Fox in the final round, but Marcum barely squeezed by taking the win.

Paul Cato, the points leader in the class, suffered a red light foul in the semi-final round ending his weekend. With Cato out, Marcum struck when the time was right and got closer to the points lead. Cato only holds an 18-point lead over Marcum and 35-points over Fox. As we approach the midway point of the season, this class will certainly come down to the wire as this class is as tight as it gets.

Hot Shot’s Secret Pro Street Class

Johnny Gilbert in his Stainless Diesel Ram has a big enough lead they could almost watch the rest of the season but coming off his second win in a row, what is the fun in that. Gilbert’s Ram finished off the weekend with a winning pass against Josh Scruggs. Scruggs, with a new powerplant and new parts, was running into issues, but that didn’t keep him from trying. Once Scruggs gets the bugs lined out of this truck, it is sure to be a threat to the Pro Street class.

Suncoast Performance Pro Mod Class

Although we were all expecting and praying for a three second pass, it didn’t happen. We knew if it was going to happen, it would be in the Pro Mod class. There was a ton of breakage for multiple teams, but at the end of the day, there had to be a victor. Steve Royalty in “Climate Change” topped the podium against Rawlings Barnes and his Power Stroke machine. Due to an unfortunate sensor failure, it caused Barnes’ truck to die mid-track allowing Royalty to pass by.

Making it into the finals, Barnes’ points lead is still more than last race, but not by much. Barnes’ leads Done Right Diesel’s Ben Shadday by only six points leading into the next round of racing. All of the Pro Mod teams are after that points championship, but they’re running out of time.

Flo-Pro Performance Exhaust Pro Dragster

Our good buddy Jared Jones did the crowd a favor and piloted that diesel-powered dragster machine down the quarter mile over 200-MPH. Jones, the only dragster in the class, obviously has a safe lead in points and will continue to keep giving us a show in the Cummins-powered machine that you can literally feel in the ground.

Points Update

7.70 Index

1. Ryan Riddle
2. Nick Morris
3. Trey Sikes

6.70 Index

1. Landon Miller
2. Kyle Hutchinson
3. Zack Danner

5.90 Index

1. Paul Cato
2. Brett Marcum
3. Rick Fox

Pro Street

1. Johnny Gilbert
2. Michael Dalton
3. Emilio Blanco

Pro Mod

1. Rawlings Barnes
2. Ben Shadday
3. Larson Miller

Pro Dragster

1. Jared Jones

Huge shoutout to all of the event sponsors and the Outlaw Diesel Super Series for putting on another great show for us fans to see. Mike Graves and his team at Hollyrock Customs knows how to party and we can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeve in 2020. For more information about the Outlaw Diesel Super Series, be sure and check out their website. Stay tuned to Diesel Army for the latest coverage in diesel motorsports.