Finally, the wait is over. Well, almost. We’ve still got, from this point anyway, about six weeks until qualifying pass number one from our pro categories in the Outlaw Diesel Super Series at the Suncoast Spring Shakedown. The Outlaw Diesel Super Series has gone under the knife this offseason and a ton of changes have been made. Payout scale, event schedule, added entertainment, and even more new cars and trucks. Interested in hitting the first one? Here are the details.

Kicking off the 2020 Outlaw Diesel Super Series right, we’re heading to beautiful Emerald Coast Dragway in Holt, Florida where you can watch and/or pilot your car or truck for a chance to win big cash. March 13th and 14th, fire breathing, diesel-powered machines will invade the gulf coast and light the wick on an exciting champi0nship chasing season.

Pro Street contender and 2019 Ultimate Callout Challenge champion Derek Rose has something up his sleeve, I’m sure. We can’t wait to see it all unfold.

Let’s be honest. There are going to be a ton of people looking to get into this event. It sure would be nice to be able to prepay for your entry fee or admission and pass up the big line. Well, you’re in luck. Click the LINK RIGHT HERE and you can go ahead and skip the wait.

“The tickets just went live a few days ago and we have everything available,” said Ryan Milliken, Co-Owner of Emerald Coast Dragway. “Get your weekend passes and tech cards in advance. Swipe your card, earn your points, and save a ton of time at the gate. All drivers at Emerald Coast Dragway are VIPs. Get your tech cards and trade the supplied general admission band in for a VIP one and enjoy all of the VIP perks.”

Things Have Changed

Be on the lookout for mega nice trucks posted up at the Show-N-Shine that is to be put on by PSE Houston and Lane Wakeland.

What can you expect by showing up to the Emerald Coast on March 13th? You will see the best diesel-powered machines that this country has to offer. Whether that be on the dyno that will be there, glamoured up trucks in the Show-N-Shine, or big horsepower trucks thundering down the perfectly prepared eighth-mile racing surface.

There will be the normal classes the Outlaw Diesel Super Series has to offer. ET Bracket, 7.70 Index, 6.70 Index, Outlaw 5.90 Index, Pro Street, Pro Mod, and Pro Dragster. Some of your favorite drivers have changed vehicles, bumped up classes, changed setups, and literally nobody knows what will happen out of the gate.

Landon Miller, 6.70 Index champion in 2019, looks to have another dominant outing in 2020 but I’m betting he will have his hands full with new up-and-comers.

Payouts for each class have changed, too. As if drag racing your car or truck wasn’t fun enough, they’ve made things a little more interesting offering more money in the pot. For ET Bracket and 7.70 Index, there was $1,000 on the line. Now, the payout has been bumped up to $1,500. For 6.70 Index, the payout went from $1,200 to $2,000. Outlaw 5.90 Index competitors are in luck too as their class followed suit as their payout went from $1,600 to $2,500.

As for the Pro Street, Pro Mod, and Pro Dragster classes, they are now all $3,000 to win. You asked, they answered. At the end of the day, these machines at this level are expensive to build, operate, and maintain. So, they’re doing the drivers and owners a solid by giving back such a generous pot for a long day of racing and beating on your rig.

Upping The Ante

If all goes to Cato’s plan, this will be the new leader of the pack in Pro Street. Does he have what it takes to take out last year’s champion?

The 2019 season was spectacular. From start to finish, as expected, this series offered back and forth points battles and in most classes, it was a nail biter. For some, the fight continues as they will battle in their classes they chose in ’19. For others, they’ve said “to hell with it” and went all in. For example, Outlaw 5.90 index runner up in points, Paul Cato, he’s decided to just skip the 5.90 classes this year and head straight for the Pro Street class.

In the offseason, his truck has undergone serious changes and has been lightened up nearly as much as possible hoping to take over the Pro Street category. For Cato, 2020 will hopefully be a good year after all these changes. Moving on, Greg Alberalla. Alberalla had a Pro Mod project going for quite some time but decided there was really too much going on and decided to head another route.

New powerplant, new driver, and new ideas. What’s next for this truck?

You may remember Seth Higgins’ second-generation Ram covered in the gold Kingspeed Race & Repair vinyl. Alberalla is now the new owner of that truck and has been frantically preparing it for the Pro Street class upgrading it to a 25.6 roll cage and lightening it up to be easier on the hard parts. He’s hoping to have it ready to rock and roll come March 13th and make a statement as well.

There are a few more rumored appearances coming in 2020 including Logan Yelton, owner, and operator of Loganbuilt Transmission And Race Fab. Yelton has a beautiful first gen Ram that he’s been preparing to race for quite some time but says it is just not quite ready. So, luckily for him, he may be piloting Jean-Pierre Libert’s slick common rail dodge from California.

This is one of those trucks that you always see on social media but unfortunately never get to see make passes on this side of the world. With a little luck, we’ll see this thing rocking and rolling in Florida.

On top of all of this, we spoke with Race Director of the Outlaw Diesel Super Series, Gregg Jolly, and he’s very excited for this upcoming season. “2020 looks to be another year of growth for Outlaw Diesel Super Series as new competitors are getting geared up from all across the country to participate in this year’s action. New builds and new events will make for an exciting season. Last year showed close competition come down to the last race to decide many classes and their points championships and we hope for the same in 2020. Maybe some new records? Either way, it is going to be a blast to watch it unfold.”

Hearing Mr. Jolly speak about records has me, for lack of a better term, triggered. Thinking back to the last few races of the 2019 season, I couldn’t wait to see more records. Every time those stage bulbs light, you just know something totally rad is about to happen. Our Pro Categories have stepped up so much that we’re nearing the new records.

In Pro Dragster, Wade Moody still holds the E.T record with a pass of 4.119. It’s been two years since that time has been bettered but anything can happen. In Pro Mod, Save The Racks S-10 pilot, Larson Miller, still obtains the record elapsed time of 4.255 and the mile per hour record with a speed of 177.30 mph.

In Pro Street, Lavon Miller still holds the fastest, while still being legal, elapsed time of 5.002. Due to the chassis restrictions, these trucks are limited to 5.000 seconds. Anything faster than that is deemed disqualified. The mph record, on the other hand, is owned by Johnny Gilbert. Last year at Virginia Motorsports Park, Gilbert bested the mph record with a pass of 147.05 mph.

I’ve been following multiple existing builds, I’ve seen new builds coming into the series, and I can’t wait to see what 2020 holds. It’s going to be a wild one and you aren’t going to want to miss a single one.

This was just an update of what to expect this year, what to expect in Florida, and we hope to see all of you at these events. With everything going on, it is important that we support these events, their sponsors, their vendors and everyone that makes it happen. If it wasn’t for them, we couldn’t go have these weekends of fun with our diesel friends. For more information about the Outlaw Diesel Super Series, be sure and check out their website. Stay tuned to Diesel Army for every diesel related event update, coverage, and photography.