Championship Saturday: Rudy’s Fall Truck Jam 2019 Coverage From N.C

For the second time in 2019, the Outlaw Diesel Super Series has invaded the rural area of Julian, North Carolina and took over Piedmont Dragway. Starting Thursday afternoon, diesel-powered race cars and trucks were on the property to test before the big showdown Friday and Saturday. Rudy’s Fall Truck Jam. The finale, the end of the story, the end of the road, it all ends here.

Like all of the other events we attend, there was plenty to offer. If you’re a spectator, you have thousands, and I mean thousands, of trucks to look at all day long throughout the Show And Shine, parking lots, or even in town. For a competitor, there was a sense of uncertainty. Although you were confident in your racing capabilities, you may be lining up to a could-be champion looking to take your head off. Every class, every round, the stakes were high.

With points winding down to this point, we will skip the normal and get right to it and discuss the event winners and our champions for 2019.

Flo Pro Performance Exhaust Pro Dragster

Even though there is only one dragster, it’s still fun to watch. Jared Jones and Dan Scheid work together on race day to make sure they can quickly and safely put on a show for the crowd. If you have never gotten up close to this car or heard it ripping down the track, you’re really missing out.

Once again, it was Jared Jones leaving with the victory in Pro Dragster as he was the only dragster in attendance. Congratulations to Jared on sealing up another victory but he better enjoy it. There are more dragsters out there and they are ready to get involved. The Scheid Diesel-powered dragster may have its hands full come 2020.

Suncoast Diesel Transmissions Pro Mod

Heading into this event, it’s what everyone was talking about. The new Pro Mod car from PPEI Custom Tuning shook the world up with their carbon fiber-covered Chevrolet Corvette and they came to do some damage to this wicked class and they did. After three rounds of qualifying, this Kory Willis-backed Vette’ was in the number one qualifying position with an elapsed time of 4.335-seconds at 166.91-MPH.

Heading into eliminations, the top three guys in points battled it out hoping to go far enough into eliminations they could seal their spot up hopefully on top of the podium. Ben Shadday defeated Rawlings Barnes in his Rudy’s Performance-backed Ford which led to a semi-final against the new Vette’. On the other side of the ladder, Larson Miller and the Firepunk Diesel S-10, the current points leader, defeated the Dodge truck piloted by Steve Royalty.

After defeating Royalty, Miller punched his way directly into the final round to face off against which would end up being Wade Moody in the Corvette. Unfortunately, Shadday’s Ram didn’t have quite enough steam to hold off the Corvette in the end. Then, towards the end of the night, Miller and Moody faced off in their big-money grudge race / final round in exciting and dramatic fashion.

A sea of bodies surrounding the cars and everyone on their feet in the stands, the lights dropped and it was off to the races. With almost identical reaction times, the PPEI-powered Corvette barely edged passed the S-10 with a pass of 4.398-seconds at 165.31-MPH. To their left, the S-10 hit the traps at 4.408-seconds at 173.24-MPH. According to the timeslip and some aerial view videos, the S-10 was coming in hot and just ran out of real estate.

There is no denying, thew new PPEI Corvette will be tough to beat next year but there is a long winter ahead of each team that is heading straight to the drawing board for 2020. Congratulations to the PPEI team on their victory and we look forward to what is in store next season.

Hot Shot’s Secret Pro Street  

Once again, here is another class that you can’t miss. Literally, every single class the ODSS offers, you can’t miss the action. It’s tight, fun racing all year long. The race to the four-second range in the Pro Street class, in competition, is still on. In fact, Hot Shot’s Secret‘s own, Kyle Fischer, put up a $500 prize for the first Pro Street truck in the fours.

Before qualifying, nobody would’ve bet on who would go number one because the competition between points leader Johnny Gilbert and UCC-Champion Derek Rose was so tough. But, after qualifying, Johnny Gilbert topped the charts with a 5.066-second pass at 147.51-MPH. Collecting the number one spot in qualifying put him straight into the final against either Derek Rose or Michael Dalton.

In an attempt to better the traction, this year some of the four-wheel-drive guys have been doing four-wheel-drive burnouts. This is now one of my favorite things about the weekend.

The round between the RLC Motorsports Orange Crush truck and the DNR Customs-backed Ram was closer than everyone thought. An outgunned Dalton gave it his all and damn near had enough. After Rose had what seemed like driveline issues, he barely reached the line before Dalton. This set up the final we all wanted, but Rose was unable to make the call due to breakage. This awarded the victory to the points leader and now champion, Johnny Gilbert.

Firepunk Diesel Outlaw 5.90

Heading into this event, Mindy Jackson, a drag racing newbie, was leading the pack. She had drivers like Brett Marcum, Rick Fox, and Paul Cato just behind her. Unfortunately for Marcum, he had some engine issues ending his season early. Jackson wasn’t off the hook just yet as she still needed to worry about both Cato and Fox.

For Fox, he needed everyone to go out first round and then go on to win the event if we wanted the title. After qualifying, he was paired up with Buddy Callaway in his nitrous-fed GMC pickup in round one. Unfortunately for Fox, Callaway had just enough to take the victory and even clicked off a perfect 5.900-second pass ending Fox’s season.

On the top side of the ladder, Cato from second place in points, needed everything to go his way. He needed to win two more rounds than Jackson to end this season with the crown. Mindy defeated Rod MacMaster in round one and Cato defeated Austin Doidge in round one leaving only two rounds remaining. Cato needs two round wins here to seal it up.

Unfortunately for Cato, even though he had the starting line advantage, Jackson’s Ford Lightning had just enough to hold a fender on Cato’s Ram ending Cato’s cinderella championship run. Jackson went on to face McCoy Black in the final round where he give up the race with a -.014 reaction. Had he been .014-seconds slower, he would’ve gone on to his 5.905-second pass and probably the win. Congratulations to Mindy on her Rudy’s Fall Truck Jam victory.

Maryland Performance Diesel 6.70 Index

I remember when the 6.70 Index class only had about seven or eight trucks total in it and now look at it. By far this wasn’t the biggest turnout ever but I believe there were 24 trucks in this class. The racing is tight and you had better be on your A-game all day if you want a win. After a slough of qualifying passes in the probably best racing weather possible, the points leader Landon Miller qualified number one.

With Zach Pierce and Joshua Grahmann following just behind him, Miller needed to just make it farther than they did. Fortunately for him, both second and third place drivers went out early taking the stress off of Miller for the rest of the day. Continuing on, Miller put the Firepunk “Quad Cab” into the final round once again, for the third time this year to be exact, but came up short against a class newcomer, Ethan Hodge.

Hodge battled all day, and the fight was as hard as it gets at the end going up against Miller. Congratulations to Hodge on his what I believe is his first-ever Outlaw Diesel Super Series victory.

ATS Diesel Power 7.70 Index

These next few classes are always the most full as its the most entry-level classes offered but the racing isn’t easy. I would say a good majority of these races are decided by only thousandths of a second in some cases. To win, you have to be good and simply have a little luck on your side too. I believe there were 34 trucks total in 7.70 and that made for a long day of racing.

With the points winding down, of course, there would be some drama. But, at the end of the day, it was Ryan Riddle in his silver Dodge Ram that dominated once again. Riddle faced the guy following him in points Nick Morris and he finished the job on Saturday. Congratulations to Ryan on his fourth Outlaw Diesel Super Series win in 2019.

JAMO Performance Exhaust ET Bracket

Believe it or not, I never expected to have to share this information with you but luckily for me, I can. Hot Shot’s Secret Brand Manager, Kyle Fischer, approached me with Project DeadSpool being down and offered up the tow rig for Hot Shot’s and allowed me to race it in E.T this year. Well, we’ve actually had pretty decent success.

We’ve had a couple of final round appearances and a few semi-final rounds too but it was at my personal first Rudy’s trip ever and we put the Hot Shot’s Secret Duramax in the winner circle. It was not easy by any means facing the 7.70 points leader Ryan Riddle, a deadly consistent Trey Sikes in his monster flatbed, and more. If you’re interested in getting involved in racing, get into ET. Those guys will make you earn it and it will make you a better racer.

The 2019 Outlaw Diesel Super Series Points Champions

ET Bracket: Ryan Riddle-

  1. Ryan Riddle-450
  2. Nick Morris-379
  3. Artie Maupin-345

7.70 Index: Ryan Riddle-

  1. Ryan Riddle- 532
  2. Nick Morris- 425
  3. Trey Sikes- 305

“Racing in the Outlaw Diesel Super Series has been a blast and I have met and raced many great people across the diesel industry. I couldn’t do it without the help of my sponsors and support team and I cant wait to see what 2020 brings,” said Riddle. “Thank you to Firepunk Diesel, Anteater, Hot Shot’s Secret, Taterbuilt Turbochargers, Air Dog, JAMO Performance Exhaust, and last but not least, my wife.”

6.70 Index: Landon Miller-

  1. Landon Miller-422
  2. Zack Pierce- 267
  3. Joshua Grahmann-266

“It has been a great year of racing in 2019 and the competition was fierce the whole time,” said Miller. “I am looking forward to the 2020 season and to see what is in store for another year of racing.”

Outlaw 5.90 Index: Mindy Jackson-

  1. Mindy Jackson-341
  2. Paul Cato-293
  3. Rick Fox-264

“I never knew I would enjoy driving as much as I have. Without the help of my husband Dustin and our friend Daniel, this couldn’t have been done,” said Jackson. “Thank you to my sponsors Dynomite Diesel Products, Air Dog, Hardway Performance, Industrial Injection, Stainless Diesel, Rossler Transmission, Diamond Racing Pistons, and Total Oilfield Equipment. With this year’s success, we can’t help but look forward to the 2020 season.”

Pro Street: Johnny Gilbert

  1. Johnny Gilbert-382
  2. Michael Dalton-166
  3. Derek Rose-138

“It takes good people and great products to play at this level and I am blessed to have both in my corner of the ring,” said Gilbert. “Aiming to beat personal records is better than worrying about what is in the other lane!”

Pro Mod: Larson Miller-

  1. Larson Miller-320
  2. Rawlings Barnes-272
  3. Ben Shadday-254

“We had some big challenges early in the season but it was fun coming together as a crew and overcoming those challenges and finishing strong with a points championship. The support system behind us is what keeps this truck going,” Miller said. “Thank you to Edgar Artecona and family for allowing us (Firepunk Diesel) the opportunity to campaign this build and D & J Precision Machine for the stout short block engine that didn’t skip a beat all year.”

Miller continued, “Thank you to Exergy Performance for the support with Bosch programming, injectors, and CP3 pumps, Hot Shot’s Secret for the engine oil and transmission fluids, and Wagler Competition Products for the billet cylinder head. We look forward to pushing this industry forward and growing the level of competition in the Outlaw Diesel Super Series Pro Mod class.”

Pro Dragster: Jared Jones-

  1. Jared Jones-298
  2. John Robinson-35

That’s a wrap on the 2019 Outlaw Diesel Super Series drag racing series and it has been a wild one. Once again, as promised, this year was full of drama included points chases, breakage, fast passes, and so much more. Stay tuned for the 2020 schedule release soon and come on out and support the events and get involved.

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About the author

Artie Maupin

Artie Maupin is from Southeast Missouri and has an extreme passion for anything diesel. He loves drag racing of all kinds, as well as sled pulling competitions.
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