We kicked off the month of June by attending the 2022 Ultimate Callout Challenge at Lucas Oil Raceway, which showcases some of the best light-duty diesel trucks in the country competing in drag racing, a dyno competition and sled pulling. It also highlights the ODSS Outlaw Revenge series.
The UCC competition is always fierce, and the way the diesel folks continue to push the envelope is always super impressive. This year, competitors were gunning for 4-second eighth-mile ETs and dyno numbers above 2,500 horsepower! Both feats were achieved by several competitors.
However, the craziest moment of the weekend came when Justin Zeigler of Zeigler Diesel Performance pulled his truck onto the Super Flow chassis dyno looking to exceed 3,000 horsepower. Everyone seemed to be expecting the worst to happen, but rather than a massive explosion, Justin did everything perfect to get the truck to make 3,336 hp – a new UCC dyno record. Who knows when it will be beat!
Justin utilized a 6.7L Cummins-based, deck-plated Enforcer engine from D&J Precision Machine. We were just at the Cambridge, OH diesel shop helping owner Drew Pumphrey tear the Enforcer engine down for analysis. Stay tuned for that video and read more about it on page 42.
With just one day of rest following the UCC event, the Engine Builder team got back in the car to join the fun of the Summit Midwest Drags. This drag-n-drive event started in Cleves, OH at Edgewater Motorsports Park and then went to US41 DragStrip in Morocco, IN before going to West Salem, OH and Dragway 42, and back to Cleves. We also had stops at Callies and Pro-Filer along the route. Ultimately, Cleetus McFarland and his Mullet El Camino equipped with a twin-turbo SMX engine built by Steve Morris, won the event. You can read more about Steve’s SMX engine on page 28.
Next up was the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH where we were invited to join the Leverich Racing team, driver Joe Morrison and the PennGrade1 folks. The team competes in Top Fuel Dragster and we got to see them at work up close as they mixed nitro fuel, built up and tore down the supercharged engine and made passes in an effort to qualify. Feeling those cars launch off the line from 75-feet away is like nothing else on Earth.
Unfortunately, Nitro Joe and Leverich Racing didn’t make the knockout rounds, but they ran their fastest pass to date with an ET of 3.93. A big thanks to them for letting us capture it. That video will be out soon too.
We’re also excited to be traveling to St. Louis at the end of July to witness the first Builder’s Brawl drag race. Being promoted by Joe Zolper, Builder’s Brawl will highlight those who have what it takes to be a good mechanic versus having the right billfold. It takes place at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IL just outside St. Louis from July 29-30. Plenty of cool Engine of the Week features will come of it.
Finally, one of the announcements we’re most excited about is our 2022 Dream Engine Giveaway. We teamed up with some of the industry’s best component manufacturers and engine builder Chris Wright of Pro Car Associates to build an 800-hp, twin-supercharged, 427 small block Ford engine!
It features components from World Products, Erson Cams, Callies, Pro-Filer, Holley, Diamond Pistons, Victory, PAC, Trend, Harland Sharp, Aviaid, Total Seal, Cometic, King Bearings, ARP, TorqStorm Superchargers, and more! We’ll be showcasing the entire build in a multi-part video series and it will be given away to one lucky winner during the 2022 PRI Show.
Make sure you go to enginebuildermag.com between August 1 and November 30 to sign up for your chance to win this badass streetcar engine.
As you can see, we’ve been enjoying the summer vibes and keeping plenty busy. We hope you enjoy the July/August issue. EB
