2018 ULTIMATE CALLOUT CHALLENGE

dragstrip, so a good dyno run would ensure that he kept up with Lavon Miller. Delekta didn’t disappoint, as the “De-maxed” Cummins put down 2,188 hp, along with 2,663 lb-ft, and fried the motor in the process. Chris Buhidar had gone 8.57 in the quarter mile so he was also in the hunt, provided he could lay down some power. In what would be arguably the loudest truck on the dyno, Buhidar made 2,238 horsepower and 2,802 lb-ft.

And then there were three. Shawn Baca, Derek Rose and Lavon Miller had all finished well last year and were all still in the running for 2018. Just as in 2017, the most horsepower would go to Baca, who switched to an enormous set of triple turbos just for the dyno event. After laying down 2,391 hp he looked to be the man to beat this year—but there was a catch. Since horsepower and torque were combined, Baca could still be beat if a competitor got a higher torque number. And that’s just what happened. Derek Rose of DNR Customs used an immense amount of nitrous to crank out 2,378 hp, but more importantly an astounding 3,479 lb-ft of torque, putting him significantly ahead of Baca as well as Lavon Miller, who made 2,243 hp and 3,014 lb-ft.

Out of the 25 trucks that started the event, huge power numbers would take their toll, and by the time the sled pull rolled around there were only 18 trucks left. Eric Merchant of Merchant Automotive would miss the dyno but be back for the sled pull. Other trucks like Wade Minter’s would need strong showings during the sled pull to finish in the top half of the field. But the big question was, who would win? There were several competitors who still had a chance, but all eyes were now on Lavon Miller and Derek Rose, who had rocketed into second place thanks to his huge torque number. Jared Delekta had also installed a new engine after the dyno event, and both he and Shawn Baca would be in the mix.

Day Three: Sled Pulls

After using a stout 3.6-class puller to set the sled, the UCC pulls were off and running. First up was none other than Lavon Miller, who’d drawn first. Miller had added nearly 3,500 pounds to both the front and back of his Dodge to make weight, and it showed as he rocketed off to a 329-foot run. Now the question was, could he be caught? Shawn Baca switched to cut tires for his pull and put in a strong 324-foot showing, but that wasn’t going to cut it. Derek Rose was looking to lay down a serious number, but he too fell short with a 301-foot effort. In fact, the top of the ladder was extremely close, as trucks that had done well at the drags and on the dyno also pulled strong. Chris Buhidar put in a 293-foot effort, and the Armor INC./DDP entry made the list at 293 also. Power Driven Diesel also switched to cut tires and pulled 290 feet, while

 Wade Minter’s Duramax-powered Chevy had all the right goodies to place high at UCC, but unknown issues (at the time) cut about 1,500 horsepower out of the triple-turbo engine. Minter only managed 441 horsepower and 776 lb-ft, which effectively put him out of the running.

 Don’t get confused—jared Delekta’s ’01 Chevy is actually motivated by Industrial Injection Cummins power. After a second-place finish at the dragstrip, Delekta put down a strong 2,188 horsepower on the dyno. That hurt the motor, but luckily the team had an entire day and night to fix it before the sled pull.

 Power Driven Diesel’s Todd Welch and Will Terry are old school guys and were determined to make power with a bunch of fuel and rpm. The 12-valve made an impressive 1,853 hp along with 2,294 lb-ft of torque, and spun more than 5,000 rpm on the dyno.

 Starlite Diesel brought probably the heaviest truck to the competition: a Chevy dually. After running high 10s at the drags, they mysteriously received no result on the dyno despite making a single pull.