EDITOR’S NOTE
END OF AN ERA
When I started in this industry, diesel racing wasn’t really much of anything. It existed, but was scarce, few and far between. Compared to today, the industry wasn’t much of anything, not yet at least. But a few years after diesel performance really took off, an off-road shop owner that I had been buying from for years started a thing—that owner was Randy Cole and that thing was the NHRDA.
The NHRDA (National Hot Rod Diesel Association) would end up being North America’s largest diesel event series. Drag racing, dyno contests, show and shines plus sled pulling made up the docket with events all over the U.S. and Canada. If you’ve been a diesel fan, even for only a few years, you’ve likely been to an NHRDA event. The NHRDA was for a long time the event series to go watch and drew huge crowds.
The first NHRDA event I went to see was in Bakersfield, California. Being a car person from California, as a diesel fan you’re in the minority. There’s not many diesel enthusiasts here. So for me having only a small handful of like-minded diesel friends, nor a ton of people to share the diesel addiction with, it was better than Christmas, Halloween and the 4th of July combined when the NHRDA came to town. The opportunity to talk diesel and watch some racing made for some sleepless nights leading up to the events. Even the drive there was fun. We’d all caravan so that alone was a good time, talking on CB radios the whole way (man I feel old now…) but we’d run into other diesel fans along the way also headed to the races, and shenanigans would inevitably ensue. But once there, at that first event, it was a feeling I’ll never forget. It was like walking into SEMA for the first time; I was in awe. Diesel everywhere! But not just trucks, there were many swapped vehicles or purpose-built rigs, as well. And all the crazy compound turbo setups or any other sort of setup that netted over 500 hp (remember things were different 15 years ago) had my jaw on the floor. Those were things I’d only seen before in magazines. The trucks, the engine set ups, the roar of racing, the sheer power display from sled pulls and more. If I wasn’t a die hard diesel fan before, the NHRDA definitely solidified that, and from then on I knew I’d never leave.
After 15 great years, the NHRDA sadly just closed its doors. The world changes, and these things happen. We all know the industry has changed in leaps and bounds, the NHRDA was there for it all and influenced the change greatly. All diesel fans, myself definitely included, owe a huge thank you to Randy Cole, Stacy Cole and the entire NHRDA family. Our sport and industry would not be the same without you all.