BEYOND UCC

MANUFACTURER’S MIDWAY, 2020 QUALIFIERS, AND ODSS OUTLAW RACING

After all the insane excitement of the Ultimate Callout Challenge, it’s easy to forget the event was about so much more than just the main competition.

This year saw the addition of a number of Outlaw Diesel Super Series (ODSS) Pro Modified trucks blasting lighting passes down the eighth-mile. In fact, a new record was set when Firepunk Diesel’s “Save the Racks” S-10 went 4.25 at 174 mph! A number of other hot two-wheel drives were there, including Brett Deutsch’s C-10, Ben Shaddy’s 3,500-pound Ram, and, of course, the ever-popular triple turbo “Climate Change” driven by Steve Royalty. Although it was initially limited to a Quick-8 format, enough trucks showed up that they extended the count. A number of diesel-powered rides made their first big debuts there,

and there were a number of extremely mean-looking trucks we’d never seen before.

DPI Expo

In addition to the drag racing, there was also an enormous Manufacturer’s Midway with more than 130 vendors. Think a SEMA Show just for diesel performance, and you get the idea. The UCC product booths ran the gamut from bolt-ons like bumpers and lights to all-out, 3,000hp competition engines you’d need to sell a kidney to afford. There were a number of Cummins, Power Stroke, Duramax, and even CAT engines firing and revving to provide some background music. If you were looking for a new product, UCC was the place to find it as everything from shifters to turbos were introduced. Alligator Performance even had a couple of live truck builds and will be bringing the results to SEMA later this year.

Qualifiers

Let’s not forget about the stout pickups that were there to qualify for UCC 2020. Just like the regular UCC, competi

tion was fierce as racers had to dyno, drag race, and sled pull. Nine trucks made the call, with Cummins-powered Dodges dominating (just like the regular UCC event). The two favorites going into the competition were the Dodges of John Schirado and Michael Wysowski, which were both rumored to run 9s and dyno more than 1,500 hp. The two would battle it out the entire event, with Michael vaulting off to a huge lead on the dyno, cranking out 2,132 rwhp and 3,124 lb-ft of torque. John, on the other hand, saved the big shot of nitrous for another day yet still pulled off 1,736 rwhp and 2,420 lb-ft of torque. On the dragstrip it would be John who would get the upper hand, rocketing to a 5.72-second e.t. compared to the 5.87 by Michael. That left the sled pull, where John’s 281-foot pull was strong but not enough to beat the 298-foot effort by Michael. In the end, Michael took the win, with a points total

that would have gotten him second place in UCC 2019.

Not to be forgotten, of course, were the seven other trucks and teams that made the herculean effort to get there. Nathan Bandstra’s Duramax-powered GM made big power on the dyno with 1,722 rwhp, and Brian Shew muscled down the sled pulling track 313 feet.

Overall, the Ultimate Callout Challenge is truly a show within a show. Given the amount of products on hand, the awesome competition in the qualifier, and, of course, the 150-plus mph drag trucks, UCC would be worth the price of admission even if it didn’t have the main event. We say, bring on 2020.

Longhorn Fab Shop brought an entire rear clip for people to drool over. They make custom suspension parts and do custom tuning. Even a few showers couldn’t dampen spectator enthusiasm for the Manufacturer’s Midway, which featured items from more than 130 vendors. D&J Precision Machine had an awesome all-aluminum Cummins on display as well as a number of other race engines. S&S Diesel lent a big hand in the development of the Coga competition semi that races at 80,000 pounds loaded up a 9-percent grade!

Hamilton Cams just introduced two new wet blocks after running a number of stress tests on the factory pieces. One has beefier mains and a raised deck, which eliminates the need for a deckplate. Alligator Diesel performed two live builds on stock diesels for SEMA 2019. We can tell you they weren’t stock by the end of the event, and you’ll have to check them out in November. Suncoast Diesel showed us a new shifter they have under development that allows either both or one-way ratchet action, which lets the driver pull the shifter all the way into low without having to bump through the other gears. Nitrous Express has always been one of the leaders when it has come to diesel nitrous systems, and at UCC they had their Stacker systems on display, some of which feature two 0.125-inch solenoids and can be good for an additional 500 hp or more.

There was UCC qualifier action on the dragstrip, where Granby Truck Shop’s Cummins-powered Dodge took top honors with a 5.72-second e.t. in the eighth-mile. Scott Walker’s 4,500-pound wheelie machine is shooting for 7s in the quarter, but his wife and driver “Farmgirl” kept heading for the sky! Once they can keep the front end down, it should move. The honorary title for “Baddest Truck on the Property” belonged to Firepunk Diesel’s S-10, which ran an incredible 4.25 at 174 mph in eliminations. The Cummins-powered Chevy has a mammoth 102 mm turbo and nearly 1,000hp worth of nitrous.

Power Stroke Enginuities brought “The Traitor,” one of the cleanest Cummins swaps we’ve seen and definitely the cleanest in a Ford Ranger! The hilariously named “Climate Change” truck was the second-quickest Pro Mod down the track. After just breaking into the 4s a few weeks ago, they clicked off a no-nitrous 4.83 at 149 mph. Exhibition vehicles also made passes at UCC, such as this huge 10,000-pound plus semi with a 118 mm atmospheric turbo that banged gears to high 9s in the eighth-mile. Brett Deutsch had just finished his immaculate C10 and was out testing at UCC. After running a previous best of mid 5s, the new lighter build clicked off 4.90s the first trip out.