It finally happened. We knew it was coming but we didn’t know when. This weekend at the Diamond Pistons Lights Out 12 event at South Georgia Motorsports Park, Team Firepunk Diesel made history with their Hot Shot Secret-backed S-10 by punching their way into the 3-second zone with a 3.998 at 182.67mph. After being locked into FloRacing all day yesterday, it seemed as if they struggled to make things work but it was all made worth it now.
This is the first diesel-powered anything to break that four-second threshold and that is quite an accomplishment. For years, cars, trucks, and dragsters have neared that elapsed time, but nobody has done it until now. On top of shattering the record, it was done on a radial tire with less than stellar conditions. It makes you wonder what it will do tonight in better conditions.
“This means everything,” Lavon Miller says, with a grin as wide as the state of Georgia on his face. “To be the first diesel vehicle into the threes is something that makes history. You can go 4.04 and people will forget about you in a year, but to be the first to go threes lasts forever. This was a personal goal of ours and we chased it and to actually get there after a year and a half of trying is just amazing. It’s such a reward to see the team effort and everyone come together and chip off the times. It’s just amazing.”
The Chevrolet S-10 is powered by D&J Precision Machine-built billet Cummins with an Exergy Performance fuel system featuring 14mm CP3’s, a 98mm turbo, and three stages of Nitrous Express nitrous oxide. A Rossler Turbo 400 and Neal Chance converter deliver all the power and torque to the 315 drag radials. Miller clicked off a career-best 4.10 in Wednesday night’s qualifier under the lights — they had already gone a 4.11 last fall — and Lavon admits even he wasn’t expecting the car to pick up a full tenth of a second.
“We took last night’s data-log and added 10-percent of fuel on the hit, made some shift point changes, and knocked it right down. The change in the 60-foot made the difference. It was 1.11 last night and 1.051 today. It’s little changes in the first 60-feet that set up the whole run. We weren’t completely confident coming in that we could do it — we tried really hard for the last year and a half, and I know how racing is — you can have everything in the basket you need to get it done and you still have to put it all together.“It’s fun to do with a door car. We’re heavier — 3,090-pounds — and we have ballast in there to keep it from flipping over backward. To do it at that weight, it’s a proud moment for us,” Lavon adds.
Congratulations to the entire team on this accomplishment. We are looking forward to seeing what you guys can do the rest of the weekend. For more from Lights Out 12, check out the event coverage page here.