As we all know, the diesel drag racing scene has been and always will be around. It is evolving into way more than it used to be though considering the amount of dedication some of these teams have gone to go fast. For instance, disregarding the factory truck and going tube chassis or event an actual car to set a diesel powerplant into, like Ryan Milliken’s Chevrolet Nova.
Milliken has held the record for the fastest diesel-powered door car on the planet for some time now. The fastest and record-setting pass was a 4.554 and a 3.04 half-track time. Now, if you know anything about drag racing, everything happens in the blink of an eye and to double up and run literally the same exact elapsed time is nearly impossible.
At the Hardway Performance SunShine Showdown, the sixth stop of the Outlaw Diesel Super Series, history was made once more. The Firepunk Diesel / Save The Racks Chevrolet S-10 driven by Larson Miller rolled into town looking to walk away with another SunCoast Diesel Pro Mod win. After struggling to get the truck to track straight, Firepunk and Co. found out there was a suspension component broken keeping them from an a to b pass.
Just before they found the issue, they went up for their first round of eliminations. The truck didn’t track straight, Larson white-knuckled the steering wheels and stayed in it to win it. You guessed it, he ran a 4.554 and a 3.04 half-track time tieing the record to the thousandths. Nobody likes to brag about a record they are tied for (that never happens) so, they push forward heading into the finals trying to get just a single thousandth of a second so they can happily head back to Ohio with their heads held high.
In the final round, Larson Miller’s S-10, with a fixed suspension, planted the big rear tires and practically rode a rail all the way down to the finish line where he finished with a 4.47 at 167 miles per hour. Not only did they pass their previous record, but they also won the event as well. That 12-plus hour drive from Plain City, Ohio was all worth it after bringing home a check and a world record.
It is safe to say that all others in the Pro Mod class are hitting the drawing boards as we speak after this past weekend. Congratulations to the team at Firepunk Diesel for an incredible feat and we look forward to more competitors breaking records and battling it out at Rudy’s Diesel Fall Truck Jam in Julian, North Carolina. For more information about Firepunk and their Save The Racks entry, check out their website.