The Latest, SPE Motorsport Industry News - All Wheel Drive Shootout; Hybrid Semi's; and more

Don't Worry Powerstroke Enthusiasts, 6.4's are Still Quick....

Last week we featured some ODSS event coverage from the SPE ODSS season closer in PA, and while the ultra-fast dragsters, Pro Mods, and Pro Street Cummins and Duramax's grabbed a lot of the headlines, there was still one truck above the rest that was flyin' for the Ford camp. Rudy's Diesel has run its 4x4 Pro Street truck for a number of years now in the same basic combination, and they have been refining it more and more into a serious contender. Pro Street was a hotly contested class this year with a number of trucks in the 4-second range in the eighth-mile, but after qualifying it was actually Rudy's 4x4 that had the quickest pass in the class at 4.71 at 149 mph, with an insane 1.15 60-foot time. 

Hybrid-Assist for Over the Road Semis

If there's one area of transportation that electrics have had a hard time breaking into, it's long distance transport. There is interesting news on the "electrification" front however, as a company called Revoy has developed a hybrid-assist add-on that can be used with any existing vehicle. What the Revoy is, is essentially a giant battery pack on a set of wheels that sandwiches in-between the semi and its trailer. The Revoy provides electric assist in the form of a 500-kwh battery pack (nearly twice that of a Tesla Model S) that's attached to a set of drive wheels that helps the truck accelerate and pull grades. Rather than purchasing the Revoy, it's set up around a subscription model where you rent one, and when the battery runs out, you simply pick up another one at a docking station. The added benefits to this hybrid system include literally hauling up hills (we don't have a confirmed hp on the motors yet) a 10-15 percent gain in fuel economy (and more under certain conditions) and a 250-mile range extension. We don't know if this technology will permanently catch on, but it's already being used out West in long-distance trucking corridors.

Diesels Make the Cut in Cleetus' AWD-Only Shootout

The event isn’t until October, but the discussion is already started. Cleetus himself has put together a back-of-the-track race, AWD only, and of course there's diesels joining all the exotics and turbo'd F-150s in the mix! Some of the heavy hitters are Justin Zeigler and his ’06 Dodge, Dustin Sterling’s 2,000 hp standard cab Duramax, Wyatt Stengel’s Duramax-powered ’70 K15, Aaron Karrer’s ultra-consistent 5.90 Index ’14 Ram, and Austin Wilson’s ’07 Dodge Ram (single rear wheel) 3500. Cleetus MacFarland‘s $10,000 winner-takes-all, no-prep race will go down at the top-end of the drag strip at Bradenton Motorsports Park on October 2nd. For photos of the entered rides check out https://greenhandlemedia.com/2024/08/its-diesels-vs-the-world-at-cleeters-awd-shootout/ 

Bradenton Motorsports Park Survives Florida's Hurricane and FL2K24 is Still a Go!

In the past years there have been a number of events that have featured newer, modern cars in all sorts of racing....from rolls to digs, to car shows. Texas has long had its TX2K events, but it wasn't too long before Florida got in on the action with its FL2K events. With the sad and recent devastation of Hurricane Helene, we weren't sure if the tracks would be open for any drag racing, but fortunately it looks like they're bouncing back quick! The Florida race features everything from Mustangs to Camaros to AWD Hondas, with the common themes being new, and fast. FL2k24 is right after the AWD Shootout on Oct 3-6.

Can Coyote Mustangs No Prep Race? (The Answer is Yes)

No prep racing has become quite a competitive scene, and a tough battle for any aspiring racer wishing the enter any class at any of the big events. At Outlaw Armageddon 9 there was basically any class you could think of, including Outlaw Daily Driver, where there were a number of Coyote-powered entries. We caught up with Steve Ellis of STX Unlimited, who probably helped make one of the bigger splashes in the category, when Damon Merchant's Procharged Mustang did some bumper dragging, on radials, on its way to a win light. "Yeah, wheelies weren't really on my mind being a radial on a no prep, but the car hooked and just kept going up," noted Steve. The bumper standing Mustang was a crowd favorite even though he put a tire over the center line (resulting in a loss) and won the hearts and minds of many fans. "You want to hook up, we can make that happen, even in these newer cars," said Steve, noting that the newer Mustangs have a ton of suspension options towards one goal: go fast!

Photo credit: https://www.threads.net/@dean_images/post/DAPEs6yJhyO

Truckmania is a Big Hit in a New Location

If you were anywhere near the State of California (this includes you Oregon and Nevada) and you DIDN'T come to Truckmania, you missed out! Located in Cal Expo in Sacramento California, what's been dubbed as "California's biggest all-truck show" was still going strong in 2024. There were tons of vendors and food trucks, a massive indoor show featuring roughly 400 show trucks, as well as front and back lot gatherings featuring everything from Mega Trucks to audio competition vehicles. The main draw was, and always is the diesels, and here we saw virtually all years, makes, and models. There were trucks with 20-plus inches of lift on huge 24 and 26-inch wheels, there were custom diesel-swapped rat rods, pre-runners, and overlanders. A ton of purpose-built sled pullers showed up for the pull also, where there the dirt slinging action featured both gas and diesels as well as a 10,000-hp triple engine tractor.