Utah Diesel Nationals in the books!

WEST VALLEY, Utah
As events go, how does one judge success? First, DHRA only has to compare Utah attendance against the fastest growing Diesel National-Texas. Its first year as a national event brought in approximately 2,500 attendees; Utah did the same! Second, EVERYONE that attended had a great time.

Sunny skies, temperatures in the mid eighties, tight racing surface and one heck of an awesome pulling track positioned this event to be a hit. And a hit it was, and better yet, folks are already talking 2009! 

This event was a first for DHRA in that all of the action was crammed into one day. It went so well, that the Texas Diesel Nationals will only be one day this year. “Let’s face it, fuel prices are high and people don’t want to spend more than they have to these days.” Eric McBride told DHRAonline.com when asked why; “this helps minimize the expenses our sponsors, vendors and most importantly-participants will face when attending.” McBride continued.

Jason Hurt won “Best of Show” during the show-n-shine, hosted by Diesel Tech Magazine, his 2005 2500 Chevy topped all others. The crowd stayed put after the drag racing to watch 9 contestants burn rubber for cash and prizes, but it was the dually driven by Rob Beach of Magna, UT that wowed the crowd Saturday afternoon.

Drag Racing winners included Zach Fuller of Grantsville, UT with a 14.25 at 88.76 MPH and a best reaction time of .034 during ET Bracket competition. In Quick Diesel, it was Weston Yowd of Spanish Fork, UT with a best of 12.10 at 111.77 MPH, runner-up Rob Coddens who had a best of 12.287 slowed to a .435 at 111.15 MPH in the finals. Pro Street competition saw Chris Calkins of St. Clair, Missouri take the win with a 10.271 at 137.53 MPH over rookie Wide Open Performance driver Jerred “Moose” Mattingly with a 11.564 and 120.30 MPH. 

 The Rocky Mountain Sled Pulling series saw plenty of action with a big turnout of vehicles. In Work Stock, Gillette Diesel girl power Erin Hollingsworth took the win with a distance of 301.07 over runner-up Colton Fitzgerald’s 288.10. In Street Diesel action, Bill Moon of Herriman, UT blew out to a 297.09 to winning over the second place distance of Cody Maxfield’s 276.11.

In Super Street, the largest field and toughest competition all day; ATS’ Mike Meineke laid down a beautiful hook of 291.02 while runner-up Matt Moon was at 285.11. Nick D’Amico smoked the competition in Pro Mod with a distance of 303.04 putting 11 feet on second place. Topping off the sled pulling was the Super Modified class that saw Shane Boyer of Dominator Performance Diesel grab the win with a 295.02 over runner-up Terry Thain’s 285.09.

We’ll see everyone next year in WEST VALLEY, UTAH! For pictures, check out the media library HERE.