Friday, May 16, 2008

Are We Having Fun Yet?

As summertime approaches, the opportunitites to be part of an AMSOIL sponsored event almost seem to be stacking on top of one another. It is a very exciting year with head turning thrills wherever you look.

Next weekend the NSRA will gather in Springfield, Missouri for the Mid-America Street Rod Nationals at the Missouri Entertainment and Event Center. This is the 25th year of the annual event, which is noted as the city's largest vintage car show. Fans of these wonderfully cool old-time cars can see them live from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday thru Sunday, May 23-25.

I know a few off road truck enthusiasts who would probably give their eye teeth to be part of the Top Truck Challenge in Hollister, California the first week of June. There will be a lot of shredded metal and other carnage again this year, no doubt, as the editors and publishers of Four Wheeler magazine dream up new ways to put equipment to the test. More info on that will follow soon.

A little later in June the Street Rodder Road Tour will be passing through Superior and stopping at the World AMSOIL Center the evening of June 18. The public is invited to see these classic cars from 6:30 till 8:00. (We'd party till midnight, but the drivers will have just finished a long day's trek and out of courtesy we'll let them check in to their hotels and get some rest.)

Those who have followed the tour in Street Scene and Street Rodder magazines will know that columnist Jerry Dixey drives the lead car. It's a lot of work putting these road tours together, but Jerry loves all the great people he's met along the way. This is your opportunity to meet him in person.

For the record, anyone interested in joining the parade of vintage street rods on Thursday as they head to St. Paul can meet us at the AMSOIL Center at 8:30 a.m. The word on the street is that Jo Coddington, co-star of the American Hot Rod TV show, will be along for the ride.

And if it is racing you're after, be sure to check out the AMSOIL Racing Blog. There's a lot of racing going on this time of year, and it keeps our racing manage Jeremy Meyer pretty busy with his fingers on the pulse of all of it. Check it out. It's a fun read.

In the meantime, take a deep and let's plunge forward. The best is yet to come.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Dodge Rams Competion in Diesel Power Challenge

The 2008 Diesel Power Challenge took place May 5-7th in Salt Lake City. The event is a competition between selected readers of Diesel Power Magazine from the U.S. and Canada. The contestants participate in 5 events: the ¼ mile drag, 1/8 mile trailer pull, chassis dyno, dirt track sled pull, and a 100 mile fuel efficiency loop as a tiebreaker. AMSOIL participated as a sponsor of this event and was featured through banners, giveaways, and interviews which will be included in the DVD produced featuring highlights of the event.

The three top finishers were all using AMSOIL products to varying degrees and drove Cummins powered Dodges.

1. The winner of the event, Chris Werner, drove a ’01 Dodge 2500 5.9 liter and put AMSOIL Severe Gear in his differentials prior to the event. Chris placed 1st in the ¼ mile drag, 3rd in the 1/8 mile trailer pull, 3rd in the dyno, and 5th in the sled pull.

2. Al Babneau drove an ’04 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9 liter and placed second overall and installed AMSOIL nearly everywhere you could put it. He placed 9th in the ¼ mile drag, 1st in the trailer pull, 2nd in the dyno, and 3rd in the sled pull.

3. Charlene Dreaver had a lot of help from a vocal AMSOIL crew from Canada. She drove an ’06 Dodge 3500 5.9 liter nitrous charged beast. They went through 2 head gaskets and pegged out the dyno at over 1000 hp and 1800 ft lbs. of torque.

All in all, the event tested these trucks to the limit. Stay tuned for air times as they become available.