We love it when a plan comes together, and everything clicked for us at this year’s Scheid Diesel Extravaganza. We got from A to B yet still lived in the 4’s—and we didn’t experience any breakage or have to lay under the truck in 95-degree heat. It was a win-win kind of weekend, and ultimately we brought home another Pro Street trophy. To top it off, we broke our own trap speed record during qualifying, resetting the bar at 158.02 mph.

Despite the hot track at Wagler Motorsports Park, we turned to our library of data and J3 went to work on the perfect tune-up. As a result, we were consistent while a lot of other teams struggled. Over the years, we’ve collected a boatload of valuable info—a ton of it having been gathered at this exact track and in these exact conditions. There was no guesswork involved in this win.


The first indication that we’d gotten it right came on Thursday, during testing. We purposely waited until the heat of the day to make a hit. After Johnny was able to grab a 1.27-second 60-foot in route to a 4.98 at 153 mph, we knew we would be able to get down the track in eliminations, under the same track conditions. When it came time to qualify on Friday, only one pass was needed. We went 4.86 at 158.02 mph, earning the number 1 qualifier while breaking the trap speed record at the same time. Fun fact: it took more than 2,730 hp (at the wheels) to obtain that trap speed.

From there, the Stainless team kicked back and waited for Saturday’s eliminations. In the final, we were up against a familiar face in Michael Dalton. And with a pass that mirrored what we’d seen on Thursday, Johnny laid off the big button—which is usually good for a tenth, 4 more mph, and 200 additional ponies—and put up a winning, 4.98-second pass at 152.87 mph.

To keep our winning ways alive at the next race in Florida, we’ll go over the TH400 transmission with a fine-tooth comb, fire off an engine oil sample for Hot Shot’s Secret to analyze, and check every nut and bolt on the truck. You can catch us at the Hardway Sunshine Showdown on September 17-18th, where thanks to the nighttime race schedule we may just turn up the wick and shoot for 4.70s…