Traveling to Diesel Events. . .

Traveling to the diesel events can be fun and adventurous depending on where you go and stay. Right now I'm staying at a Bed & Breakfast that is owned and run by a past Blue Angel pilot who survived three tours in Viet Nam and a pilot for the Blue Angels. His call sign was Bad Dawg, what a fun place to spend a few days and it was cheaper than the local hotels with a breakfast included that beats Perkins!

I remember the last time I booked a few years ago our entire crew in a Bed & Breakfast in London, OH! A few of the crew got there before we did and I immediately got a call from one of them asking WTH when I checked in they gave me a lavender bar of soap - lol! I asked if he had bathed recently, maybe it was a hint, and I told him not to leave a ring around the tub so we wouldn't have to pay extra for cleanup.

On another trip we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast one our crew members went outside to smoke at 2:30 am in the morning in his pj bottoms only in the early spring and forgot the door was spring loaded. He spent the next 20 minutes in the cold throwing wood chips up at the windows trying to wake his wife up to let him back in the building. Got a little cold out there and oh yea it was raining too!

These trips can be fun and the different stories we all laugh about and tell later make it worth it! Come this weekend to Numidia PA for one of the largest diesel shows on the East coast and make some fun memories.

Who likes who - who really cares?

Every since DIESEL Motorsports formed and went into business as the only licensed sanctioning body for diesel pickups the haters started hating.

You ask why diss or talk down someone who wants to promote DIESEL Motorsports?  Why pick on a business who is trying to expand the sport and bring it to the mainstream?

Is it because others want it unruly and no rules? Is it because they personally don't like the people running DIESEL Motorsports or other promoters?

What is their motivation? Is it business, product/market share, wanting to be the one on top?

Ask any diesel owner, fans, family members attending an event or most competitors and honestly - they don't care!

They want to enjoy the lifestyle of owning a diesel and the people involved. At each event while they look at each other's trucks, talking on Facebook, texting and emailing they all have one thing in common - they love their diesel trucks.

That's all that matters, the drama, the haters, the name callers doesn't matter to them at all.

I'm glad to hear that and embrace that attitude with DIESEL Motorsports attendees. I have been a target as my partner in DIESEL Motorsports and yes, it bothers us such people have to act this way.

We stay loyal to our sponsors and those who do business with DIESEL Motorsports, that's just good business. We protect our investments and business which is DIESEL Motorsports but our mission is to expand and bring the sport into the mainstream America.

A diesel lifestyle as a sport, that is what our passion is for the future. We strive to be optimistic and positive and leave the haters, name callers behind. Leaving negative energy behind and embracing a positive approach is healthier for our sport and all involved.

Ask any one coming to events who likes who? They don't care they are there to have fun as a diesel enthusiast and DIESEL Motorsports plans to accommodate them!

When it is hot get out of the kitchen . . .

We have all heard the old saying and it pertains to our diesel world when competition is involved.

Newer diesels are coming out that are faster, less smoke and tuned to compete multiple runs and passes.

Starting to replace the smoky one pass diesels who go down the track once and call it a day to party.

We are talking true professional competitors who have built durable diesel drivetrains that can perform and set records which require multiple runs (backed up by a second pass).

The same in sled pulling which requires heavy pulling in a short amount of distance (300 ft). In the larger classes the smoke is part of the show in pulling but the higher horsepower is still growing in all of the trucks.

In other words all areas are hitting new levels for performance diesel and the trucks are still being built by diesel competitors even though the economy is still weak.

More and more of the race and pulling teams are showing up in matching team shirts, wrapped trailers, wrapped trucks, sponsors on their equipment leaving a very professional feeling about the sport.

Almost 7 years ago I held a seminar in Indy on how to capture sponsors and look professional, not many can remember that session. It was held before a banquet in a small hotel conference center and a few teams did come to listen.

We have come a long way in seven years and I am proud of some of the teams who have stepped up and taken the lead as professional competitors.

Not all of our guys can afford to do this but it gives them a model to strive for in the future and we all come out looking like a sport that deserves recognition.