Maryland Performance and Innovative Diesel

Diesel Motorsports Events: Maryland Performance and Innovative Diesel

Diesel motorsports events continue to dominate Midwestern states, where sled pulling is a way of life. And with some of the biggest names in diesel performance located in the West, the East Coast sometimes goes unnoticed. Maryland Performance Diesel (MPD) of Baltimore, Maryland, and Innovative Diesel (IDP) of Elkton, Maryland, are looking to change this state of affairs. As two of the biggest names in the performance Power Stroke market, with competitive offerings for both the Cummins and Duramax crowd as well, they worked together to launch the Baltimore area’s first ever diesel-only Drag and Dyno event. As die-hard drag racers, MPD owner Craig Briggs and IDP owner Eric Eldreth both knew that with a little legwork, solid support from their vendors, and enthusiastic local support, they had all the necessary ingredients for a great diesel event to wrap up the season.

The morning started off bright and early at Capitol Raceway just outside of Baltimore. With more than 60 entries in the drag race completion, qualifying rounds ran throughout the afternoon to give drivers a chance to dial in those reaction times and prepare for the elimination rounds that were going to run in true heads-up fashion. Drag classes were broken down into four classes: Pro Street, 10.50, 11.50 and 12.0 Index. In addition to the 1/4-mile drag races, the onsite dyno competition kept the action rolling until late into the night.

With both event hosts, Maryland Performance and Innovative Diesel, being known for their vast knowledge of the Ford Power Stroke, it was no surprise to see a huge turnout from the Blue Oval crowd. This 2005 F-250 was originally built by Innovative Diesel, but has since been sold to a local customer. The custom-fabricated triple turbochargers under the hood definitely help get this little hot rod from Point A to Point B in a hurry.

This old Ford pickup showed up to the event with a 12V Cummins powerplant under the hood, ready to turn some heads in the stands while breaking hearts on the track. While it may not look like much, the truck could hold its own on a 1/4-mile dragstrip.

In the Pro Street class there were a few heavy hitters knocking on the door of the nine-second club. Maryland Fuel Injection’s 2011 6.7L Power Stroke ran back to back 10.30s during qualifying only to have a failed transmission knock them out in the elimination rounds. In the end, Sean Kurz of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, took home the top prize money with a 10.79 @127 mph pass in his 5.9L common-rail Cummins. Kurz also proved to have what it takes to stay consistent in the 10.50 Index class as well, edging out the second place 6.0L Power Stroke of Frank Concepcion, whose nitrous just didn’t hold out long enough. The 11.50 Index class was filled with a few dedicated drag trucks and highly modified daily drivers, but the vintage rat rod truck driven by Susan Stump of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, proved unbeatable. Running near perfect lights, the Cummins-powered truck consistently ran its multiple passes within tenths of each other. Kevin Gragun took home the fastest pass in the 12.0 Index beating out more than 30 entries in the Daily Driver class.

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ABOUT MPD AND IDP

Craig Briggs opened Maryland Performance Diesel in 2007 hoping to share his knowledge and passion for diesel performance to customers all over the country. Well known as Power Stroke specialists, they have continued to push the envelope with the 6.0L, 6.4L, and now the 6.7L platforms. Offering great products with the customer service to back it up, Maryland Performance has since expanded well beyond basic repair and upgrade work, into full fuel injection and in-house CNC machining services.

Innovative Diesel Performance was started in 2002 by Eric Eldreth, one of the first real “custom” tuners to hit the diesel performance scene. Known for his vast knowledge in Power Stroke tuning, his company quickly grew from a part time gig after he was done with his regular day job to a full-fledged performance business offering custom tuning for the Power Stroke, Cummins and Duramax markets. To back their tuning, Innovative also offers complete power packages to take any truck from the mundane to the insane.

More than 20 trucks tested their luck on the portable chassis dyno and the highly sought after Lowest Horsepower prize went to Jimmy Decker’s 1993 Dodge Cummins with 135 hp and 326 lb-ft of torque. Highest horsepower Dodge went to Steve Kern’s 3500 Ram at 738 hp and 1,251 lb-ft of torque. Matt Mellor’s Top Duramax put down 576 hp and 977 lb-ft of torque. Taking home the win in the Ford class was Mike Corsilli in a single turbo 6.4L Power Stroke with 850 hp. Corsilli also backed those numbers up on the track with an 11.21 @ 120 mph pass.

More than 20 trucks tested their luck on the portable chassis dyno and the highly sought after Lowest Horsepower prize went to Jimmy Decker’s 1993 Dodge Cummins with 135 hp and 326 lb-ft of torque.

To go along with the action-packed racing and dyno competition, MPD and IDP employees also manned booths where they spent time with spectators discussing the latest and greatest products available to help take their trucks to the next level. Maryland Performance also sold raffle tickets and T-shirts, entering spectators into a drawing for one of their complete 6.7L Power Stroke S300 turbo kits, valued at more than $5,000. Perfect weather and good racing made for an awesome turnout for the first dedicated diesel event to hit the Baltimore area and we look forward to what these two companies will bring to the table for this season’s event. DW

Mike Corsilli’s 6.4L Power Stroke not only has the looks of being the nastiest street truck in the greater Baltimore area, but it has the horsepower to back it up. With the help of Maryland Performance, the single-turbo monster made it clear to the semi-finals of racing and took home the win in the dyno competition with more than 900 hp on fuel only.

Lowered or lifted, diesel is diesel and a true bracket racer won’t care about the overall e/t as it just takes a consistent truck and quick reaction time to win rounds.

The portable dyno stayed busy throughout the day with plenty of high horsepower trucks strutting their stuff on the rollers. This big mega cab put down some of the biggest numbers of the day at 600+ rear wheel horsepower.

As a true diesel event, anything that ran on diesel was welcome to enter and compete and this short bobtail Volvo came ready to compete. The big power under the hood packed a punch and pushed this semi to low 13s, made for some awesome burnouts too.

While the first generation Dodge Cummins trucks are nearly 25 years old, there are still a few making their way up and down the highway. Check out this pair of gen one Dodges we spotted out in the parking lot, a one of kind custom crew cab hauler and 3500 dually in better condition than it was coming off the Dodge assembly line.

This nitrous-injected common rail Cummins owned by Sean Kurz won both the 10.50 and Pro Street drag classes with a 10.79 @ 127 mph pass.

What better way to break in a brand new $60,000 truck than to send it off to Maryland Performance for a host of bolt-on parts? Running the MPD S300 single-turbo kit, dual-injection pumps, Fass lift pump, and custom tuning, the crew cab with less than 2,500 miles on the odometer made just shy of 650 hp.