Annual Utah Event Is A Staple of the Diesel Industry

Edge Product’s annual Weekend On The Edge (WOTE) event is one of the largest diesel events in the West, drawing enthusiasts from all over the country to run on the dyno and compete in the sled pull. Held at the Golden Spike Event Center in Ogden, Utah, with the sled pull taking place at nearby Weber County Fairgrounds, the event is the last pull of the United Pullers Edge Pulling Series, and therefore the place where season winners are determined.

DYNO COMPETITION

Edge kicked off the event by running their two in-house dynos virtually non-stop before the start of the sled pull. More than 100 trucks were waiting in line, everything from basic daily drivers and tuner trucks to competition twin-turbo and nitrous-injected horsepower junkies. A handful of 1,000-plus horsepower trucks hit the rollers, but when the smoke cleared it was Dustin Hembury of Industrial Injection who had spun the dyno the hardest; his LB7 Duramax-powered drag truck put down 1,550 hp and 2,240 lb-ft with help from a little nitrous.

Second place also went to an LB7, with Dmitri Millard’s Duramax delivering 1,490 hp on a fuel-only run. Duramax powerplants went on to land four of the top five spots; the only non-GM prize going to Nick Zichska’s 5.9L Cummins, which took third place at 1,016 hp. Other notables in the chassis dyno contest were Chris Rosscup’s twin-turbo Duramax at 959 hp and Justin Tyler’s 6.4L Power Stroke, which broke into the 700-hp club.

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Anyone who thinks a dyno competition is reserved for the big dogs has never attended Weekend On The Edge. Edge Products welcomes just about anything and everything with a diesel engine to compete in the day’s festivities.

Tom Hansen has become a household name along the United Pullers circuit thanks to his 6.7L Cummins-powered 3.0 puller. As a back-to-back class champion in 2012 and 2013, his 2014 didn’t go quite as planned due to some bad luck and failed parts. It’s never a good sign when your exhaust catches on fire and your compressor wheel disintegrates into thousands of pieces mid-pull.

SLED PULL

With dyno runs complete, the Edge Products crew moved the party over to the nearby Weber County Fairgrounds facility in Ogden for the United Truck and Tractor Pullers sled pull event, which would wrap up the 2014 Edge Pulling Series circuit. Having outgrown the event’s previous venue, the outdoor arena on the fairgrounds offered an ideal atmosphere for both spectators and competitors. A newly formed track and soft dirt threw a curveball at all the pullers, who had to ensure that their trucks were set up just right get power to the ground effectively.

The Edge Pulling Series has grown rapidly over the past couple of years and both the 2.6 and 3.0 Inducer classes have become extremely competitive. Dedicated pulling trucks following the circuit all over the West have made for a very tight points race this season, and the Weekend On The Edge event determined the series point’s champions in almost every class.

Trevor Larkin, a mechanic for nearby Wild Diesel, runs this big dually 12V Cummins in the 3.0 Inducer class. His 272.28-foot pull snagged third place, just 4 feet shy of the winner.

Addicted Diesel of Rock Springs, Wyoming, runs this Pro Mod Diesel in the United Pullers circuit. With the help of triple turbos, a massive injection pump and a skilled driver (Jason Stott), it had enough to not only take home the winning pull for the night at 276 feet, but to wrap up the points championship for the 2014 season.

This old Ford Highboy owned by Russ Prescott competes in the Pro Mod Diesel class and runs an International DT466 motor with a big 91mm single turbo. In a class dominated by Dodge Cummins trucks, it’s nice to see there are still a few Blue Oval fans willing to push the envelope on a dirt track.

The 2.6 championship came down to Adam Hulse and 2013 champion Weylin Richards. With a four-point lead going into the event it appeared to be an easy win for Richards, but a miscalculation on gear selection landed him a seventh place finish, opening the door for Hulse who pulled off a first place hook of 294 feet. After points were tallied, both drivers had 77 total points for the season, so a pull-off was needed to crown the class champion. Less than 2 feet separated the two trucks, but it was Richards in his Cummins-powered “Drag n Fly” that edged out “The Nameless One” driven by Hulse.

The 3.0 Inducer class had multiple trucks with a chance at pulling off a win on any given track throughout the season. Coming into the final pull, the 5.9L “Oh, Mega” Cummins driven by Nick Adamson seemed to have the championship wrapped up, and being sponsored by Bully Dog, a win at Edge’s big season-ending party would have provided serious bragging rights. But there was a surprise upset, with the second-gen common-rail Cummins owned by Bob Millican and driven by Jackie Millican making a 276-foot pull, putting more than 4 feet on Adamson and relegating him to second place. Third place prize money went to Trevor Larkin who came in just inches short of Adamson.

Alligator Performance owner Chad Hall made the drive down from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, to show off his newest creation, a tricked-out 2015 Chevrolet LML. Under the hood you’ll find a freshly finished Deviant Race Parts compound turbo kit, ATS dual fuelers and custom Motor Ops tuning, which together pushed this blacked-out Duramax to 650 hp.

In the 3.2 Inducer class, trucks aren’t limited to single turbochargers, so compounds (atmosphere turbos limited to 3.2 inducer) are found on most entries. Though the event’s 3.2 win went to Jeremy Neff with a 276-foot pull, the points championship for the season came down to the Edge-sponsored driver, Ryan Thain, in his 2006 5.9L Mega Cab, and Kortney Neiffenegger of nearby Outlaw Diesel and his monster 12V Cummins. Unfortunately, an electrical gremlin in Thain’s truck ended his pull prematurely, so Nieffenegger’s second place finish cemented his win of the season trophy.

The Pro Mod Diesel class is where the big boys come to play, with triple turbos and cut pulling tires putting power to the ground. Here, Jason Stott’s “Addicted” 12V Cummins took the win for both the night and the season with a 40-plus-point lead.

After 14 consecutive years, Weekend On The Edge has become a staple of the diesel industry and is an event you can count on growing year after year. With the formation of PowerTeq and the company’s commitment to the diesel industry, along with the help of the United Pullers Association, Weekend On The Edge will continue to be a “must see” event. DW

Jeremy Neff’s “Rolling Billboard” pulling truck managed to lay down 777 hp on the chassis dyno Saturday morning. Later that night he won 3.2 with a 275-foot pull, putting more than 5 feet on the second place truck.

Verlon Southwick is another Edge-sponsored driver who knows his way around both the drag strip and the dyno. Running a fully built LBZ engine and Allison transmission, his big fuel and compound turbos were enough to put down 870 hp and 1,437 lb-ft of torque. Judging by the smile, he was happy with that result.

Edge Products, hood stacks and a sled pull track. What else does a diesel junkie need on a Saturday night?

[divider]ABOUT EDGE PRODUCTS[/divider]

Edge Products was founded in 1999, and after developing one of the first performance-oriented electronics for the “new” 24-valve VP44 Cummins, its software quickly gained popularity. The company has since grown into a 40,000-square-foot building with close to 100 employees on staff. In 2011, Edge Products joined together with Superchips to create one large company now known as PowerTeq. This merger helped to improve overall knowledge and product offerings for the diesel, gas, car, truck and Jeep markets. Under the newly formed PowerTeq banner, Edge and Superchips continue to introduce new products and tuning software to keep them on the leading edge of emissions-friendly automotive performance.