The Latest, SPE Motorsport Performance Industry News - Massive GM Recall; Diesel Record Broken, and more

Paul Vasco First To The 5's In The Quarter

The bar has officially been raised. Last week, Paul Vasko took his Duramax-powered Precision Chassis dragster to 5.91 seconds in the quarter mile. That's the world's first for a diesel in the 5's. In comparison, Jared Jones, the previous quarter-mile diesel record holder, had a best time of 6.05 seconds at 242.50 mph. Vasko hit his 5.91 at 229.71 mph. It's going to be a fun 2025 for Dragsters in diesel with such close competition. 

SOURCE: https://greenhandlemedia.com/2024/11/the-first-5-second-quarter-mile-diesel

GM Recall's 462K Duramax Powered Vehicles

GM has issued a recall for 461,839 vehicles equipped with either the 3.0L or the 6.6L Duramax. The recall includes GMCs and Chevys with a 2020 thru 2022 model year. According to the recall filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a valve in the transmission can fail, causing a full drivetrain lock up situation. Not something that would be fun at speed. Owners of vehicles involved in the recall are to be notified in mid-December. The fix is apparently an easy one, only requiring a quick software change. 

Anton Brown Takes NHRA Top Fuel Championship

It was his fourth championship and his first as a team owner. Anton Brown is the NHRA Top Fuel Champion for 2024 following his win over Brittany Force in Pomona over the weekend. The final rounds of the race were packed with heavy competition for Brown. In the first round, Brown faced points leader Justin Ashley and just barely squeaked off a win with a 3.69 to Ashley's 3.70. Round two was with the second in the points race, Shawn Langdon. Both racers had traction issues, with Brown getting a hold of his dragster first, coming away with the win (a blower backfire from Langdon's dragster also contributed). In the final round against Brittany Force, Brown ran a clean 3.693 pass while Force shook the tires, giving Brown the win.  

SOURCE: https://www.nhra.com/news/2024/antron-brown-secures-fourth-mission-foods-nhra-top-fuel-world-championship

ODSS, NHRA, PDRA Racing Schedules Released

Get ready for next year's racing season! The schedules are starting to be released, and we'll share them as more are released. Links are below for the NHRA, PDRA, and Outlaw Diesel Super Series. With all the records broken this year, especially in diesel, it's going to be an exciting year of racing!

NHRA 2025 Schedule: https://www.nhra.com/schedule/2025

PDRA 2025 Schedule:  https://www.pdra660.com/schedule/ 

ODSS 2025 Schedule:  https://www.outlawdieselss.com/

Austin Prock First To Break 340 MPH Barrier 

This past weekend at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Austin Prock in his 11 thousand horsepower Funny Car broke a new record with a 341.68 mph pass. No one has ever gone faster in NHRA competition. The pass would also be the 4th quickest in history. Prock commented: “I’m comfortable in this thing, I’ve been able to catch the scoreboard the last two runs. When we ran .80, I saw it and right there I caught it. I just love Pomona. This is unreal to run 3.80 last night and go 341.68 today. This is one fast Chevrolet and we’re the first NHRA team to do it.”

SOURCE: https://dragillustrated.com/funny-car-world-champ-austin-prock-makes-fastest-run-in-nhra-history-at-in-n-out-burger-nhra-finals/

Ford In Hot Water Over Recall Handling

The largest civil penalty in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 54-year history was just awarded to Ford for apparently failing to issue a recall in a timely manner. $165 Million. The recall in question was for faulty rear-view cameras. What time guidelines the NHTSA wants the OE's to abide by were not noted. What's more worrisome for Ford, this lawsuit sparked a further dive into the automaker's recall history. The US Government is now looking into other recalls, which includes over 560k Broncos, Mavericks, and Expeditions sold between 2019 and 2024. An interesting note: the NHTSA stated these investigations were started based on three complaints from the vehicle's owners.