The U.S. Diesel Truckin’ Nationals is one of the largest annual diesel events on the East Coast! Co-sponsored by XDP and hosted by Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown NJ, this event is only a stone’s throw from our NJ Headquarters. Growing larger and larger each year, this was sure to be the biggest yet. The XDP Crew pulled in before sunrise on Saturday morning with the XDP Monster Truck, Drag Truck and over 20 of the industry’s top manufacturers.
Our friends at Raceway Park gave XDP an entire side of the track dedicated to just diesel pickups. We wasted no time using every bit of space we could! Including the enormous XDP Midway, the XDP Race Team on display and even a DJ to provide us with some tunes throughout the day. At around 9:30AM the gates were open, trucks were racing down the track and the Fans were rolling in by the hundreds, each expecting a fun-filled day of non-stop diesel action.
New for the 2014 race season, the XDP Drag Truck was on site and ready to go. Piloted by our very own Anthony Reams, we decided to take the truck out with a hurt transmission and only one stage of nitrous. Despite those things working against us, we still put down a 10.23! No complaints from the spectators as they cheered for the truck but the crew is still itching to get it faster. We decided it was best to put the truck back on display and save the transmission for a few more passes later in the day.
While everything was on schedule and moving right along, the only thing the track couldn’t control came in and cut the event short. At about noon, the unfortunate rain delays caused the track officials to call off racing. With a hopeful outlook, the Fans and track officials waited to see if the rain would subside. (ATTENTION DIESEL PICKUP RACERS: Keep the top portion of your tech card as your rain check for next year or for any Raceway Park event excluding Summer Nationals)
With plenty of spectators huddled under the XDP Tents waiting for the rain to let up, we had a great time talking with our local customers as they took advantage of show specials and got a chance to talk with the manufacturers of the products they use every day.
Later in the evening the downpour turned into a drizzle and the track ran the Monster Trucks to provide some entertainment for the spectators who had been patiently waiting in the stands. All in all, even with it being rained out this year, it’s still an event you do not want to miss! We hope to see everyone next year on Saturday September 19th, 2015 and the following day at the XDP Open House!
