“Triple turbo” means the engine has three turbochargers to make more boost and power. A “street truck” is built to run that setup in a way that’s meant to be used outside a pure race-only environment.
On a dyno, the truck’s tires sit on big rollers. The rollers apply resistance so the dyno can measure power, and if something goes wrong (like tire damage), it can get dramatic fast.
They’re describing the dyno’s braking system getting extremely hot during the run. On a dyno, you can end up loading the drivetrain and brakes hard enough that they overheat.
A dyno is a machine that tests a car or truck’s engine while it’s strapped down. It helps you measure power and tune the setup so the engine hits the boost and power you want.
“Boost window” is the sweet spot where the turbo is pushing the right amount of pressure. The goal is to keep the engine in that range so it makes strong power without stressing things.
RPM tells you how fast the engine is spinning. On a dyno, power and boost behavior change with RPM, so drivers watch it closely and may back off if things get too intense.
Term
plenum-esque
They’re comparing the setup to a plenum, which is like an air “buffer” chamber. That kind of design can affect how consistently the turbo feeds air to the engine.
“G-forces” describe how hard a vehicle accelerates compared to gravity. “Negative G’s” means the forces flip direction, which can feel like you’re being pulled the wrong way in your seat.
Topic
UCC scene
The “UCC scene” is basically the group of racers and events tied to UCC. He’s saying he stepped away from that circuit for a while.
Pro Street is a type of drag racing class. Teams build cars to run hard while still fitting within that class’s rules, and they tune the car to launch and handle well.
Topic
drag racing at UCC
This refers to drag-racing competition within the UCC events. The speaker is describing how the truck behaved in that specific racing context and why they changed the setup.
Your chassis setup is basically how the car’s suspension and handling are adjusted. It’s what helps the car stay stable and put power down instead of feeling out of control.
Concept
four wheel drive diesel pickup truck
It’s a diesel pickup that drives all four wheels. That helps it grip and transfer power better when you’re racing or pulling something heavy.
“Drag race form” means the truck is set up to race down a straight track. It’s usually tuned differently than for sled pulling so it can launch and accelerate effectively.
Term
12 shift
In drag racing, “12 shift” is basically a target time goal—aiming for runs in the 12-second range. They’re saying if it can hit that, it should keep going through the rest of the track.
A “slip” is the race results sheet for a run. When they say it was a personal best on every mark, they mean the timing numbers on that sheet were all their best.
“Billet” means the engine parts are cut from a solid chunk of metal instead of poured into a mold. That can make the parts stronger and more consistent when you’re pushing the engine hard.
D and J Motors is a company that builds engines for race teams. Here, they’re mentioned because they couldn’t deliver billet engines quickly enough, so the team looked elsewhere.
Horsepower is a number that describes how much power the engine can make. Higher horsepower usually means the vehicle can accelerate harder—especially in racing.
Wagler is the specialist they worked with to get the new billet engine sorted for their race truck. The host is praising how responsive and helpful he was during the build.
The fuel system is how the engine gets fuel—pump, lines, and delivery components. If you change the engine build, you usually have to tune the fuel system so the engine gets the right amount of fuel.
“G-forces” are how hard the vehicle is accelerating or being pulled, compared to gravity. Racing can create big G-loads, and that can shake or stress parts—so teams plan for it.
Firepunk is another performance shop name dropped in the same breath as other race-focused builders. It’s not explained in detail here, but it signals the kind of specialized companies involved.
A “billet block” is an engine block made from a solid metal piece, then machined into shape. Race teams use it because it can be stronger for very high-stress power levels.
EGT means exhaust gas temperature—how hot the exhaust gets. Builders watch it to keep the engine from getting too hot and to help the turbo come on smoothly.
A water-to-air intercooler uses coolant to cool the turbo’s intake air. It’s strong at heat control, but because it has water lines, problems like water getting into the intake can happen if something isn’t right.
They’re working through a mystery where the truck seemed like it was ingesting water after an intercooler change. They keep testing, tearing things apart, and modifying parts until the intake stays dry.
Term
precision, 4,000 intercooler
They’re talking about a specific intercooler setup from Precision with a “4,000” size/capacity. Bigger/stronger intercoolers can handle more heat, which matters when the engine is making a lot of boost.
The cylinder head is the engine’s top part where the combustion happens and where coolant passages run. If they revise it, they’re changing how the engine’s internals and cooling/flow behave.
AMSOIL is a company that makes engine oils and other lubricants. They’re also a sponsor for this racing event, which is why their name is attached to the UCC.
UCC is a competition for diesel trucks where drivers race multiple times over the event. Here, the host is saying a “win” is improving their own results and finishing the whole challenge strong.
Term
tap loss truck
A “tap loss truck” is basically a truck that can win by a small amount. The point is that you shouldn’t assume someone is easy to beat.
In drag racing, “bottom fives” means the truck is running very fast—around the 5-second range. The host is pointing out that today’s trucks can hit those kinds of times.
LIVE
All right. Thank you for joining. You're listening to the diesel performance podcast. I'm your host Chris
Emke. Today we have a special interview. We have another Amsoil UCC 2026 competitor. A repeat winner, I guess you can
say back to to MIA for years to making a comeback. But we have Justin Ziegler. Justin, how you
doing? Hey, how about how about you? Oh, man, it's I could sit there and say I'm busy and I got a lot going on. But
like, I'm not going to even go toe to toe with you being busy and the stuff you have going on. So yeah, we're
just oh, it's madness. We're just hanging in there. I would say for for any any new listener that maybe is just
now getting into diesel or getting into the UCC, you know, competitor list, things like that. Can you give us a
little bit of background on on you, how you got into diesel? And then we'll kind of back into the truck that you're
working with?
Yeah, I mean, I've been in diesel pretty much my entire life. Started with renting on big trucks and started building
support, built one for myself, which turned into buddies and their buddies and kind of made a business out of it.
And then that turned into now, your your old your old four door truck, what was that originally like a sled pull
truck that you then kind of migrated into racing? Or how did that truck come about?
Oh, so we actually built that would have been the second year of Canada Street. They because they did the first
year we took a regular cab that we built finished second. And then they kind of went on a hiatus. So I went full
rate, you know, retard with the with the other truck. And then it was no longer a legal king of the street
truck. So I found the quad cab, drove to Wisconsin, bought a bag, cut it up, made it a king of the street at that
time, like it was just a triple turbo street truck that made you know, 2500 horse on fuel. It was just it was a fun
truck. And they just kind of started morphing from there.
Okay. So past ultimate call out challenge stats, your your first time competing was in 2021, correct?
Yes, sir. Yeah, that was with the quad cab.
And some rough stats on that you you took first place. You know, just dust the shoulder a little bit there, but 2440
horsepower, 3200 foot pounds of torque, you pulled around 390 foot pounds. And for the drag strip, you you you ran a
53 in the crew cab sound about right?
Yeah, sounds about right. I mean, that thing was, it was a heavy sled.
Yeah. And then you came back for a two Pete. So 2022 first place again. But that was a completely different truck at the
time, correct?
Yeah, so we did the we actually built, well, kind of we, I guess the right way to put it is we we kind of changed
directions knowing that, you know, Derek or isn't kind of hinted at coming back. And the quad cab wasn't going to
compete with him. So the Vonratch out to me and the his per street, you know, three time UCC champ truck kind of
became available and in pieces, parts basically kind of a partial roller. So we jumped on it and put everything out of
the quad cab into that truck. And there's all history from there.
So in 2022, that was the year that like the tire imploded on the on the rollers, right? And everything went viral if I'm not
mistaken.
So we actually were lucky. We didn't blow a tire up. We did. I mean, we had the brakes just absolutely on fire.
But the way I dino is kind of a little bit different. And it's probably dumb compared with some of these other guys are
doing, but, you know, we're spending time with the Von and the things I've learned, you know, doing, you know, spending
time on the dino is the way I drive it. Like I take a thing to the moon and then start bringing it back with the brakes
just so I can kind of set it right in my boost window where I want it. So when I tell the dino operator hit it, like it
is balls out everything she's got right now. And so we, we dug the shit out of the brakes trying to get boost, you
know, just under the window where I wanted it. And, you know, so the brake pedal went to the floor. And at that point, it
was time to let her eat.
Okay. And that came in around 3,300 horsepower, if I'm not mistaken, 3,336.
Yeah. Yeah, 3,336. We, I honestly got scared in the driver's seat. Like that thing stood up front tires were gamer off
the platform. Like it was just complete. No, I mean, nobody had seen a hit like that before. Right. And you know, it
kind of got a little crazy. And I lifted about 7,800 RPM early. The dyno graph was still going up, but it was all I
could think of my head was if a thing comes over top of this roller, like we're trashing everything and killing
everybody around this thing.
It, I couldn't, I know what it's like to be in a 1000 horsepower truck on a dyno. I couldn't imagine what it's like
being in a 3,300 horsepower truck on a dyno, nonetheless, being up on like a stage, you know, plenum-esque, you
know, style environment in front of a bunch of people. As a spectator, you know, you just, you watch the engine ramp up
and a quick like, and then it's done. That's the longest eight seconds, seven seconds of your life when you're in the
truck doing that with the emotion.
Oh, absolutely. And just for perspective, like we pulled the straps so tight on the dyno. When I lifted, it was 1.1
negative G's trying to pull the straps back.
Absolutely retarded.
Just putting your life in those straps, like trusting them for all of your life. That's insane. That is absolutely crazy.
Wow. Yeah. 1.1 G's. Jesus. I just like trying to wrap my head around that. So yeah, sitting in one spot and then
have 1.1 negative G's, you can be backwards trying to keep you on the bend all the way.
So a four year hiatus, right? So you 22, I'm going to say you went MIA. We all know you haven't been MIA, but you've been
outside of the UCC scene.
Yeah. Concentrated on, just wanted to concentrate on, you know, racing pro street, you know, what we built the truck for.
So we, we took a finish of the 2022 year, just kind of refreshing everything. I went to my first pro street race at
Shide, actually was lucky enough to get to the finals. And then I was, I was hooked. So I figured I only do to go
faster, make it better. And then the, uh, be the 2023 season, uh, we're blessed enough to go out, be number one qualifier
and win every single pro street race of the entire season.
That's, that's an accomplishment, uh, to say the least. Do you, do you attest a lot of that to just your experience
racing throughout the years? Is it the, is it a proven chassis? Is it a combination? Like, what do you think was the secret
sauce for that?
That's a lot of things. Um, I mean, uh, to be completely honest with you, when we drag racing at UCC, it was an
un-drivable pile of shit. Like I didn't want to drive the thing anymore. It just was miserable. So, uh, spent a, you know,
spent a lot of time myself just kind of revamping the chassis setup. That helped a ton. You know, me and my crew got that
figured out. Um, or should I just say my crew and I, um, and then, you know, had a lot of good people on the way, you
know, LaVon always there for me. Um, you know, Johnny is stainless, you know, those guys dominated
per Street for a long time. You know, they helped us a lot and just really set, you know, like surrounding
myself with the right people, you know, cause that's the only way you can get betters and get around yourself
and people that are better than you.
Yeah, no, I would agree with that. You, you surround yourself around the people that not necessarily you want to
become, but have the knowledge and the skill set that you get to adapt and learn on, right? So you become better.
You're not going to progress with someone who hasn't accomplished the things that you'd like to accomplish.
Right.
So the million dollar question, why come back four years not doing UCC? What's the motive for wanting to come back to
compete this year?
Well, I'm actually questioning that myself as I'm turning a truck that I thought that I finally have perfect, like we
are now knocking on the door for the fastest four wheel drive diesel pickup truck on the planet. Um, we're
coming for Derek Rose and we're on his heels and I'm dumb enough to now pull it all back apart and build a
sled pull truck out of it because I'm stupid.
Are you concerned or worried that if you start manipulating the truck to put it into a sled pull format that it
might hinder the racing capability once you convert it back over? Are you pretty confident that there's not going
to be any issues there?
Well, I would love to tell you that I have all the confidence in the world, but that would be lying to you.
I have, I have my doubts, but then we've, we've done every single possible precaution we could so that there's no
way to fuck it up, putting it back together. And my plan is like, we should have the slide pull setup done. You
know, if we don't finish it this week and be early next week, get in slide pull form, you know, just kind of
move around here at the lot at the shop, make sure it's happy. And then we're put it back in drag race form and
throw my trailer around our local track and just let off the button. If it goes through the 12 shift, we
know it's going to go off the, you know, the rest of the track and then we're ready to go. So
like I said, it's there was a lot of talks because, you know, we decided to do this, you know, a couple of
months ago, kind of got talked into it. And then after we got Rudy's this year, and the truck goes off the
trailer and goes personal best after personal best of the personal best on every mark on the slip. There was a
lot of serious talks in the shop that, you know, next week on why the hell would we tear this thing apart now
that we finally have it right? Right?
But I guess that that backs into the next question. So aside from chassis changes to improve A to B, what's
different power plant wise from what you brought in 2022?
So last year, we switched to a full billet wagon competition products, 67 engine or 67 base
engine. It's their CX 400. Last year was a giant learning curve, just figuring out things we didn't have
right things we didn't literally learn what you don't know. And now we're lucky enough to finally, finally
after just failed attempts after failed attempts, we finally have it right.
That's gotta be so how did that collaboration take place? Because prior you had D and J motors in the truck, if I'm
not mistaken?
Yep. So always had a danger enforcer in the truck. Both years that we won UCC was actually with the same
enforcer engine, just in two different trucks. And that that enforcer was very, very good to me. I can't say
anything bad about it. The thing was phenomenal. I mean, it lived a very, very long time of north of 3000
horsepower, way longer than it ever should have. And it is still out there running now. It just it was, it was
time we needed to make the jump to a billet engine. And D and J was very backlogged on doing billet engines. So I
started kind of looking around talking to Jeremy Wagler, previous customer of his had one that he wasn't
using. So I bought it, you know, we got with Jeremy did a full refresh on it, changed a bunch of things that we
needed to do for our setup, you know, with with our fuel system, everything we run, you know, all extra G
everything, get all that dialed in. And working with Jeremy has been absolutely phenomenal. I can't say a bad
thing like that dude bends over backwards for his customers. I could text that dude at three o'clock in the
morning. Hey, I need XYZ. And it'll be at my shop the next day.
I've heard that. I mean, again, he's been in the industry a really long time. And I would say, you know, he he's right up
there with, you know, D and J, Firepunk, and, you know, all these shops that are very race oriented, Wagler has
definitely had a long, long laundry list of, you know, history in the sled pull world, right, for years, especially
absolutely like that. What are some of the learning curves that you had going to a billet block, I guess is, you
know, a novice in this in this space and in the billet block regards, you know, an engine's an engine. And I know
that that's not the case. But what were some of the things that you learned or had a, you know, had the curveball
thrown at you as you made that change?
I mean, everything is different down to the way you spool it, you know, how fast you bring it up, like there
everything plays a factor because aluminum dissipates heat really, really quick. So if you get a little anxious
trying to spool it and spool jets come on, you'll not just backfire real fast.
Really?
Like there's a very, very, very fine line to find the right like EGT fuel input to like get it to come up smooth, fire
the, you know, the spool jets and bring it up without crackling it. That took a little bit of time to get
figured out. As well as we had, we switched the water to air intercooler at the same time, but a brand new
precision, 4,000 intercooler. And after the first pass, like the truck kept acting like it was hydrolocking,
like you would go down, let the button, it would take off like bad out of hell and start acting like it was
trying to hydrolock. You'd come back, everything would be bone dry, intercooler wouldn't
notice a real loss in the water in the tank. Like couldn't really pinpoint what the hell was going on.
Like we had the injectors back to actually everything, everything kept coming back good. And so it finally got
bad enough that Danny Coleman actually got a picture of us at Crossville. As soon as I let off the button, it was
like somebody threw a five gallon bucket of water in the air.
And oh yeah. And through all that, you know, we, we destroyed everything along the way chasing this problem that
you couldn't pinpoint. Like I said, we tore everything apart, everything would be bone dry inside, like there
was no signs of water anywhere. But we knew how it was behaving that had to be. So finally it became undeniable.
So multiple revisions in the cylinder head and everything else later, we Nathaniel from Rudy's actually
come over to me at Crossville and said, for a fucking intercooler off, I'm taking home with me and building a new
one. And he built me a hell of an intercooler. Like this thing is just phenomenal. And the real thing about it is it
doesn't see any water in the intake.
So it's awesome when things work, right?
Yes. So, you know, Nathaniel has been a great one too for, you know, for advice. I mean, that guy is most people
understand how smart that guy is. Like that dude is fucking wise. And he knows a lot about race cars and making
race cars work. So anytime I have off the world questions, like I usually text Nathaniel and bounce my stupid ideas off of
him before I start running with things.
Nothing financial, though. No financial questions, clearly.
No, no, I'm just stupid for that. My wife tries to keep me real then, but she can, but that's a full time job in itself.
I believe it. So going into the 2026, you know, UCC, what's, what's the goal? Like what's a win for you? His first place
a win, making it through all three events, beating a personal best at the track? Like what's the win look like for you for
going through all this?
I mean, my goal is obviously I always want to better myself. Like I don't, I don't get too caught up in concern of what
everybody else is doing, what everybody else lays down that as long as I can go out and better what I've done in the
past, it's a win. And our work, our way of thinking, if we can go out and better everything that we've done so far at UCC,
there's no way that doesn't equal win.
So regardless of taking home first place, if the first place winner is so beyond what's been accomplished so far, but
you beat your personal best from years past, that's a win in your book.
Absolutely. I will be happy. I'll be damn proud of whoever does better because it's not going to come easy.
Do you have any competitors that you have your eye on or that you're kind of on the lookout for going into 2026?
I don't take anybody lightly. I honestly, you know, you can show up with a tap loss truck and I'm not going to take you
lightly because I don't want to get surprised. So I keep my eye on everybody and just like I said, I usually try to keep my head
down and do what we do and concentrate on doing our thing. But there's a long list of badass competitors this year. It is whoever
wins, whether it be me or somebody else, it is not going to be easy.
I feel like this year is a really stacked year. And the cool thing about this, it's the 10 year anniversary of the ultimate call out
challenge sponsored by M's oil course. But the technology that has advanced the industry and in push the envelope, like it's not no
longer just a truck making 3000 horsepower, it's not a truck that's, you know, going bottom fives. There's a lot of trucks here that
are true contenders and drivers that of course can drive the truck, you know, to do those things.
Oh, absolutely. I guess definitely a lot of guys that are coming back are very experienced. You know, Kenny Bringer is one of them like
that dude. I mean, he's won before he's got a very badass beautiful truck. Like he's got it figured out like you I said you can't take
anybody lightly at this level. Like you're you're in a class full of killers.
No, I mean, between the the UCC competition, and then you have all the ODSS and the NHRDA grouping up, you have the fast 72 class
like there's there's a lot of potent trucks and a lot of great drivers are going to be at that event this weekend, or that weekend.
Oh, absolutely. Yeah, it's going to be a hell of a show. If if you miss it, you missed out because it's going to be one hell of a show
all the way around.
Well, before we close here, are there any shout outs or any special things you want to give?
Oh, yeah, obviously, you know, all my guys, my crew, you know, Derek Allen, my crew chief, Stan, you know, our right hand that
basically babysits everything we do. And you know, that guy's got a lot of race experience helps us try to bet. He ran on top fuel
teams for a really long time. And he was a great addition to our race team. You know, LaVon, everybody down at Firepunk, everybody
hotshot secrets. The all the guys at extra G turbo smart came on this year with their new 50 millimeter e gates for us that
been insane. Help Johnny over at stainless steve stainless. You know, Jeremy Wagler, obviously, and we've got a lot of really good
people involved in this to help keep us going.
No, I know Justin and I are my Justin. We're looking forward to seeing you. Hopefully we can, you know, get you down pinpoint in the
pits and just do a small interview and just do a walk around on the truck while we're down there. But
yeah, come check it out. Yeah, we're looking forward. And you know, we're rooting for you. We wish you the best.
I appreciate it, guys. I appreciate your time.
We'll see you up. Thank you.
Come over to me acrossville and said for a fucking intercooler off, I'm taking home with me and building a new one.
About this episode
Justin Zeigler talks through his diesel competition path, from sled-pull roots to a triple-turbo “king of the street” build. The crew gets into dyno strategy—braking to land in a targeted boost window—plus the safety drama of a viral roller tire incident and violent negative-G forces. They also cover major changes for 2026: a billet CX 400 powerplant, turbo spool/EGT tuning, and fixing a water-to-air intercooler issue. “Winning” is defined as consistency across all three UCC events and beating personal bests.
He's back! The back-to-back two-time AMSOiL UCC champion is returning to reclaim the title he last won four years ago. Justin has been racing Pro Street and racking up wins in the race circuit since his last time competing at the AMSOIL UCC. Has the competition changed drascitaclly since 2022? Will he be able to get the truck ready for the sled pull portion? Justin talked to us about a ton of things and how he sees his experience going at the 2026 event. Get ready, we are stoked to see what Justin Zeigler accomkplishes this go round!
