Sled pulling is a competition where a truck drags a heavy sled. It puts the engine under a big load, so the tuning and hardware have to be set up for that kind of stress.
They’re saying the competition setup caps the engine speed. That changes how you tune the truck because you have to make power without being able to spin the engine as high as you want.
VP44 is the name of a diesel fuel-injection system/pump. It’s important because it controls how the engine gets fuel, and that’s what determines how much power you can make.
Injectors are the parts that spray fuel into the engine. If you change injectors, you can change how much fuel gets delivered and how it’s delivered, which affects power and smoke.
Cylinder heads are part of the engine where the combustion happens. Swapping or testing different heads can change how well the engine breathes and burns fuel, which affects power.
Tuning is adjusting the engine’s settings to make it run the way you want. They’re saying last year they hit some unexpected problems that showed up during the tuning process.
A standalone controller is an aftermarket computer that controls the engine. Instead of relying on the factory computer, it lets the builder manage fueling and settings more directly.
A “sled pull” day is when trucks compete by pulling a heavy sled. How well you can keep pulling hard and consistently is what usually decides the results.
“Dual VP44s” means there are two of those diesel fuel pumps working together. Builders do this to feed more fuel so the engine can make more power, especially for racing or big performance goals.
“Clearances” are the tiny spaces between parts. Builders measure and set them so parts don’t hit each other or wear out too fast when everything moves.
A “12 valve diesel” is a diesel engine generation identified by how many valves it has. People in the diesel world often like these because they’re well-known, and there are lots of parts and tricks available to modify them.
Term
24 valve VP
“24 valve VP” refers to a diesel engine with 24 valves and a VP-style fuel system. In practice, it’s the kind of truck diesel fans start modifying because it responds well to performance changes.
Horsepower is a number that describes how strong the engine is. In racing talk, higher horsepower usually means the truck can pull harder or accelerate more.
Concept
swing for the fences
“Swing for the fences” means going for the biggest, most ambitious outcome instead of playing it safe. Here it’s about taking bold chances with the truck to try to win.
Triple turbos means the engine has three turbochargers. The idea is to help the engine make more boost and power, especially across a wider range of speeds.
Term
7.0 or a 7.1 liter engine
“7.0 or 7.1 liters” is how big the engine is, based on the total cylinder volume. Bigger displacement can make it easier to make lots of power in diesel builds.
No prep events are drag races where the track isn’t treated to make it extra grippy. Because traction is less predictable, launches and tuning have to be dialed in.
Term
all steel
“All steel” means the rules require steel parts instead of lighter materials. That can change the truck’s weight and how it performs in competition.
Term
full body truck
A “full body truck” usually means the truck keeps more of its normal body panels instead of being heavily stripped. In racing, that can matter because some events have rules about what you can change.
Topic
King of the Street Challenge
King of the Street Challenge is a competition event the speaker does every year. It’s where they test how competitive their truck is against others.
Patrick Brown is one of the drivers/competitors the host is talking about. In this episode, they’re saying he’s a standout because of the specific diesel truck setup he’s running.
Car
LB7 Duramax
An “LB7 Duramax” is a specific GM diesel engine version. People like it because it’s a common starting point for tuning and performance upgrades.
Car
12-valve Cummins
A “12-valve Cummins” is a specific version of a Cummins diesel engine. The “12-valve” part tells you how the engine’s head is built, and that matters for how it performs and how people tune it.
Common rail is a newer way diesel engines deliver fuel. Instead of one pump doing everything mechanically, it uses a high-pressure fuel line (“rail”) controlled by electronics.
Thurbridge Dino Day is a local event near their shop. The host mentions it to explain how close they were to finishing their truck setup before competing.
This is a tuning setup that uses Wi‑Fi to communicate with the engine computer. If the connection acts up during a run, it can affect how the truck performs.
The limiter is like a safety cap in the engine computer. If you’re “riding the limiter,” the truck is constantly bumping into that cap, so it won’t keep making more power the way you want.
Cars run on a 12‑volt electrical system. If a tuning computer needs that 12‑volt power continuously and it gets cut off, it can reset or stop controlling the engine correctly.
“Ground zero” here means the tuning computer resets to its default settings. So instead of your custom tune, the truck may run with no tune (or a basic one).
Compound turbos means the truck uses more than one turbo to push air into the engine. That can help it feel stronger at low speeds, but it’s harder to set up correctly.
On an automatic, the torque converter can “lock up” to reduce slippage. If lockup doesn’t happen correctly, the truck can feel wrong or not transfer power the way it should.
The valve body is like the automatic transmission’s control panel. It routes fluid to make the transmission shift, so problems there can cause shifting to act up.
“Dyno day” is when they test the truck on a machine that measures power. It’s a good way to catch tuning or setup problems because the engine is tested under load.
Term
bottle temperature
“Bottle temperature” means the temperature of the pressurized supply container for an added performance fluid. If it’s too hot or too cold, the system may not work the way you expect.
Term
purging
“Purging” means running the system briefly to clear out air or leftover material. That helps the performance fluid start flowing correctly when you actually test.
Quadzilla is a performance tuning device for diesel trucks. Here, it’s acting like it won’t let the truck run normally because of what it thinks the other tuning gear is trying to do.
They’re talking about communication between tuning devices and connected systems. The tuner thought the setup was trying to interfere, so it locked things out.
Term
slip pull
A “slip pull” is a competition where a truck pulls a heavy load and has to keep traction. The goal is to avoid the wheels spinning too much while still putting power to the ground.
“Tune wise” means adjusting the truck’s computer settings. Those settings control things like how much fuel the engine gets and when, which changes how the truck runs and pulls.
“CP3” is the name diesel people give to a different high-pressure fuel pump. People swap to it when they want the truck to make more power and handle more fuel more reliably.
“VP platform” is shorthand for a certain type of diesel fuel injection setup. It matters because that pump design affects how much fuel the engine can deliver and what upgrades are possible.
Term
VP
Here, “VP” refers to a specific diesel fuel pump type. Diesel guys use it as a quick way to talk about what injection system the truck is using and what kind of power it can make.
A harness is the car’s wiring bundle. For a custom diesel setup, you often need special wiring so the sensors and controllers can talk to the fuel system correctly.
Cam profile is the exact shape of the camshaft. That shape controls when things happen inside the engine, and if you change timing hardware you have to match it to the engine’s intended schedule.
They’re saying the gear sizes have to match because the gears control timing. If the gear sizes change, the pump and engine timing won’t line up the way it was designed to.
Clock the pump means positioning the pump at the correct rotational angle. That angle controls when the fuel gets injected, so it has to be set precisely.
A VP44 pump is a diesel fuel pump (Bosch) that helps deliver the right amount of fuel to the engine. In performance builds, people often upgrade or replace it because pushing more power can stress it.
“Stage two” is a way of saying the pump has been upgraded beyond stock. The goal is usually to support more power and keep fuel delivery working correctly when the engine is pushed harder.
“Delivery problems” means the engine isn’t getting the fuel it needs in the right way. When people upgrade diesel pumps, they’re often trying to fix problems like weak or inconsistent fuel delivery under hard driving.
“UCC” is the name of the competition the speaker is preparing for. They’re talking about what they want to accomplish there during the different event days.
“Drag Race Day” is the part of the event where trucks run straight-line acceleration. What matters most is how much power they can put down and how well the truck hooks up.
“Super Flow” is the name of a dyno machine they use to measure power. They mention it because the dyno type affects the numbers you get.
Term
fate relationship
The speaker is basically saying the dyno results can be inconsistent. Even with the same setup, the measured power can swing depending on conditions and how the run is done.
“To the tire” means the power number measured at the wheels, not just at the engine. It’s often more relevant for racing because it reflects what the tires can actually use.
Tread is the part of the tire that actually touches the road. More tread can help grip, and in racing you can run out of tread faster than you’d expect.
“Winter circle” is a drag-racing term for the ceremonial area where winners are announced and photographed after a race. It’s commonly used in motorsports to mean finishing first or advancing to the top spot.
“VP motor” means a diesel engine with a specific fuel-injection setup. People can often tell the difference by how it sounds and how it behaves when you start it or rev it.
Air Dog makes aftermarket fuel pumps for diesel trucks. The idea is to keep fuel pressure steady so the engine gets the fuel it needs when you’re pushing hard.
Fleece Performance is a company that makes aftermarket parts for diesel trucks. Here they’re being thanked for building a cylinder head for the race truck.
The Lucid Air is an electric car, not a gasoline or diesel car. Because it’s electric, it can deliver strong power very quickly from a stop or at low speeds. That’s why it can be mentioned when people talk about fast response and low-speed performance.
The Dodge Charger is a large sedan that can be built for strong performance. People talk about it a lot because it can be modified to make more power, especially by improving how the engine gets air and manages boost. That’s why it may show up in discussions about turbo or supercharging setups.
An internally wastegated turbo has a built-in valve that controls how much boost it makes. It helps keep boost from getting too high and protects the engine.
A manifold is the plumbing that moves air or exhaust gases to and from the engine. Better manifold design can help the turbo and engine work more efficiently.
That means something inside the transmission broke or stopped working. Since diesel builds can make a lot of torque, the transmission can be the first thing to struggle.
Cornerstone Transmissions is referenced as the shop that handles transmission work for the speaker’s build. The mention is about sourcing specific transmission parts to keep the team on schedule for the event.
Dynamite Diesel is the company they credit for building the upgraded diesel injectors. Those injectors are part of the fuel system that helps the truck make more power.
Moonlight Diesel and Fab is the shop name they use online to share progress on their truck. It’s likely the group doing the custom work needed for a build like this.
LIVE
Thank you for joining. You're listening to the diesel performance podcast. We have another
AMSOIL Ultimate Call Out Challenge 2026 interview competitor for the, you know, this year's
contest. We have Patrick Brown. Patrick, how you doing, man?
I'm good. How are you all?
You know, we're doing good. You know, when Justin had sent over, you know, the, basically
the schedule that we were going to be interviewing you, I got excited. I met you last year, you
know, at thoroughbred event, saw the truck on the dyno, loved the truck and, you know,
had you on last year and, you know, excited to have you on again and see what's been
new, what's been, what's been going on.
Yes, sir. Always, it's always great to hear from you guys and seeing the coverage that
you give the community and the diesel industry is awesome as well.
Man, you know what? I mean, it's a, it's a small knit industry and, you know, any exposure
is solid. I, I always feel like, you know, behind closed doors, everybody knows everybody
and you gotta, you gotta promote and you gotta, you know, kind of grow, grow as a unit, right?
It's not one person on their own little island. So, you know, we appreciate that.
Yeah, it's always a team effort. No matter who's can't you go to, it's always gonna be a team
effort. So I want to start this, you know, a little differently. You know, I kind of always
go into past experience, UCC, but I want to dive into like, what's the background for yourself?
How did you, how did you get to this point where you're at now in diesel?
Well, diesel's been a big part of my life growing up. As a young child, I grew up, you know,
around the farm life and we had cattle and a dairy, dairy farm that, you know, I attended to
and we grew crops and stuff. So naturally, everything that's on the farm usually has got
diesel fuel. So I learned at a very young age that black smoke and RPM and stuff always
kept me going and wanting to learn more. And with that, it come, come down to,
like I was always in the right position at the right time to be there, to work on something at
Brooke. So naturally, I learned to wrench on tractors and combines and farm equipment and,
you know, I had to make do with what we had there. And it kind of gave me the mindset that I have
today. I run a shop, we started my shop in 2018. And this kind of give me that mindset of no matter
what you're up against or what you're doing, there's always a solution found somewhere.
So essentially, that's kind of how I got into it. And to answer your question, going back into
kind of where I am now, I've always enjoyed, you know, soup and diesel trucks up and going fast.
And I always enjoyed sled pulling as well. Sled pulling is also a very big thing in my background
for many, many years now. And it's always been awesome being able to be a part of that just
through the years of growing up and getting where we are now. And my platform is a little
different than a lot of the other people that compete. Naturally, we're limited RPM and fuel
and capabilities. And we've been trying to push this platform for the industry ourselves and
to make, you know, just a little small footprint in the industry for us. You know, it's a very
small one, but still nonetheless a footprint. And we've just probably been working on trying to bring
updated stuff to the industry with old fueling platforms. Obviously, we're still using the
VP44 injection system. We still have the awesome in-house built 6.7 motor that we've put together.
We've been testing different cylinder heads and injectors, turbos, configurations,
stuff like that. And we finally found a really good concoction that goes together and this
works good. There's a few little things that we had to work on last year that nobody could have
seen that we ran into as far as the tuning side goes. We've done this standalone controller
and this whole wiring system. I don't know if you all got to see it last year, but in my opinion,
for what we have, it's a work of art really. Just being able to make everything work standalone
style with the old school VP44 fueling and being able to still control it using a tuning platform,
which we use Quadsilla. And I'm trying to work with those guys just to make sure we have a backup
plan. I think I have everything lined out and affixed for last year. And I'm working with those
guys on some last minute things to make sure that I'm not really caught with my pants down again,
because that was kind of a bummer for us because we know what the truck's capable of and what it
can do. And then we just kind of, better like a terminology, we just showed up and had some
stuff untested in that environment and it just did play to factor. But we figured it out for
our sled pool day and was able to get back out there and put the power down and finish in the
top five on the sled pool portion. That was super awesome to me just to be able to finish the event
with my head held high. And we had things that we had to work on just like anybody
and kind of getting to the point where we are now. I'm also working on something new. We
was planning on it to be ready for UCC this year, but I've just had so much other stuff outside of
the truck and my business that it kind of put it on a back burner. But we're working on dual
pumps right now, dual VP44s. We have our first prototype cover out that we're working on some
clearances and getting some stuff together there and working with some awesome people on that in
the background. And we hope to next year be able to showcase that to the public and have it display
for UCC in 27 is our goal as long as everything else kind of works with us and all the math maths.
So I want to go back just a hair when you brought up your kind of your come up and your
upbringing on the farm and not really having to figure it out and working with what you have.
Do you feel that that's why you're choosing the VP platform? Because I can speak for myself.
I got into diesel from a 12 valve diesel and then the 24 valve VP was like the first truck I ever
really started to modify. And that's what like gained my love for diesel. Like I became an
addicted to diesel trucks because of that truck. And you know, a lot of guys kind of graduate from
that platform because in most scenarios, 5,600 horsepower is really all you're going to see.
And then here you are on one of the biggest competitive stages with a VP 44. Like,
are you still in that same kind of mindset of like, hey, I'm going to figure this out. And
you know, I'm going to work with what I have and just swing for the fences.
Yeah, and this kind of goes back to I learned when I first got into the diesel industry,
we all know the big names. You got Waggler, Schad, Fleece, Firepunk, Stainless Diesel,
you just got all these big names in the industry that you look up to all those years leading up to
where, you know, one would get started in business and you buy products from these guys and you see
them competing and you see them out wrenching, you know, in the pits and you're sitting there and
you're thinking yourself, you know, my whole motto was I want to be different. And what better way
to be different than choose something that most usually a lot of people hate and hates a strong
word, maybe not hate, but they don't tend to use that per se. Yeah, I would say the VP is one of
the more overlooked platforms for sure. And it's a platform that still has its benefits.
And I'll be honest with you, growing up, I watched Johnny Gilbert, man. Johnny Gilbert,
seeing him go out and do what he did with the triple turbos and the thing was a 7.0 or a 7.1
liter engine that he put together years ago and you know, seeing where it was at way back there
and he said a bar that, you know, there's a few of us still essentially chasing in a sense.
We've been fortunate to make pretty decent dyno numbers and we've been fortunate to run decently
fast. But again, I haven't dedicated myself to just racing. I've dedicated myself in the platform
to be able to go in sled pool when we wanted to do, you know, no prep events that require like
all steel and, you know, to be a full body truck and King of the Street Challenge. It's another
event that we do every year and we do really well there. And to be able to take a truck
of this style and be competitive, I just wanted to, I wanted to help grow the industry because
just like I don't know if you all have seen this year, but there's a lot of
big guys coming back, but there's also a lot of smaller guys like me that's coming for their
first time, you know, stuff that's been that they've always wanted to do and maybe showcase what
they've built or whatever they're trying to do and, you know, as a real in there as a whole.
And I just at the end of the day to answer your question, I know I kind of got off on a tangent
there again, but I kind of, that's the same mindset that I carry today. You know, everybody kept
saying, Oh, you can't do this. You can't do that. Or, you know, that's done. Why are you doing that?
You're wasting money, which to a lot of people you are, but this all goes back to that gratification
for myself and saying, Hey, I built this machine and it's versatile to do all these things.
And, you know, I'm always going to be under the gun usually wherever we go,
but there's a lot of times that we're finishing up there in the pack with a lot of really,
really big names. And it's like, Hey, man, we done that, you know?
So hopefully that answered your question. I think that's a big mindset for us too.
I look at the big thing of like when, you know, I've been, I've been interviewing,
you know, competitors, you know, for the last couple of weeks. And, you know, there's some,
there's some standout names, you know, there's big names, guys that are heavy hitters. They've
won in the past. You have guys who, you know, own shops. You have guys who have, you know,
had other shops be a big help and hand into building a truck. But then you have like standout names.
And like, I think for me this year, the three standouts is Patrick Brown, it's Johnny Hooper,
and it's, and Cody Hawk, and those three standout names to those three guys stand out to me because
Patrick Brown, you, right? VP truck, right? It's the only one competing. You got Johnny Hooper
with a 12-valve Cummins, and then you have Cody Hawk with, you know, an LB7 Duramax. There's,
there's not a lot of 12 valves. There's not a lot of VP44s. There's not a lot of Duramaxes,
and you're in a sea of competitors with all common rail motors, common rail Cummins. So like,
you know, to me, I applaud and respect where you're coming from with this because, like,
you have something to prove and the truck can be very competitive. And, you know, maybe last year
wasn't the best, you know, showcase for that, but like you said, you had to, you know, work through
some things and learn some things. Can you, can you give us a little bit of background? Like, what,
what went wrong? What did you learn? Like, what was the outcome of, of competing last year?
Okay, so to kind of jump right into that. So last year was the first year that we,
I guess, had to stand alone controller. We had just finished it on the day before Thurbridge
Dino Day, which is here local with us. We're right down the road from Thurbridge. So
that's where our shop and where I was born and raised. So that event was always a thing for us
to show up, you know, put on a show for everybody local and so on. But for us, what we, we thought we
had a lot figured out and we did have a lot of things figured out and we remedied a lot of problems
that we fought and that plagued us years prior. But then we ran into another problem that ended up
becoming more than one problem, but it was only one problem, if that makes sense. So the stand
alone controller, the way that I've rewired and configured my truck, it is essentially,
for better, better like a term on, it looks like a promo, unfortunately, but it is implicit.
You go in and everything is atomized and labeled and to a T on the firewall inside the cab. And
then there's only a handful of wires that go out of the engine. So we done that, we got the tuning
side figured out, we were able to communicate and get all these things done. But what we didn't take
credit for or account for is this is a Wi-Fi based tuning platform that we have. And it really
didn't give us a whole lot of issues. It had issues in the past, but it was not
nowhere near what it was at UCC of 25. And what we ran into there, so on, on drag race day,
you know, we only had so many passes. So you, you got to throw here a hell man, you know,
faster we've been as a 648 in this truck. And I knew that I wanted to go below sixes or in a 590.
If I could hit that 590 and make that 1500 horsepower on a super flow, like I will be golden
for the rest of my life. That is my goal and my achievement that I want to hit. So, you know,
during the drag race portion, we were trying to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the
truck to make it go down the track. Well, the whole time it kept just riding the limiter and
was acting like it didn't want to shift and all these other things. And the whole time we were
battling the tuner because it was Wi-Fi based. So the way that I made the standalone controller,
which I made a mistake on and I didn't really pay attention to, but it requires a 12 volt
signal pretty much all the time. Well, when I built this controller and done all the standalone
stuff, when you turn the power switch off on the, on the board, that turns everything off,
just like you turn the key disconnect off. Well, what we didn't realize is that was
actually defaulting the tuner back to ground zero with no tuning at all. So here I am spraying the
house down. I've got four kits turned on and I'm trying to ramp in compound turbos at a low rpm
and it just, it didn't work. And we didn't catch that and we thought we were having valve body
issues or that we would, you know, we're having lockup issues with a converter. And we never
once thought to check the tuner until dyno day. And dyno day is where I found out real quick what
had happened. So going into that, you know, we go into dyno day and I was so like, I'm not going
to lie to you, I was overwhelmed standing in line with my truck, you know, down by the track
waiting my turn and all these people are looking and video and pictures and I just, I had one of
those moments where I'm like, I kind of freaked out a little bit. And I spaced on my normal checklist
of what to look for, what not to, you know, what not to do. And we cycled the power on this thing
probably 10 times while I was waiting and trying to get bottle temperature right and purging and
all this just checking and double checking fuel and doing entirely too much to be honest with you.
I over complicated it and made a mistake. And we found that out on the dyno and there was no
getting past that. So it all resulted down to the tuner itself basically was stuck at zero.
And then once we got on the dyno, we got locked from out of the quadzilla. It wouldn't allow us to
do anything because of server networks. Essentially, the quadzilla thought that we were, I guess,
trying to take over the server soon, the way that I interpreted the messages on our tuning devices.
So outside of that, I was naturally just upset with myself and more upset that I let down all the
people that stood behind me and believed in what I was doing. I felt bad because I had all this
stuff on paper that I thought was right and I was wrong. So, but that's not, it's not like you
like turned your back and like let them down because of lack of effort. It's, you know, this is,
this is all trial and error, you know, and we went and figured it out, you know, we, the only way
I figured it out really and understood what had happened is I took the truck like a mile down the
road and sat there with an idol on, you know, on the road and hooked everything up and it
tuned and took everything just fine. And I go back in there and it kicked back off again. So then I
figured out what had happened. So the prep for sled pull, I said, man, I've got to really make
up for me not doing good. You know, I've really got to make a show out here. And the truck normally
slip pull is really, really well. And it's given circumstances around the competition we're usually
with. We usually stand pretty tall in the slip pull. And I just, I told myself, well, now I know
what to do. So we loaded everything up tune wise and got the weights set where we wanted it. And I
don't know if you all was there, paid attention, but I'll let that thing run for like four hours
on the other side of the grandstands at the big where the track started for the slip pull. And
it just ran down there. We ran almost a full tank of fuel through it, let it sit idle, but
I was down and determined to not have that problem again. And it, yeah, I got lucky and it worked
out and we were able to finish really well and finish with our heads held high and a top five
finish overall on the slip pull. And it just gave me more fuel to come back. Originally, we had
planned on going deck plate CP3. Last year was supposed to have been my last Hoorah, may you say,
for the VP platform and kind of, we were going to put this platform in another vehicle and let
my wife and my daughter take it to Dino events and drag race it here local and do whatever they
wanted to do. And I was finally going to build something that I can go and go head to head
with some big names and try to make that 3000 horsepower that everybody is, you know, trying to
get. And I've had some really great mentors in life as friends that compete. And there's actually
one person in general that I will always like he's my person and just in the industry is Michael
Brown. That is by far one of my favorite people in the industry that I've been blessed to come
in contact with through the years. She's a good dude. And he is a really good. He is
one of the best people that you could ever ask for in your corner. And just going back with that,
you know, you know, he picks all the time and we all pick with each other. But, you know,
he has stood behind me to make sure that I show up and finish my goals before I change up my
game plan because he's seen me struggle. He's seen me successful. He's seen the upcoming three
years of what we're doing on a small scale and just having people like that in the industry
push you to want to be better is awesome in my personal opinion. And this year I'm really not,
um, has not been my year up to here. You know, we've had a lot just happen in life. And I didn't
really know that I was going to show up, but with some really awesome people and some great
connections that I've been, you know, that I'm thankful to have, you know, everybody has pushed
me to show up and, and, you know, put in the effort and do what we're supposed to do and
try to show out and put on a show for the industry. And there's a lot of people that follow this trip
that, you know, there's a lot of people that don't get to see us, but at UCC.
And it means a lot to people to show up and let them see the truck and, and do what they want,
you know, their videos or pictures or whatever. So it comes from a broad circle just being
them. Um, the mindset to continue pushing forward, but
not for the short, um, I was, you know, like I said, you know, on the short side there,
I was actually supposed to have done and give the platform up for this year and to the deck plate
CP3 setup that I've been working on for the last couple of years. So, um, we're going to do it one
more year and hopefully I get my goals or at least pretty close to my goals to where I can be happy
with myself and the truck and then be able to move on to where we can grow in the industry. And
you know, maybe be one of those guys that people talk about making 3000 horsepower one day, you
know? Yeah, but I mean, I don't know. I look at it is, is you have maybe the, the raw diesel enthusiast
that, you know, has a lot of respect for the VP platform and you have like the,
maybe like the outliers who aren't really like in the industry, but they're just impressed with a
viral clip of making 3000 horsepower from like a business side and from like a growth side. Like
to me, I think the VP platform shows more potential, you know, um, at least for me it's,
and that's why I was more impressed with this. And I think there's no left to it, you know,
just like the whole dual pump thing that we've been trying to do. That's what I was just going to
bring up. No, I haven't made that known to anybody. There's a few people that see my prototype
and there's a few people that know what my plan is and kind of where my mind is
and what I plan on using to control them and how I'll make the fuel lines work and all the
injectors. And I have all that figured out. It's just essential. Now it's in hands of,
going in hands of a machinist to produce a front cover that a way we can actually start
getting data testing from there. But if that shows, you know, shows
that it can be useful and I'm able to actually make it work and control it, then obviously that'll
be another can of worms and another adventure for us to take in the platform. Obviously,
I'll keep on venturing on. But as far as the goals go, I have three specific goals
that I want to do with this truck. And I would prefer for it to be an Indy at UCC, but if it
has to happen in three different places, so be it. But those three things would be are on my
bucket list to do sometime or another, hopefully. Now let's back into that dual fueler, you know,
the dual VP set up a little more. So you just mentioned that, you know, this might be the last
year of the VP pump, you know, you mentioned that next year, there might be a display of a dual VP
44 on display and you're going to go, you know, potentially to a deck plate common rail, like
what's the thoughts and visions of like maybe not doing that and going dual VP pump and that's
what you bring to the table next year. Like for any of the listeners that don't realize the limitation
of a VP 44 is its fueling capability and that's what limits them to making power. And there's
been, you know, various pump manufacturers over the years that, you know, have made several pumps,
maybe they've fallen to the wayside this, that and the other. But, you know, you get something
that's a dual VP pump, like I feel like you could, that's a true contender, like there's
some serious potential there, no? There is. And it all kind of boils down to
all of the late nights trying to math and make harnesses. You know, we're big in back harnesses
and I've got a prototype of that that I'm trying to finish. And it's all kind of going to boil down to
all the people that I'm going to have to have involved being able to do their part and understand
what we're trying to do from that aspect. So it's all going to be limited to that at the end of the
day. Gotcha. But that would be a goal. You know, obviously, if I have that pretty well figured
out by wintertime, then you all better be ready because I'm coming with it. I mean, at the end
of the day, you know, ultimately, you know, if it ends up being something that takes longer than
a year to figure out and I may have to invest in different places or companies to help, you know,
finish the deal, it's all going to just boil down to that. But I think we have a pretty good
game plan put together. It's just a matter of now I've got to get the front cover
spec completely correct to run the same gears because the gears can't, the gear size can't
change. So originally I had a thought process of trying to make a smaller gear set and obviously
that ain't going to work. The gear is that size for a specific reason, for its cam profile and
its timing and fueling. So we've decided that I made a mock-up cover essentially and now it's just
I've got to get it to a machinist to where they can make a template and then we have to figure
out where to clock the pump to get the two gears that are the same size because our original plan
was to put like an essentially the gears were going to mesh together, but the top pump is going
to spin one way and the bottom pump would have spun the other way. So then we had to back up
and repunt and now I have it figured out to where they're both going to be driven separately on the
cam gear and there's going to be a you know a minute space in between the gears of the pumps.
So if I play my cards right I can get everything to function correctly. I think it'll be a big deal
and using the standalone controller and stuff and the people that's helped me along the way
as far as the wiring goes. I think we have a pretty good consensus on that and a handle on
what we're going to do from there. The only thing that obviously from now from here to that from
then to now is going to be getting the cover ready so we can you know try to fire one of these
motors up here at the shop with two of these on here and see if we can control them. If we can
control them both simultaneously it's going to be a big deal. It's going to be a game changer.
It's going to break. It should break a cycle I guess a curse cycle in the industry and it should
open new avenues and I'm hoping that it pushes companies to I guess reinvest back into the
platform a little possibly because we're really limited on pump manufacturers to work with you
know. There's only I mean there's only a handful and I mean I don't know I remember years ago I
mean I'm dating myself back 15 years ago in the VP world if you wanted a bad ass VP pump there was
what monster Mike right he was he was one of the monster Mike so yeah I've tried a
few times to get in touch with him and I would love to have one of his pumps because I know his pumps
are going to be you know way more superior than the the stage two pump that I have from
shy that has worked on to you know we've worked on the delivery problems we've we've done about
everything we possibly can to this pump to make it as efficient and as
kind of badass as we possibly can but hopefully if we can make two of them work oh yeah then
surely we can do as good as one monster might pump or a little better hopefully you know
so but that's our moving forward we're pushing really hard to make this you know come to
fruition and I think it's going to be a big a big deal for the community in itself and I think
it'll gain a lot of traction along the way and hopefully open up some new endeavors with some
new companies yeah what's what's the expectation for this year right going into 2026 UCC what's
what's a win for you right like what what's your goals going into this year's contest
um really it's about the same goals I had last year because I didn't get to achieve my goals I
wanted last year obviously with a few things that happened but we've got those figured out and I
think I have a strong grasp on how to make that not happen again and we're working with some really
great people right now just in this last final push but ultimately I'd like to go on Drag Race Day
I weigh 5700 pounds the way that I weigh currently I'm right at 5700 pounds I'm extremely heavy
I'm sure I could start gutting and throwing things away but my truck is kind of set up
to cover my basis through the year to do certain things so
um essentially I want to go a 590 590 something would be my ideal drag race pass
and then from there me and that super flow have a low fate relationship sometimes it's
300 horsepower sometimes it's 1300 horsepower we've made 1301 on that roller before and we've
made a little over 1500 to the tire on much smaller roller just um loaded dinos so ideally I'd
like to make 1500 at UCC on the super flow I'd love to run a 590 and then on sled pull I just
want to top place in the top five this year again that's kind of my goal um this year I want to go
300 foot up last year I was like 299 and point something I was like man you couldn't have just
got one more tread in the tire I was kicking myself I'm like man you were right at 300
but that's kind of my goal here moving in and even for myself going to compete and being there
I'm going to be pitting with Michael Brown again and my end goal is to do everything I can to help
him and his crew put him in the winter circle this year um I'm a big believer in Michael and his
platform so like I really want to see him do really well this year and I would just like
to cross off a few of my checklist for myself um with this truck and hopefully be able to put on
a good show for our our crowd that you know enjoy seeing us and uh hopefully we can do good it's
kind of the game plan for in the mindset for UCC of 26 oh we're rooting for you I know that
again a fan of VP power in general I'm rooting for you I'm always excited even when uh you know
you start the truck up and you know you you always hear the a VP motor sounds different than a 12
valve sounds different than a common rail so you always kind of my ears always perk up and I look
over but uh you can hear me coming from a mile away my truck sounds like it has its own sound
for sure yeah is there is there any shout outs or anyone that you kind of want to you know as we
close this that you know you want to give a shout out to and thank for for getting to this point this
year yeah um firstly my family um my fiance and my daughter them two are um they're always behind me
no matter what this you know no matter where we're going or what we're doing they're always right
there with us um my guys at the shop um it's been awesome I've got a couple of new guys this year
started had to start fresh over again um with employees but uh want to say thanks to those
guys um as far as people that uh that we uh you know have on the truck um air dog um they have all
of our um field transfer transfer underway um we've got hot shop secret on board for all the
fluids in the truck huge thanks to Kyle um on air dog side huge thanks to CJ and them um going with
fleece performance um you know Evan and Chase have built an awesome freaking awesome cylinder head
for our truck and has been able to help me get past some hurdles we're able to spool much larger
turbos get way more air in the motor at such a low rpm um and I'm super fortunate to have those guys
on my side I'm building our cylinder head um we built the engine and house um everything um engine
transmission fireworks all done in house um outside from that family precision coming on
board for the manifold charger um if it wasn't for his internally wastegated charger um to help
me regulate to be able to run this 107 out front um for mod 3 um I don't know that we would have
been able to cram as much in ice races we've been able to here lately um outside of that um let's thank
here um third red diesel um they always help us if we need parts or pieces last minute um if they
have them there they're always willing to help and they've had our backs um since we first began the
shop so also huge thanks to those guys um outside of that I'm trying to thank the few else t re they
came on this year um we got sport mount rockets from him for our front bumper um super awesome people
in the industry great people to have um I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of people um but I would
also like to give a huge shout out um this just happened today um I was kind of stuck whether I
was going to be able to make it or not due to some last minute failed transmission parts that we
really really needed and uh was able to make a connection also due to Michael Brown um with Alex
Harquett of um having a blank here um cornerstone transmissions that does his transmissions he was
able to have some parts and pieces that we're in dire need of to be able to make ucc um he was able
to have that stuff and we're going to meet up with him here in the next couple of days and get that
stuff from him in texas so huge shout out to him he's always been a friend but um he's you know we've
always been connected but huge shout out to him to be able to help us push through this last little
bit to be able to make ucc here in a couple weeks so uh we're going to be thrashing trying to get um
some trans work down here real quick and get everything you know back up and going so we can
do one more test session and then we'll be ready to go um outside of that um one last person would
be diesel conversion specialists they helped me throughout my standalone controller and harness
configuration um if it wasn't for those guys um taking my idea and putting a big spin on some
stuff um super fortunate for them um I essentially give them what I wanted and what my needs were
and they helped me create a harness to make all this work to be nice and neat and it's not in a
hodge podge setup so super fortunate for those folks as well and dynamite diesel for our fuel
injection they built the baddest injectors um for our platform um so huge thanks to Lenny and
those guys as well so and if any of our listeners want to follow the truck the progress the build
maybe see some sneak previews of a dual vp44 setup how can they find you um we have a youtube
um it's moonlight diesel and fab I do believe I would have to double check with you um they can
follow us on um I know it's um not pertaining to the shop name but the truck has a tick tock
account um it you know we usually do a lot of content there um on tick tock tick tock it's
that slow vp fofo is uh the name on uh tick tock um but that's some platforms and obviously we have
facebook and instagram through the shop moonlight diesel and fab and then a lot of the contents
through aren't my personal facebook page cashier ground as well so cool well we appreciate you
taking the time we're rooting for you you know we're excited to see what the the vp44 has in
store this year at 2026 ucc and uh you know we're we'll be excited to see you in person and you
know we wish you the best I appreciate it and thank you guys again for always you know given to the
the guys that's competing in the industry and doing these podcasts it's it's uh it's awesome to
have because 20 years from now I'll be able to look back and say hey you know this is what we
was doing 20 years ago kind of thing so thank you for for providing a place to document um what we
do every day so I was just telling Justin I appreciate you guys for taking the time they
want to be on the phone to even talk to us so it's mutually respected I feel at this point for real
that's awesome for sure cool well you enjoy and now we'll be rooting for you all right thank you guys
it's uh that slow vpfo fo is uh the name
About this episode
Patrick Brown joins the Diesel Performance Podcast as an AMSOIL Ultimate Call Out Challenge 2026 competitor, tying his farm-and-sled-pull background to a custom VP44-based build. The discussion centers on standalone control, Quadzilla tuning, and component testing—heads, injectors, and turbos—while chasing consistent sled-pull and drag-race results. A key theme is VP44 fueling limits and the team’s push toward dual VP44s, with contingency plans that could include a deck-plate CP3 or common-rail direction.
Black smoke and power always kept Patrick Brown going! Since he was a young kid wrenching on tractors, combines, and farm equipment, Patrick was hooked on diesel. Patrick has been the owner of Moonlight Diesel And Fab now for just under 9 years and last year decide it was time to go after the biggest diesel event of the year. With this being second go round at the AMSOIL UCC he's looking to push his Blue VP44 Cummins into the top of the pack. We have always been massive fans of Patrick and we are stoked to see him continue to push the envelope of what the VP44 can do!
