“UCC mode” just means the podcast is focusing on the Ultimate Call Out Challenge. This part of the show is about the competitors and getting ready for the event.
The Amsoil Ultimate Call Out Challenge is a yearly diesel truck competition. People build their trucks to be fast and strong, then they race them against other competitors.
Fiberglass bed sides are lighter panels for the truck bed. Using lighter parts can help the truck accelerate quicker because there’s less weight to move.
A torque converter is part of an automatic transmission that uses fluid to send power from the engine to the drivetrain. In racing, how it locks up can change how well the car hooks up and pulls near the finish.
“Lockup” refers to a torque converter clutch engaging so the converter stops slipping and behaves more like a direct mechanical connection. For drag racing, locking up near the finish helps reduce losses and can improve elapsed time consistency.
“Diagnose” here means figuring out what’s really causing the problem. If you built the truck yourself, you’re more likely to know where to look first when something acts up.
A four-link is a suspension system that uses four arms to hold the back axle in the right place. It’s commonly used on race trucks because it helps the truck hook up and stay stable when you launch hard.
ECM stands for Engine Control Module, the computer that manages engine operation. Bosch is the supplier brand of that ECU/ECM hardware, and tuning or reprogramming it is a common step to optimize fueling, boost, and drivability for a specific build.
Term
850 cage
A roll cage is a strong metal frame inside the vehicle for safety. The “850” part refers to a specific cage style/rule set used for racing so the car meets safety standards.
Brand
Willwoods
Willwood makes performance brake parts. Using them in a race truck is usually about getting stronger, more consistent braking when you’re driving hard.
Term
radiator and a cooler
The radiator helps cool the engine. A “cooler” is another heat exchanger that removes extra heat from a specific system so the truck doesn’t overheat when you’re pushing it.
“Top five” means finishing in the top five positions in the competition. It’s a goal that usually requires the truck to perform well repeatedly, not just once.
Concept
52, 5,300 pounds
They’re talking about how much the truck weighs. Lighter vehicles often accelerate better and can be easier to control when you’re racing.
Injectors are the parts that deliver fuel into the engine. Bigger injectors can provide more fuel when you’re pushing the engine harder for more power.
A compound turbo setup uses two turbochargers working together. It can help the engine make boost faster and more smoothly than one turbo, depending on the design.
That Garrett number is the specific turbocharger they’re using. Different turbo models spool differently and can make different amounts of boost and power.
Term
stainless on the manifold
The manifold is where exhaust gases flow into the turbo. Stainless parts are chosen because they can handle the heat and wear better in hard-use setups.
A sled pool is when a truck pulls a heavy sled on a track. The truck has to keep traction and power to move it, and the results are based on how well it pulls.
ODSS is the name of a diesel racing series the trucks compete in. In this conversation, it affects which class they run and how points are handled.
Concept
HRDA
HRDA is another racing group/series. The host mentions it to explain where they’re competing and how it connects to the other events being discussed.
Concept
570 to the 590 class
Moving from a “570” class to a “590” class means the truck is competing in a different ruleset tier. In diesel sled/drag circles, these class numbers typically correspond to performance limits or weight/power-related categories, so the truck may need setup changes to fit the new competition.
Topic
fast 72
“Fast 72” sounds like the name of a specific race event or class. The hosts are talking about how quickly it’ll run because of the format and number of entries.
No qualifying means there isn’t a separate practice/ranking race to set you up. You jump straight into head-to-head rounds, so you have to be ready right away.
It means the event is set up like a tournament bracket. You race someone directly, and if you win you keep going—if you lose, you’re out. Qualifying doesn’t really matter here.
This means some racers are bringing older trucks back to compete again after not racing for a while. It also suggests the event will have experienced drivers, not just brand-new people.
Concept
re birthing
They’re saying the racing scene is coming back to life. But it’s not only new people—some older racers are returning too.
A transmission is what changes the gear ratios so the engine can put power to the wheels effectively. In racing, the exact transmission setup matters a lot for how the truck launches and shifts.
Term
8-eater
“8-eater” is slang for an eight-speed transmission. It means the truck used to have a transmission with eight gear steps before the setup changed.
Gloss black is a high-reflectivity paint or wrap finish that looks very deep and mirror-like. In show-and-race trucks, it’s often chosen for visual impact, especially under direct sunlight.
The drive line is the system that sends power from the engine to the wheels. If it’s under less strain, the truck can put power down more smoothly instead of stressing the drivetrain parts.
Sled pulling is when a truck drags a heavy sled and tries to go as far as possible. It’s different from drag racing because it’s more about getting traction and using torque carefully.
Drag racing is racing in a straight line over a short distance. The goal is to get off the line hard and accelerate cleanly without losing traction or bogging down.
Bogging is when the engine loses momentum and doesn’t pull as hard as it should. In racing, that usually happens when the gear or throttle timing isn’t right, so the truck accelerates slower.
Chargers are turbochargers. If they get “bogged,” they can’t build boost quickly enough, and the engine feels weaker instead of pulling hard.
LIVE
Thank you for joining. You're listening to the Diesel Performance podcast. I'm your host, Chris
Emke. We have a special episode today. We are in UCC mode. So we are getting on some of the
competitors from the Amsoil Ultimate Call Out Challenge for 2026. It's a big year, 10-year
anniversary of the show. So a lot going on. Well, without further ado, we have our first
competitor interview of 2026, Robbie Garcia. Robbie, how you doing, man?
Oh, man, I'm doing well, guys. Thank you for having me on.
Hey, we appreciate you taking the time. I know you're busy between the business, right? What
you do for a living and getting the truck ready. I'm sure things are rather hectic right now for
you. It's definitely been hectic. But this is what we do every year. We draw it out to the last
couple of weeks before it's ready. And it's almost like our test or testing is the day before
UCC. So again, nothing new here. Well, I think you kind of bring up a point, right? You know,
you you've been doing it this way for several years. This is this is your fifth year doing this.
Is that correct? Yes. Five years in and you crunched time wait till the last second for
testing to know. Yeah, I wish it would have gone a little faster, but you know, this year, you
know, if I would, I'm in a new truck this year, I built a whole new truck. So if it was keeping
the same truck, I would have already been together and running, but I'm on my last 5% the truck
will be ready on the 18th. You know, I thought I was going to debut at UCC, but I think I'm
going to have it done in time where I'm going to race at the inner in HRDA and Tulsa. Well,
I guess, you know, can you give us a little bit of background like this is new to me. This is
something different this year. I'm not following what the competitors are doing because I want to
put myself in the enthusiast shoes and learn as I go. So for myself and all the listeners,
in the past, you've had a fourth gen Dodge or Ram, I should say a four door long bed, beautiful
black truck. It had your company logo wrapped all along the side. I always one of my favorites.
But what did you switch it up to? What's the truck that you're bringing this year?
So, you know, we had to shed some weight even with, you know, gutting everything down. We were
still at 6,900 pounds with fiberglass bed sides and the other truck, which was, you know, killing
us on the drag. We anytime that we try to get close to the five second pass, we go there,
torque converter, transmission. I'd be locked up at the end of the track and I want to be good.
This year we decided to shed some weight. We put all of our power plant into an 06
single cab long bed. And the cool thing was is this year I wanted to get my hands dirty and I
wanted to build my own truck. You know, I paid for a lot of stuff to be done in the past. I've
done some work on my own, but this one, I thought it'd be pretty cool to disassemble everything
from my old truck, strip everything of the new truck and put it all in myself and man,
it was pretty successful at it. There was a few things that I had to outsource, but for, you know,
a good 80%, I did it all myself. Do you think that having, you know, you've had shops work on the
old truck in the past? I'm not, you know, I don't, you know, firepunk amongst others, I'm sure.
Do you feel like having a shop work on the truck versus you now
doing most of the work yourself? Do you think that's more of an advantage in a competitive
atmosphere? Man, I really think it is because it helps me pay attention to the things that I
definitely wouldn't pay attention to. It also makes me well burst through the truck where,
you know, it'll help me diagnose it if something goes wrong. I won't be so dependent on my team
rather than be able to go out there and just show out because, you know,
Cody, the owner of Bear Knuckle, who, you know, that's my home shop, they're always with me as well,
he built Helms Elbow Race Truck too. So we're both on the track racing at one time. I want to make
sure that things don't get missed where I know to check it off in my box and know that it's done.
I would have to agree with that. I find myself when doing projects. It's,
it's cool to be able to have a shop or somebody do the majority of, but then when it comes time to
being a problem, it's like you kind of don't know where to navigate or where to go to for the fix
because you weren't the one with your hands in doing it in the first place or
you start to question yourself when it comes to the repair side of things.
Right, right. Let's go ahead, Dan. I'm pretty, I'm pretty led. I put it together. I didn't even,
I didn't even start this truck until mid-January. Okay. Mid-January. Well, actually I kind of started,
I kind of did all the paint. I did the paint myself. I did, you know, I'm just going to say,
I'm not an auto body guy. So at the end of it, I'm going to end up putting a sick wrap on it.
It goes on 25th, but I started painting it then and mid-February is where I started stripping the
other truck and putting it all in the new truck. And I got all that together, you know, four link,
engine, trans, everything swapped and put in. And I had it off to Firepunk to do the Bosch ECM
in three weeks. Oh, wow. Now, what's the status of the old four-door long bed? Where's that truck now?
It's currently a yard ornament at Cody's shop at Bear Knuckle. He's asking me, he's like, bro,
what are we doing with this thing? I was like, man, I think we should like strip it and put it on a
pole and like, you know, make it as a big, bad-ass pickle port in front of your shop. Yeah. But,
you know, that's, that's probably not going to happen. I'm, I just need somebody to take it. It's
got, you know, the good 850 cage in it. It's got the front willwoods. It's got the radiator and a
cooler. Someone who wants to build a cool truck, you know, it's over sale. No thoughts of returning
it back to stock. No, no, no. They were like, everybody's like, turn it back and I'm like,
man, it doesn't have AC. It has no amenities. I'm not doing this. That's terrible. Yes. You know,
I've got other cool trucks. If I want to, if I want to cruise around, if I want to go fast,
just get in the race truck. No, hey, I don't blame you there. Going through, you know, some of the
stats over the years, you know, producer Justin's done a really nice job of getting me prepared
and not assuming you're guessing any longer. So thank you, Justin. No problem. So 22 was your
placed 23. You finished an eighth 24. You finished 11th 25. You finished sixth. So last year was
your best finish. Correct? Yes. Yes. I was one was one place away from getting what I wanted. I
want to get a top five. Okay. What's what's the goal going into this year, right? A whole new
truck. I'm assuming this, this truck's a lot lighter. It's got to be a lot lighter. Yes.
Yeah. So hopefully we'll be close to 52, 5,300 pounds. I can't, I don't want to really get to,
I don't really want to weigh less than that because King of the streets, I got to be 6,000
pounds and I can only have so much weight of removable ballast. Right. So I got it. I wanted,
I don't want to go under five. I want to be around 52. I'm pretty sure we're going to be around there.
So we'll see. Any, any predictions? Horsepower wise? I mean, I know you said it's the same
power plant from last year. It looks like you laid down. Okay. So last, last year it was around
2,100, 2,150 to be exact. Correct for horsepower? So I did it on Superflow in November. We did
on the dyno at KOS, we put down 3,037 horsepower. Oh, we finally broke the three clubs.
Okay. So you know that the truck has the potential.
Yes. Yes. But we're not going into UCC with just that, you know,
everybody's pushing power these days and there's some, there's some heavy hitters
that are coming this year and some good competition. So, you know, I went bigger injectors.
I went back to the 67 body because I'm doing the Bosch and then I've got another kid,
another 375 that I added to it, another mega jet for some nitrous.
And this year I decided to do a trans break. So there's no more foot breaking. That's going
to be cool. That would be nice. They'll aid some consistency to say the least. Exactly. So, you
know, we've definitely made some changes. So, you know, hang, hang with these other guys and
you know, I think, I think we have exactly what it takes to be in the top five spots.
And then you run, you run a compound on the truck, or you just run a big single on it,
or do you switch out through? No, I got, I don't, I don't like to switch out through events. I like
to run everything. So I'm running 85, same 85 stainless on the manifold and a Garrett G55106
on the atmosphere. That's a proven setup over the years anyhow. Yeah. I think it's almost like,
I think it's the same setup that Brunner's running. He's got an 85 on the manifold and 106 in the
atmosphere. Awesome. Damn, dude. That's crazy. I was looking at, like I was running through this
and I, Justin Ziegler's like, I didn't, I don't think they announced me. I'm like, yeah, dog,
just so you know that you're on the page. Like you're on their website, you know? So I was like,
all right, that's why I texted him because I was like, are you actually returning dude? Like,
you won twice and then just dipped. Like that was 22, dude. Yeah. It feels like it was yesterday,
but that was 22. That does feel like it was last year, for sure. And, and he's going to do it all
in that same truck. And I'm like, holy shit. He's going to put that thing in a sled pool.
Yeah. I mean, that thing, isn't that thing like, because he was doing ODSS for a couple years. So
that thing's like, like super low. That was, it was Levan's old truck, right? Thanks. That's what
he has. Yeah. Josh, Josh, Josh's old pro street truck. Yeah. So that's wild.
Yeah. So yeah, he's going to, he weighs like 4,000 something pounds. You know, so I'm excited to
see what he's going to do to get to the 8,000 and do a sled pool in that.
Wild. All for the 10 year re, all for the 10 year anniversary. That's going to be exciting.
Dude, I'm shocked. I'm shocked they got hit man. And you know what's cool is like seeing the industry
come together. Cause you know, I started racing like right around COVID and not a lot of people
were doing it, but like over the last couple of years, like KOS, they had 70 trucks this year
at UCC to bring that 72 fast, which they got a hundred and something people coming just for that
on top of more competitors for the UCC. I see it growing back again and people, you know,
new getting into it. I think it's, I think it's great. No, it's definitely, I feel on the uptick.
I feel like, you know, leading up to COVID, the event was very, very exciting. And then maybe
like a couple of years post COVID, it was a little bit more stagnant, but I do feel like everything's
kind of back on that uptick. Like I feel like diesel and general and diesel motorsports is on
the upswing at this point. Yeah. It's also, are you running, are you in, cause I know you're
mentioned in HRDA, are you running in the, cause I know the ODSS, aren't they sharing points?
Yes. Yes. They are, they've all joined forces. That's why they went ODSS went back from the
570 to the 590 class. So they matched up. Gotcha. So are you, are you dual competing?
Are you competing in both or just doing the UCC this year?
So at the UCC event, I'll only, I'm going to, if I, I'm not only going to do the UCC event,
I don't want to put that much stress on my truck. I just wouldn't do that one event,
get through that, but I'll race ODSS the rest of the year.
Makes sense. Awesome.
Yeah. And, and I know you've been-
I'm not really getting through the points. I just want to race.
Yeah. That makes sense. Yeah. Especially when Chris was talking to us about this,
we were just like, holy shit, like the amount of guys running on the fast 72, the ODSS.
Yeah. The UCC, I was just like, how are you doing all this shit?
No, it's a lot of stuff.
Yeah. They think that the 72 fast is going to go quick. So, because there's no qualifying,
there's no any of that. It's just straight eliminations. It's how, it's, it's how Le Bon was
telling me about it.
Yeah. Yeah. That'll be quick. Cause he said there was up to a 11 of,
one of five. How many guys did he tell us that they had signed up?
A lot of, a lot of fucking people, like 100 and six or something. Yeah. It was over 100.
Insane. Yeah. That'll go quick. I mean, after one, you're, you knocked out 50.
Yeah. I mean, what's crazy too is, is think of, think of the amount of racers that are pulling
their trucks out of retirement for something like this. Like that goes back to what, you know,
you were saying, Robbie, like there's a lot of the, the industry is kind of re birthing
in a sense, but it's not, not all of these are new guys. These are just old competitors
or old racers coming out of the woodwork. Like, Hey, this is something I can get behind. Let's
be a part of it. Yeah, exactly. It's cool. It's fun to watch. Now, I know you've done king of the
streets over the years, you know, UCC five years, the fifth year you're going to be competing in.
Do you have any other thoughts, goals, you know, uses of the truck throughout the year,
or is it just going to be, you know, maybe go to the track here and there and just keep it as a
competitive truck for those type of events? Man, I think I want to go to do some cash day
events and win some money. There you go. That'll be cool. I played on doing a lot
about the SS events and NHRDA. I want to do a lot more dirt drags this year and slide pools. It's
cool. I'm ready. Oh, I mean, it sounds like it. And so you said as of now that the truck's finish
date is expected to be, you said the 25th, 24th? No, I pick it up on the 18th. 18th, my apologies.
So you pick it up on the 18th, and then you're going to have, you know, some opportunity to do
some testing tuned down by you then. Well, I'm going to be driving back from Ohio. I only have
a couple of days of it at the work. So probably my testing is going to be in Tulsa. There you go.
There you go. Awesome. And that's, I believe the Tulsa, that's like a week prior, isn't it?
Yeah. So it's the next week and I get back. I pick up on the 18th. That next week in the 23rd
is Tulsa. There you go. And then short week and a half, two weeks after that, that's UCC, right?
That's the first 5th, 6th, and 7th. Yeah. Yeah, 5th, 6th, and 7th. That's a lot of driving.
You're going all over the globe. Yeah. I drive all the time. I'm doing about 10,000 miles for
work a month. It's honestly ridiculous. So it's just second nature for you at this point.
Yeah. Well, let's go back into the truck a little bit. I'm curious. So you said that the engine
is getting swapped from the old truck. Were you running a 47, 48 in it or what transmission was
in the vehicle? Yeah. So I was running a 48 in it. Okay. And I was, you know, still in the
column. I had an 8-eater. Now I went to, the motion works came out with the new shifter. So it's on
an air shifter powered by nitrous. That's going to be cool. That's exciting. That's awesome.
So the vehicle wrap that you're doing, is it going to be kind of like a homage of the old truck
or are you doing something completely different? No, I'm going to do something completely different.
I'm going to do, you know, I've always been in gloss black and I've noticed there's some
a lot of black trucks that are coming that are new this year. So I'm going to do a gloss black
with a deep metallic flake. So the sun hits it and it just, it shines. Yeah. Looks like a diamond.
Yeah. It looks nice. I like the sound of that. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, we're really rooting for
you. I'm excited. I think that you've been on this trajectory of better, better, better as
years have progressed. You have a new truck, the truck's lighter. You now get to add weight,
remove weight, and you have a little less strain on the drive line. So I feel like
you have everything needed to be able to do really well this year.
Man, I think so too. It's going to be fun. But like I said, you know, there's some big guys,
Justin Zeigler's coming back. That's going to be cool. I just found out about that today.
Yeah. You've got Kenny Brunner, that guy's a badass. I mean, there's just a lot of good trucks
that are there pushing the same amount of power. It's like, you know, everybody's had to push 3000
horsepower these days. So we got to keep up. But it's going to be cool just to be there,
compete with all these guys and enjoy the time like we always do. No. I feel like too,
it's at the end of the day, right? It's a weekend that you get to see friends in the industry that
you don't get to see and just, you know, enjoy what common ground everybody has that's at an event
like that. But you're also kind of going into this. I wouldn't say you were ever an underdog,
but you had a truck that might not necessarily have been, you know, ideal for the application.
But now here you are coming in this year with a truck that's literally set up exactly for what
you're competing in. Right. So no, I think that's awesome. We're looking forward to it.
Have you been doing an interesting on the sledpole stuff or anything like that?
Or has it just been drag racing straight? Man, it's just been drag racing. I don't have a ton
of sled pulling going on in Texas. Actually, I think, I think I just missed that whole event
because I think it does happen, but I'm always doing other events. So we'll see. Sled pulls
definitely my disadvantage, but I feel last year I did pretty damn good. And going into this year,
I know exactly what I'm going to do because I've felt all the different variations of how, you know,
if I started in first or started in second this year, I'm sticking that bitch in third.
And I'm not letting off. So that way we're not, you know, bogging the chargers down
in any ship points. I don't want to run nitrous. I have enough power, you know,
fuel only to get what I need. I don't want to risk blowing up because, you know,
we've blown up in every event, dyno drag and the sled pull. I just, you know,
want to stay in one piece this year and get through it. We were already expecting we're
probably going to end up changing the trans, you know, at least one time through the weekend.
It's typical, but other than that, everything we feel is going to be pretty well built. Same,
almost the same setup that we're familiar with, just a lighter truck. Awesome.
Well, we're rooting for you. Hopefully, I know it's a busy weekend, but maybe you could take a
couple of minutes that weekend. Justin and I can come find you and just give us a little tour of
the truck and we'll do an, uh, you know, onsite interview and kind of go from there. How's that
sound? Man, I would love that, guys. Awesome. Well, we appreciate you. We'll be rooting for you.
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
You damn right.
About this episode
Robby Garcia talks through a major 2026 UCC rebuild, moving from his old fourth-gen Dodge/Ram to a lighter 2006 single-cab long-bed and dialing in the drivetrain for better consistency. The conversation leans hard into drag-racing setup details: trans brake, air shifting powered by nitrous, bigger injectors, and a Bosch ECM tune through Firepunk. They also touch on class alignment, event format, and the broader return of racers and turnout around UCC.
We are stoked to kick off our UCC 2026 Competitors gauntlet starting with a 5-time veteran, Robby Garcia! Robby is the true definition of unrelenting and enthusiast. Robby has steadily climbed the standings ladder in every competition his truck has finished, but this year he is changing it up. He is bringing a new Cummins for his 5th run at the AMSOIL Ultimate Callout Challenge. With that new truck he has his sights on a top 5 finish! Robby and Chris breakdown the new truck, what Robby expects, and how he thinks the Cummins will fair in this year's competition!
