A transmission rebuild is when the transmission gets taken apart and repaired with new parts. With high-power diesel trucks, the transmission can wear out faster because it’s working under heavy stress.
“Making horsepower” means getting the engine to produce more power. Diesel builders often do this with tuning and hardware changes, but they also have to keep everything from overheating or breaking.
“700 horsepower” is a big power goal people talk about when they’re building a fast diesel. Higher power usually means more strain on parts, so it’s not just about making power—it’s about keeping it together.
“Test and tune” means you go to the drag strip to practice and make adjustments before racing seriously. People use it to improve how the truck launches and runs the track.
A “P pump” is a type of fuel injection system on older diesel engines. Saying “700 horse” means the truck makes around 700 horsepower, which is a big deal for diesel builds.
“12 valve” means the engine’s cylinder head has 12 valves total. In diesel performance communities, it often points to a specific older engine design people like to modify.
Term
UCC competition
UCC is a diesel truck competition where builders race and rank their trucks. The guest is saying his first time in that series he finished third.
Term
deck plate
A deck plate is a custom metal plate you build or install in the truck’s bed area. In this story, it sounds like part of how he set up the truck for racing.
This describes the transmission’s torque converter clutch engaging too soon. If it locks early, the truck can lose the smooth power delivery and stumble instead of pulling hard.
Bosch is a company that makes parts and electronics used in diesel engines. In a performance build, using Bosch components can help the engine run more consistently and safely. The host says it improved how the truck behaves during tuning and racing.
“Dummy proof” here means the setup is safer and easier to use without causing damage. The host is saying the tuning and safety features help prevent the truck from breaking during hard runs. It’s about reducing the chance of a serious failure.
Term
bigger intake
A bigger intake is an airflow upgrade that lets the engine breathe more easily. More air can help the engine make more power when you’re also adding fuel and boost. It’s part of the overall performance package.
Term
DNJ enforcer
DNJ Enforcer is a performance upgrade from DNJ. The host is using it as part of a package to help the engine survive harder launches and tuning. It’s meant to improve durability while chasing speed.
Belt driven means some engine accessory is powered by a belt. Belts can wear out or need attention when you’re pushing the truck hard. Here, they’re comparing it to a gear-driven setup that they say is better for their build.
A gear-driven case means the accessory drive is powered by gears instead of a belt. Gears can be tougher and more consistent when the truck is working hard. They also said it made the front of the engine easier to access.
An ECM is the factory computer that controls how the engine runs. Cummins ECMs are the stock computers used on Cummins diesel engines. The host is saying they’re moving away from the factory computer to an aftermarket one for more control and safety.
OEM means the factory-made parts and settings that came with the truck. Here, it refers to the stock engine computer. The host is saying they’re moving away from that factory setup.
The rev limiter is a safety system that stops the engine from revving higher than it’s designed to. It does this by cutting back fuel or ignition when you get too close to the limit.
A standalone is an aftermarket computer that controls the engine. People use it to get more control for performance tuning, but it costs more and takes work to set up correctly.
“Programmable fuel fuse box” describes a custom fuel-power distribution/control module that can be configured to manage how fuel-related circuits are powered and protected. The speaker’s wording suggests it’s part of the truck’s control hardware that supports precise fueling control and safety behavior.
It’s the computer that tells the transmission how and when to shift. It reads sensors and then controls the transmission’s behavior so it drives smoothly.
Diagnostics is the process of using vehicle data, fault codes, and sensor readings to find why a system isn’t working correctly. In performance builds, fewer control modules can make it easier to isolate which system is causing a problem.
Amps tell you how much electricity a circuit is using. If the circuit isn’t pulling the expected amps, it can indicate the system isn’t turning on or there’s a wiring/control issue.
A data log is like a recording of what the truck’s computer measured while you were driving or testing. Tuners use it to see what really happened during a run, not just what they thought happened.
Nitrous is a system that injects a special gas to make the engine produce more power. Tuners check that it turns on when it should and that the pressures behave normally.
Bottle pressure is how much pressure is in the nitrous tank. If it drops too much, the nitrous won’t flow properly, and the truck won’t make the power you expect.
“Fuel only” means the truck’s power came from fuel by itself, with no extra nitrous boost. It’s a clue that the nitrous system didn’t contribute during that run.
Tuning is changing how the truck’s computer controls the engine. The goal is to make the truck run the way you want—usually more power and better consistency—then verify it with testing.
The Dodge Charger is a performance car that can be modified to make more power. When people talk about “chargers” in this context, they usually mean turbochargers that force more air into the engine. Changing the turbo and how it’s connected can help the car make more power.
Term
115 atmosphere
This sounds like a boost-pressure target. Boost is extra air pressure from the turbo, and higher boost usually means more potential power—if the engine is built to handle it.
Company
Taterbilt
Taterbilt sounds like the person or shop behind this truck’s setup. They’re being credited for the performance configuration being discussed.
Drag racing is a race where two vehicles accelerate as fast as possible in a straight line. Here, they’re saying they’re using the truck for that kind of event.
Sled pull suspension is how you set up the truck’s suspension for pulling competitions. It’s meant to keep the truck hooked up so it can transfer power to the ground.
“Compounds” here likely means the truck uses two turbochargers instead of one. That can help it make boost more effectively across different engine speeds.
A weight box is ballast added to the vehicle to increase rear-end load and improve traction. In sled-pull-style setups, adding weight helps the tires maintain contact so the truck can apply more power without spinning.
Concept
chasing horsepower numbers
They’re talking about how competition gets harder over time. As more people build faster trucks, you have to keep upgrading your setup to stay competitive.
Shock adjustments mean changing how the suspension dampers behave. For launches, the right settings help the truck plant the tires and stay stable instead of bouncing or slipping.
Concept
idle and coast to 200 foot
That phrase describes a test where the truck isn’t just flooring it the entire time. It has to keep going well even after power is reduced, which checks how controllable and smooth it is.
Here, consistency means doing well in all the different events, not just having one great run. It’s about staying competitive and not having problems when conditions change.
A flexplate is a part that connects the engine to the automatic transmission. If it comes loose, the truck can’t transfer power correctly and you may have to pull things apart to fix it.
Intake valves are the engine’s doors that let the mixture into the cylinders. If they fail badly, they can get damaged or even come loose, which can destroy the engine parts around them.
The cylinder head is the engine’s top housing where the valves and combustion happen. If something breaks there, replacing the head can be the fastest way to get the engine back together.
Pistons are the parts that move inside the cylinders and help create compression for combustion. If the engine’s valve timing or valve position was damaged, the piston shape may need changes to prevent contact.
Part
bowls
“Bowls” refers to the shaped recesses in the piston crown (in diesel engines, often related to combustion chamber geometry). Reshaping them changes how fuel/air mixture forms and can be necessary after repairs to restore safe clearance and combustion characteristics.
The BMW 5 Series is a mid-size sedan designed for comfort, but it can also be modified to go faster. In a performance discussion, people may be talking about how much power they can get out of it. The key point is that changes to the engine and tuning can affect both performance and how hard the car works mechanically.
“60 foot” is how fast the truck gets moving in the first 60 feet of the race. It’s a big deal because the start is where traction and launch control matter most. Faster 60-foot times usually mean the whole run is quicker.
A trans brake is a racing trick for automatic transmissions. It helps the truck “stage” and build power before it launches, so the start is quicker and more repeatable. People use it to improve their launch and overall times.
A “personal best” (PB) is the fastest time or best performance a driver has achieved for a specific measurement—like 60-foot time or elapsed time—during their own runs. In drag racing, PBs are used to track progress as the setup (tuning, launch technique, traction changes) evolves. It’s a performance benchmark even when conditions vary between tracks.
The “eighth mile” is a shorter drag-race distance—about 660 feet. It focuses a lot on how well the truck accelerates right after the start. People track it because it’s a common way to compare performance at different tracks.
Practice passes are just repeated laps/runs to learn and collect information. More runs can help you understand what’s working and what needs changing.
Term
adjust this bar
“Adjust this bar” means changing a hardware setting that affects how the truck handles. Tweaks can make the truck turn and grip more predictably.
Term
preloading
Preloading means setting something up ahead of time so it starts in the right spot. That way, when you launch or load the truck, it reacts the same way every time.
Injectors are what spray fuel into the engine. If you upgrade them, the engine can get the right amount of fuel more accurately, which can improve how it runs and how much power it makes.
Flux is the company the host worked with for injector parts. They helped supply the components used in his truck’s setup.
Part
67 bodies
“67 bodies” is a way of describing a specific injector design/size. Different injector bodies can change how much fuel the injector can deliver, which affects power and tuning.
firepunk is the shop/team the host works with and thanks. They helped support the project and were easy to deal with.
Term
piping and fab work
“Piping and fab work” is custom metal work—making and fitting the tubes and parts that connect to the engine. Performance builds often need it to make everything fit and work correctly.
“Air Dogs” are aftermarket fuel pumps/filters for diesel trucks. They help keep the engine supplied with fuel, especially when the truck is tuned for more power.
Term
fluid damper
A fluid damper is like a vibration absorber. It helps reduce shaking and harshness so the truck runs smoother, especially when you’re pushing it.
LIVE
Thanks for joining your listening to diesel performance podcast.
I'm your host Chris Emke.
We have a special episode today.
We have another UCC Amsoil 2026 competitor without further ado.
We have Mike Brown.
Mike, how you doing?
I'm just fine, man.
How are you?
Uh, you know, it's, uh, you know, I always joke around this time of year like, oh, it's
a tactic.
We're busy.
And then I don't read the room, right?
Cause I'm, I'm interviewing UCC competitors and it's, uh, you, y'all are grinding quite
as hard as I am right now.
I've had it count down on my phone since like the day after UCC last year, it's just like,
you know, 300 days don't suck.
And then a hundred days don't suck.
And me and Austin Denny, I texted to him, he'll text me how many days left and I said,
I'm texting my A. We got 39 days and he's like, shit, I'm like, yeah, get it together.
So the million dollar question, right?
At 150 days at a hundred days at 75 days.
Now we're at 30 some days.
Are you, are you much closer or are you still got some grind to get done before the, the
show?
Um, I don't think I think we'll never be a hundred percent.
I think it's always, you know, there's always going to be, there's always going to be something
that you're like, shit, I wish I had more time.
I wish I'd finished this.
I wish we'd done this better or, or what I feel more confident this year than I have
previously.
Um, the last two years we've run in some engine issues or something break.
I think, uh, was that we pour an engine up one time on the dyno testing and then the next
time we screwed it up drag racing.
This time it's made it through the dyno.
We've made a bunch of laps with it, um, feeling a little more confident on it overall and
a little more prepared.
There's still, you know, I still got a whole list of stuff I need to do, but you know,
we're definitely more prepared than we have been.
Oh, I think that, that's what it boils down to, right?
We'll get into the build more so here in a bit.
And I think, you know, for, for any of the listeners that are, are new to listening to
our show, maybe they're new to you, uh, you know, the AMSOIL UCC competition.
Can you give the listeners a little bit of background on you and just kind of how you
got into diesel and kind of what led you to this point?
Yeah.
I'm a, actually I work a day job in my mechanics at the post office, uh, bought a, bought my
first Dodge, I think, you know, like 2016 and you know, done intake, teen or exhaust,
blew the transmission, bought a transmission, blew the transmission, bought a transmission.
Yeah.
I went through that whole thing.
Yeah.
I went through it a few times and then, uh, ended up getting ready.
It got my mega cab, bootleg that I had and started sled pulling it and kind of playing
with it more.
And then, uh, it just kind of grew doing KOS one year and then done UCC with it.
And, you know, now we've got a regular cab that we're doing.
Um, I'm just, you know, normal person, it's me and my buddies.
We got, you know, I got a shop at home, we kind of put it all around trucks in the evenings
and we all, you know, kind of chip in and help on the race truck and, you know, we build
their trucks and kind of do whatever we can and try to be just normal people with expensive
hobbies.
So, I guess a question that I have is, you know, you got in a diesel and, you know, the,
the, the countless money of transmission rebuilds and things like that.
Is it, are you addicted to the truck and going fast?
Is it a collaborative thing where you and your buddies collectively are in this together?
So that's what keeps you motivated and moving forward.
Like what's, what's the main thing that keeps you doing what you're doing right now?
Uh, man, I really don't know.
I just think I enjoy it.
It's a lot of fun.
Like we done slide pooling and I really enjoyed it and just trying to do better and everything.
Then we got into doing some of the diner stuff, making horsepower and it's like, all right,
I want to make 700 and then it's, I want to make a thousand, I want to make 15, I want
to make two.
Now, you know, where everyone's chasing three or 35 and it's like, I don't know, just,
I really enjoy it and it's, I really don't know.
It's just one of us, we worked, you know, you worked 50 weeks out of the year for one
or two weeks of fun with truck and it's, you know, and for whatever reason, it's still,
as long as I still get excited every time I drive it started up, I'm smiling and stuff.
So as long as, as long as that's still going on, I'm going to keep doing it.
No, I, I can relate to that too.
I mean, granite never competed in UCC, but in the earlier days of me and the friends
group getting into diesel, you know, staying up in the shop late at night, getting the
truck ready for the sled pull that weekend or, you know, test and tune at the drag strip.
Like those are some of the fondest memories with me and my friends that, you know, I'll
always hold on to and that's kind of what always motivated us to keep doing what we
were doing.
And then all the shit talking in the, in the, the feeding off of one another, you know,
that was all the motivation that he needed.
Yes.
That's right.
That's it.
It's one of those, you know, I got a, you know, I'm the best one of my friend group
and to me, you know, some of the other guys, I know I'm the slow one and, you know, I got
one buddy.
It's got a 700 horse P pump, 12 valve and he's to some of his buddies, he's the fastest
when he gets around us.
He's a slow guy.
So it's like, we all kind of all got somebody's shit talk too and try to try to do better.
No, that's awesome.
That's a, I mean, that, that's, that's the shop talk, right?
Like that's, yeah, that's what everybody gravitates towards.
That's it.
Except we got a good group of guys that we, you know, I got a pretty decent size shop
at home and everyone, I mean, pretty much every night, somebody's here helping, we're
hanging out, working on, you know, whether it's my trucks or a friend or somebody's or
what, you know, trying to, trying to do something to keep them moving forwards.
Now going into, you know, the, the 2026 competitive year, what have you done?
Have you changed a lot of stuff in the truck?
I guess I should start with, with any of the listeners in 2024.
That was your first UCC competition.
You placed third overall and that was in your, your mega cab duly.
Correct?
Yes, sir.
Yeah.
We had a mega cab duly.
It's a host.
Early 07 original 5-9 truck.
We done it.
I put a deck plate together and put in it.
We drag raced with a gutted regular bed on it, single wheel, gutted doors, gutted bed,
still like tried to get all the weight out of, we could down to, I think it was like 71
20 or something.
And went like a 606 at 123 or 126 and made, I think that one made like 2400 horsepower.
And, you know, so I pulled the piece and he'll lock up early and kind of fell on its face.
And then actually we were lucky enough to enter in third or, you know, end up in third
by the end of it.
And then now we went to a regular cab and it's got, you know, a little nicer, a little
lighter.
You know, there's things we learned and changed and done over the years with it.
This year we, one of our big changes, we went to a Bosch, you know, got with Jeff Hale
at XRG and got a Bosch on it and, you know, LaVon helped with it and stuff.
And it's seemed to be a game changer.
There's a lot of the tuning stuff and safeties that have made it, you know, a lot more user
friendly or dummy proof from blowing it up.
So we, we done that, switched to a trans brake, switched to, what else would you do?
It's got DNJ enforcer, we done their bigger intake on it, done dual four, we already had
dual 14s with their belt driven, switched to a gear driven case, so it really cleaned
up the front of the motor and makes it easier to work on and stuff.
And, you know, that's probably the biggest changes and then actually being able to, you
know, hit the tire and try to actually go fast.
Last year we just kept pushing through the brakes the whole time and, you know, had,
you know, just one thing after another with it.
So hopefully this year, everything looks like it's going to be a lot better.
You know, there's a common theme, I feel, going into the 2026 year, the factory OEM
Cummins ECMs are going to the wayside and everyone's going to a standalone and the
implementation of a trans brake and things like that.
And everybody has kind of said the same thing is it protects the investment with all
the safeties, right?
Like it does.
Yeah, definitely seems to have, LeVon told me three years ago, I should have done it
and I had a 49 and I thought, well, I'll do that.
I am and then I put a minute and it's like, well, that's cool.
Now you can see the data, but you see it after it happened.
And like with this, it, you know, it reacts so fast.
So we watched some stuff on the dyno and like you can watch, watch fuel where it cuts
fuel and adds fuel like a thousand times in a second.
It's like, yeah, I had no idea it was even on the rev limiter.
It was just smooth and it's like, you know, it was just awesome compared to a 49.
Or it's like I blew up a whole lot of shit with that.
So there's guys that have had a lot of luck with it and done good,
but the consistency out of it and, you know, is definitely not there with a 49, I feel.
No, I mean, when you think about what the cost of an enforcer motor and big
injectors and the turbo configuration and all the money into the chassis and stuff.
And I mean, that was the big thing with a lot of the standalone's for years as well.
It's a very expensive endeavor to get into.
And it's like, well, when you're at this level, the standalone's kind of a drop
in the bucket because it's, it's, it's versatile, but it's going to protect.
You know, it has the safeties there for a purpose and it teaches you as you go to,
you know, fine tune the truck.
Yeah, definitely.
And we, we went ahead and done the PMU and stuff with it.
So we were able to get rid of like everything on the truck.
So it's literally there's a Bosch and the PMU, which is like the programmable
fuel fuse box for it.
So we don't, there's no Max five, no transmission controller, no extra fuse box,
like the switch panel, all can bust to that.
So it makes it a lot cleaner.
And really by the time I sat down and sold everything off the truck, it was like we,
I mean, we're out money, but it wasn't that much of a difference.
It was just the difference in, you know, buying a Max five, buying a hand
eater and all that shit over the course of two or three years versus buying the Bosch.
Right.
So, you know, you spend it, it's just, you spend it a thousand dollars at a time.
No, no, no, definitely.
I've been there.
I definitely understand where you're coming from with that.
And I also feel like from a diagnostic perspective, not having three or four
controllers feeding and communicating with one another and having the ability
to have everything beyond one standalone controller.
It has to help with diagnostics and troubleshooting.
Yeah, it definitely does, man.
The PBX thing is very neat.
Like we were having, like, wasn't sure if nitrous was turning on.
So it's like, all right, we can normally just go in there and you're like,
you know, you're watching a video trying to hear if it turned on or, you know,
you might watch a catalog and see if, you know, if you're monitoring like nitrous
pressure, you can watch a dropper or what.
But with this, it, catalogs like how many amps each circuit pulls.
So we can look at it and I know a 375 should pull like 27 or 28 amps.
And we can pull back at, you know, look back at the data log.
And that will soon we never pulled anything.
So we know without a doubt it did not open.
So it's pretty nice to go back and see that.
Like when we were on the dyno, we were playing with it.
And it's like, well, that should have been nitrous pass.
And then we're, you know, can actually see, well, now zero nitrous turned
on, bottle pressure never dropped.
That was 100% fuel only.
And, you know, it just makes it, makes it a lot easier.
And I'm trying to get better, like I've always worked on the truck myself
done everything other than like, I don't build transmission.
I've built the engine before for it.
This last, you know, last two, I've bought from D and J.
And then, uh, like tuning, I've always had LaVon do it at Firepunk.
And I'm trying to get a little better at understanding the data logs and
everything with it to be able to, because there's so much data in there
that you can do and try to get a little better understanding of it to be able
to make some fine changes, like we go to the track and stuff.
But no, I mean, it's, it's also like, you know, there's a common theme
when I, when I interview the competitors, right?
It's, yeah, it's one name in one truck, but it's a, it's a team to get you there.
But you've kind of gotten yourself to where you're at with the truck
with, you know, your buddies in a shop and now kind of relying on some others
to kind of, you know, share their expertise along the way.
Like I can imagine it's tough, but you have to also probably agree
that the learning that you've been able to obtain, you know, over the last
couple of years is, you know, light years ahead.
Yeah. Yeah, man.
One man can't do it all.
Like it's one of those like, you know, everyone, yeah, everyone that's one
or done good for most parts had a team that worked with them to, you know,
do it all.
Like one person can't be the best at everything.
And if you are, you're so stressed out, you're going to miss something.
So it is, you know, I'm, I'm not too proud to let other people step in and be
like, Hey, I know what I'm doing here and let them do it.
Like I'm not going to let that get in the way.
And, you know, just try to pick the right people to be on your team
and put them where they do best.
Yeah, well said.
Is as far as the setup of the truck goes, you know, there's, there's the three
events, do you, do you go in with the strategy of, you know, one setup,
all three events, let it do what it's going to do, or are you changing
the suspension setup?
Are you changing turbo configuration?
Like what's, what's the game plan going into this year?
The current plan is to leave the turbos alone.
We've talked about swapping to a single charger.
We've run a 484 on the manifold and a G57.
It's a 115 atmosphere from Taterbilt.
We've currently, we've been drag racing with it.
And it's, you know, kind of like powers coming in a little too hard
and kicking the tires.
So we may end up swapping to a single on it for drag racing, just for simplicity
sake and try to kind of manage the power a little more.
Dino will definitely be compounds and we'll actually use basically most of
our sled pull suspension for the dyno.
We'll block the rear end, put our traction bars, everything in it and lock
it pretty solid and usually we'll hang some weight on the back of it to try
to plant the tire there and then sled pull, you know, put a weight box on it
and, you know, leave all our bars and everything in it and try to get us
close to the weight.
I think it's 8,000 pounds.
What, what we can be after the sled pull trim.
So we should probably by the time we put it, doles and everything on it,
we'll probably get to add, you know, 1,500 pounds or something on it, I'd say.
OK, now going into this year, what's, what's personal goals, right?
Like you've, you finished third one year, fourth one year, you know, fourth.
I mean, last year you finished fourth in a brand new truck.
Like that's, that's insane in its own right.
Yeah.
But what's the goal going into 26?
So my goal is kind of the same as last year.
I want to do better across the board.
And if you like, you look at points and everything, points and, you know,
speed, distance, you know, horsepower, everything.
We improved all the way across on the board.
It just happens to be everyone else improved also.
So I'm hoping, you know, again, to, as long as I improve, you know,
we run faster, we make more power, so I'll go further.
As long as we do that, wherever we end up, we end up.
I obviously would like another top five finish at least.
I know this year there's, you know, some of the, some of the older guys
that have been into it or, you know, competitors that have won multiple
times are going to be there.
So I know that is going to be, you know, more difficult than previous though.
I mean, but they're still, you know, this, this thing is like,
I don't know, 90% prep and 10% luck.
Like there's still a lot of it you can have.
You can spend every dollar known to man by the right parts, do everything.
Have the best team.
And if you get up there and shit don't go right, it's still don't get any points.
Do you think, do you think going into this year, the competition's a little
more stacked than what we've seen in years past?
I definitely think so.
Yeah, I think I think it should be, you know, I mean, they're, they're
putting the money up and everything to bring some guys out of retirement for it.
And I think, you know, it should, should definitely should be
stacked pretty well.
And then also, you know, everything's changing.
I mean, you figure, look at 10 years ago when they first started this, if you
made 2000 horsepower, it was like, you know, top of the line on it.
And now you know, you're chasing three plus.
Yeah, none of the guys were running standalone's 10 years ago either.
Yeah, yeah, no, that's it.
Yeah, that's it.
It's like, you know, it's constantly changing and moving the bar.
So I think every year, you know, every year is going to have to be, you know,
it's different competition or even, you know, just, you know, the bar is constantly
moving, so it's going to be a little more, you know, take a little more to get
the same place.
If you just, you know, if you don't make any changes and just stay stagnant,
like everyone else is going to catch up or pass you by.
I mean, as we're, you know, recording this, right?
It's the 10th, 9th, something like that of May.
So we have, you know, what, 20, 20 some odd days until the event.
Do you have a lot more like test and prep that needs to take place?
Or, you know, what's, what's that plan look like, you know, over the
course of the next couple of weeks?
Yeah, we were, we've been drag racing a few times with the truck.
We went to Cincinnati last week, came running out Edgewater with LaVon and
stuff and we done some testing, got, you know, personal best with the truck.
One has six or a 550 there, 550, 136, kicking tire stills.
So we're, went back to LaVon's, made some changes, some shock adjustments
and stuff and we're going to try to get testing this weekend.
That's the biggest thing of drag racing.
Like I feel comfortable on the dyno.
I've been on that dyno probably like 10 times, I think, and made, you know,
over 2000, 34 times on it.
So I feel, I feel comfortable there.
I, you know, sled pulling, I feel pretty comfortable with the drag racing is
where I feel we need to improve.
I know like, you know, Justin's coming, you know, Ziggler comes back.
If he, you know, he ran, what, a 455 or something a couple of weeks ago.
So it's like, if he, if he comes there, runs that, he can get on the dyno and
idle and, you know, coast to 200 foot and it's still going to end very well.
So it's like, you know, we're going to have to, you know, have to try to make
up as much as we can on the drag race side of it, I think.
No, I mean, so we've kind of always said, right, it's consistency.
You know, we've seen guys, you know, do phenomenal in one event and not so hot
in the other two.
And yeah, that's good for publicity and it's good for, you know, clips on social
media, but it's that guy that's, you know, pretty consistent amongst all three.
They're usually the one that breaks pretty high.
And, and that's us.
We've been fortunate and done, done good last two years with it.
But I, I mean, really think back, I don't think anyone has ever won all three
events and overall, if I'm not mistaken, I think it's always kind of been one,
one or the other, they might have won, you know, drag racing and dyno or
something like that, but I don't think anyone's clean-sweeping.
So no, this could be, this could be your year.
This could be your goal.
Maybe.
My goal is to finish and not have to work on the truck.
Man, last year we had a pretty good explosion on the dyno.
Yeah, we had a, you know, the first year spooled us.
The only thing we had was Flexplate come loose on the truck and, you know,
we pulled a train and done Flexplate on it and put it back together.
And that was it.
And then last year I got greedy on the dyno.
We made like 2612 or something.
And I was like, I, you know, I was, you know, mad.
And I was like, no, we're going to try it again.
And it's spit intake valves out and blew the whole front of the truck
apart and everything.
And we were up all night, like thrashing through another senior,
had a backup cylinder head, put it on and like was taking a diagram
into the pistons and like reshaping all the bowls and stuff.
And got it, got it thrown back together enough where, like, you know,
it started, but it was, you know, pretty unhappy and they made the
pools, which was all it was supposed to do.
So it worked, but if I don't have to do that again, I'll be very happy.
That's the win for you.
Yeah.
That's the big thing to not have to touch it much.
Change the hole and change tires.
I like where your head's at.
You shaved a half a second off from first year to the second year end.
Do you think you're going to go even for another half?
We should.
Yeah.
I mean, that's the goal.
I think last year we went a 569 or something like that.
569, 566, 579, something like that.
You got to give yourself a little more credit at 515 or it looks like
it's 551 nine.
Yeah.
551's what we went last year.
That's what it looks like.
Yeah.
Oh, well, yeah.
So we went up 550 the other day and I don't know.
I'd like to try to get 520s or so out of the truck.
I mean, we make enough power with it.
The biggest things are 60 foot trying to get it down.
I did swap to a trans brake, which has seemed to have helped.
We've gotten, you know, several personal best 60 foot on it and it's
just still learning the truck and part of the issue we've got some, you
know, we've got a few local eighth mile tracks we've went to, but all of them,
you know, you go there and it's no prep at all.
Like you're just skating the whole way and then, uh, and then also, you know,
it don't help that I don't know what the hell I'm doing.
So I'm just, you know, make a pass and I'm sending a data logger.
We're trying to watch a video.
Be like, uh, what do I do now?
And, uh, so I'm trying to understand it all more and learn more.
That's what, so we rented the track last week with LaVon and, uh, that
I've made, you know, get six or eight passes in it.
Like it makes a world of difference having someone there that knows what
they're doing and, you know, looking at it and being like, all right, well,
how do you need to adjust this?
Well, hey, it's, you know, when it spins, it's turning this way.
You need to adjust this bar, but preloading it and stuff.
And it's just like, you know, it makes a, makes a huge difference and it's
the difference in, all right, I got to make a hundred, a hundred passes with
this or we can make three and get the exact same amount of information out of it.
I mean, that's everything, right?
You, you have a build like this and you do a hundred passes.
That's, that's how many trans is in a motor, you know,
yeah, that's so that's it.
Yeah, that is it.
Exactly.
Luckily, you know, transmission's been doing great.
Alex at cornerstone takes care of us on those.
Um, we've trashed a couple of converters learning how to stage and kind of
getting up on the train to break and holding it too long and just kind of cook
them.
So we've got, got a couple of our backups getting reached for us right now and
back in it, but it's definitely, we are, you know, trashing some parts to, to
learn it's, you know, you're paying tuition for it, definitely.
So it's a, you know, if you can get it, if you can get it done in a few less
passes, then it's one less semester of tuition at that point, right?
Yeah, that's it.
Exactly.
So we're, we're trying, um, we're going to try to go to beach band like this weekend.
They've got a testing team open.
It's supposed to be prepped.
So we're going to try to go out there.
That's like two hours from us.
So it's not bad.
Nice.
So we can do there.
Well, I would say Justin and I, we were, we were talking about it earlier today
that, you know, we can't wait to see you every time I see you and talk to you at
thoroughbred events, UCC events.
You're always smiling ear to ear and very gracious to, you know, take some time
and just say hi.
So, you know, we're, we're looking forward to seeing you at the event and
watching you compete.
Is there any closing shout outs?
Anyone that you want to give a thanks to?
Oh, no, I mean, my wife, for one, she deals with a lot of dumb shit.
Yeah, she's, yeah, she, she deals with all of it and maybe I'm like, Hey,
let's, let's do this.
I want to do that.
So I'm definitely my wife.
Don and April at Flux, you know, we've got their injectors that we've switched
to some different 67 bodies and done a little different novel work.
And they've been awesome to deal with.
They, I got with them in 20, 21 or 22 and they've been great.
And like we've done 1,950 something like on fuel only this year, which was, you
know, personal best, you know, all around pretty solid number on it.
And then, uh, you know, we got the entire bill, uh, Alex at cornerstone,
LaVon at firepunk, the whole firepunk crew.
And every time we go up there and you know, I'd kind of take over the shop,
you lift go around just open people's toolbox and they're like, Hey,
I'm going to use this.
I'll be back.
You know, Hey, I'm going to do this here.
I'll buy lunch in a little bit.
You just stay over there and then they're always, they're always super nice.
I've dealt with them since like 2018 or something.
And then they've always, you know, always been super nice to deal with and
very accommodating, um, Keaton samples.
He takes care of all our piping and fab work and stuff.
He's been awesome to deal with.
And then, uh, I got a list here cause I don't want to forget anybody.
Uh, hot shots.
Kyle, you know, I took care of all our fluids.
I mean, actually, Jeff and him got a set up with box this year.
They've been excellent to deal with.
Um, air dogs, fluid damper, like they've, they've all great to deal with.
Air dogs come out to the track a couple of times when we're testing and tuning.
Like I come out to the dino and do some videos.
I'm absolutely horrible with social media and taking videos and pictures.
So James and James and CJ always come out there and take care of all that force.
And it's been great.
I guess about everybody.
If I forgot you, I'm sorry.
Well, we'll have to do a recap.
And if you forget anyone, we'll be able to apologize on air and, and shout them
on their point.
So yeah, y'all make sure to come by and see us.
We'll be, we'll usually rent a big tent and we, you know, I'm, I'm still cheap.
I represent Nashville, bring it out there and put it up myself.
So we'll try to get the biggest one we can and hang out with a couple of
other homes and everything cooking.
Yeah.
You know, hey, you, you, you, you want the tent down in Nashville and bring it up.
And that, that saves you the money to have one of the converters gone through.
So it's a win-win.
100%.
So yeah, I am still a cheap ass.
I got expensive hobbies, but a cheap ass at art.
No, hey, you sound like me now.
I'm right there with you.
Awesome.
Mike, well, we appreciate it.
We're rooting for you.
We can't wait to see you in a few weeks and we'll, when we're down there,
we'll, we'll probably do a small little interview if we can.
And then, you know, we'll, we'll do a recap shortly after once everybody
gets settled back home.
Yeah, no problem.
Man, come on.
See us anytime we'll be there.
We'll make time.
So I look like I'm busy.
Just give me a minute.
No worries.
We're looking forward to it.
You take care.
You too.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you.
How many days left?
I'm going to send them texts.
I'm like, hey, we got 39 days.
And he's like, shit.
I'm like, yep, we didn't have to be there.
About this episode
With the UCC Amsoil 2026 countdown underway, Mike Brown talks through where his diesel program stands and what it took to get there. He reflects on past dyno and drag-race setbacks, including transmission failures early on, then explains how the current truck has “made it through the dyno” and is building confidence. The conversation dives into standalone tuning, trans brake launch improvements, nitrous diagnostics (“100% fuel only”), and why consistency across events matters more than one standout run.
Mike Brown is back on the show ahead of the AMSOIL UCC 2026! This will be Mike's third go round with the event. Mike has been hooked on diesel since his first truck purchased in 2016 and you'll hear in this episode his passion is even stronger now. Mike first competed in 2024 and he came out with a bang, placing on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Mike came out in 2025 and shaved a full half second off his drag race time, put down bigger dyno numbers, and pulled the sled farther than in his rookie event the year prior. We think Mike and his Cummins are going to push the limits even more so!
