Be it through a flawed design, poor-quality components or penny-pinching, every vehicle comes with a list of shortcomings straight from the factory. Some issues surface within a few thousand miles while others don’t show up for years, but no car, truck or SUV is perfect. Nothing could be truer for the diesel pickup segment, where Rams, Bow Ties and Blue Ovals all leave the assembly line with a laundry list of application-specific problems. Luckily, the diesel aftermarket is rich with problem-solving innovators who like to overbuild. Instead of looking to the engineers in Detroit to bail them out, they come up with a permanent fix to a common impediment. From minor quirks to potentially catastrophic issues, the following OEM-born problems have all been met with sound aftermarket solutions.

1. Pump Upgrade Kit (’01-’07 GMs)–Merchant Automotive

The Problem:

The factory New Process Gear NP261XHD and NP263XHD transfer cases offered in four-wheel drive ’01-’07 Chevy and GMC trucks make use of a gear pump within the transfer case, which forces oil to the planetary. Because the pump is driven off of the main shaft, the pump’s housing floats within the rear section of the transfer case by design. To keep the gear pump housing located within the rear section of the transfer case, five indexing tabs are employed. Over time, the indexing tabs on the pump housing begin to rub and eventually wear a hole through the transfer case, allowing fluid to leak out. In the diesel industry this is known as “pump rub” and it’s one of the stealthiest component killers you’ll find. Get this: the hole develops high enough on the transfer case that fluid will only leak when the truck is moving. This means no puddle under the truck, no hint that something might be wrong. No sign whatsoever until it’s too late.

The Solution:

To prevent the pump gear housing from digging into the transfer case, Merchant Automotive machines its own T-6061 billet-aluminum pump gear housing, which makes use of vastly larger indexing tabs. The bigger indexing tabs distribute the load applied to the transfer case much more evenly. To make the installation of the billet pump gear housing as seamless as possible, Merchant includes a tube of RTV silicone, blue threadlock and the transfer-case-to-transmission adapter gasket you need to perform the job. The kit shown in the previous image showcases Merchant’s basic pump upgrade kit (less the fluid pictured), which retails for just $75 and is intended for the proactive truck owner looking to address the pump rub issue before it becomes a major (and fairly expensive) problem. For the truck owner that discovers the pump rub deficiency too late, Merchant also sells a kit that includes a new rear transfer case housing ($499.95).

2. Oil Dipstick Adapter Repair Kit (7.3L Power Stroke)–Strictly Diesel

The Problem:

As 7.3L Power Strokes age, engine oil leaks tend to develop in the pan or at the oil dipstick adapter. Because not all oil pans rust out, the latter scenario is more common. From the factory, the oil dipstick adapter relies on an internal O-ring to seal it to the inside of the pan. Over time, this O-ring expands, swells and sometimes even breaks, allowing oil to escape. What follows is a consistent drip of oil wherever you park the truck, not to mention that the passenger side of the oil pan, starter and even transmission will wear a coat of engine oil until you solve the problem. Due to its design, the adapter can’t be removed without first pulling the oil pan—and the engine has to be removed from the truck in order to pull the pan. At some point, every 7.3L ever produced will experience an oil leak from the dipstick adapter.

The Solution:

Knowing that the immense labor costs involved in pulling the engine and oil pan just to replace a $30 part are hard to swallow for many 7.3L owners, Strictly Diesel came up with the Dipstick Adapter Repair Kit. It can be installed with the oil pan still on the engine and the engine still in the truck. The factory adapter is replaced with a billet-aluminum version, which makes use of a double O-ring seal on the outside of the oil pan (vs. the single O-ring seal on the inside of the factory piece). The billet adapter is secured to the oil pan thanks to a steel brace (which sits inside the oil pan) and two Allen bolts. With the Allen bolts torqued to spec, both O-rings are compressed against the outside wall of the pan for a leak-free seal.

3. Fixed Geometry Turbo Kits (All Makes)

The Problem:

While variable geometry turbochargers provide instant response at virtually any engine speed and can double as exhaust brakes, their moving parts are prone to failure. Due to being present in the exhaust side of the turbo, the vanes, unison rings and/or actuators are constantly exposed to soot, carbon and grime buildup, not to mention rust. All of the above can render the moveable parts required to function inoperable, which leads to poor drivability, excessive smoke and forces the issue of cleaning or replacing the turbocharger. Any VGT-equipped engine is susceptible to this type of failure, but in the diesel pickup realm it’s highly common on ’03-’07 6.0L Power Strokes and ’07.5-newer 6.7L Cummins mills, while still being fairly prevalent on ’04.5-newer Duramax applications.

The Solution:

Long before VGTs came as standard equipment on diesels, fixed geometry turbos were used—and oftentimes they outlasted the life of the engine they were bolted to. This is exactly why handfuls of aftermarket companies sell direct bolt-on kits that replace the factory VGT with a fixed geometry BorgWarner or Garrett turbo. Void of the exhaust-side complexities present in VGTs, the mechanical functionality of a fixed geometry turbo is much simpler and—in most cases—a lot cheaper to overhaul or replace. Although some low-rpm drivability is lost by switching to a fixed geometry unit, the gains in reliability, performance and peace of mind far outweigh the cost of sticking it out with a VGT that could fail at any time.

4. Head Studs (6.0L Power Stroke)–ARP

The Problem:

With just four fasteners employed per cylinder (with sharing), a relatively small bolt diameter and being of a torque-to-yield design, the factory head bolts don’t stand a chance in the 6.0L Power Stroke. Under the excessive cylinder pressure the 6.0L can create, the TTY bolts stretch, a head gasket blows and you find coolant residue on the degas bottle. From there, the ’03-’07 Super Duty’s cab is sent skyward, the heads come off, new gaskets go in and you’re out $3,500 to $4,000—and that’s if you don’t need a fresh cylinder head (or two), due to their notorious cracking issues.

The Solution:

For ultimate clamping force, ARP manufactures head studs made from its proprietary ARP2000 material, and the fasteners have a tensile strength of 200,000 psi. By utilizing a stud rather than a bolt to secure the heads to the block, the stud’s threads are able to fully engage in the block. When ARP’s studs and 12-point nuts are used in conjunction with freshly resurfaced heads and OEM Ford head gaskets, and are torqued in sequence to 210 lb-ft, blowing a head gasket is a non-issue on virtually any 6.0L Power Stroke. Thanks to nearly two million 6.0Ls being produced and a high probability of popping a head gasket whether the engine is left at the stock power level or highly modified, ARP’s 6.0L head studs have been its best selling product for years.

5. Allison Transmission Cooler Lines (’01-’10 GMs)

The Problem:

On essentially every Allison-equipped ’01-’10 GM HD truck, leaks develop at the crimps on the OEM transmission cooler lines. Depending on how often you take a look under your Chevy or GMC HD, the problem can be discovered as soon as the first few drips of ATF hit the ground or after the first sizable red puddle forms under the front skid plate. You’re also more likely to notice the inevitable transmission cooler line leak in cold weather, when the factory rubber hose shrinks and allows fluid to slip past the crimp. Because GM did very little to address the issue, tons of GM owners had their lines replaced under warranty, only to have the same, guaranteed-to-leak OEM lines leak again.

The Solution:

For an end-all fix, aftermarket companies such as Fleece Performance Engineering, Dirty Hooker Diesel, Merchant Automotive and Deviant Race Parts came up with heavy-duty replacement transmission cooler lines or line repair kits. Some kits feature braided stainless steel lines while others include high-quality hydraulic hose, but all are superior to the OEM lines, do away with the leak-prone crimp and have no problem handling the extreme line pressure the Allison transmission requires. Repair kits start as low as $155 and complete replacement line kits retail for $350 to $400.

Looking for a used diesel truck? We've highlighted the best you can get for $10K, $20K and $30K!

Four events—just four little events! For Top Drift's SoCal pro-am drifting competition series, that’s all that stands between hopeful amateur drifters and a Formula D Pro 2 license. With all of the four competition rounds happening at Willow Springs Raceway, it might be tempting to think that it’s all a bit too easy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Willow Springs is possibly the perfect place to hold a challenging four-event drift season, offering four varied tracks that can be put to use while track-day drivers take to the facility’s most popular road courses. We saw the season kick off at a more aggressive configuration of the Balcony track. After that it was off to the hilly and tight Horse Thief Mile. This most recent event took place at the double sweeping banks, rough pavement and more aggressive configuration of the Walt James oval, and the season will finish with a night event at the wall-laden Willow Speedway.

Then there’s the matter of the competition. Pro-am competition brings out all sorts of participants in all manner of vehicles: serious contenders looking for the next step, talented grassroots drivers content with dominating the local scene, beginners in need of seat time and competition experience, and locals just in it for a good time. To rise to the top, you’ve got to be successful against all these guys, and catch a little bit of luck along the way.

The Season So Far

If we've learned anything from the 2018 Top Drift season, it’s that it’s virtually impossible to predict an outcome. Right when we thought we knew which V8-powered S13 drivers would dominate this year, underdog Brian Nimmo won second place at Round 1 in his JZ-powered Tacoma pickup truck (a pickup truck!) and has looked strong ever since. Ace driver Alex Grimm got an awesome new Camaro over the winter, failed to qualify for Round 1, ended up winning Round 2 and unfortunately, had a tough time of it again in this third round.

Meanwhile, perennial threats Rome Charpentier and Shaun Doom have really stepped up their game throughout the season, and nearly won their brackets this time against some stiff competition. They also put on the show of the round when they battled each other for third place.

Fifty-two-year-old rookie Don Boline has been steadily progressing since his competition debut at Round 1, and with some persistent mechanical issues seemingly behind him, he qualified for Top 16 competition for the first time at Round 3. However, the real surprise action was from Amir Falahi. Amir quietly emerged last year and has been on the come-up ever since. His Top 8 performance last round was strong, but after ousting Noah Nelson, Daryl Priyono and Rome Charpentier this time around—and nearly knocking out Dom Martinez for the win—we were straight-up impressed with his abilities behind the wheel of the no. 110 V8-swapped BMW E30.     

Even our top pick Dominic Martinez (who sports some of Formula Drift's Matt Field’s retired gear) has proven difficult to predict. He impressively almost won Round 1 last year, but he made some rookie mistakes throughout the season that led to him finishing 10th for the year. He qualified mid-pack for Round 1 this year but won the event, and nearly did the same in Round 2, nabbing third. This time, however, he was spot on.

Round 3

After qualifying in the top spot, he had a bye run in Top 16. He then he beat Raz Naor in Top 8, inched past Shaun Doom in Top 4 and kept his head against Amir in the finals to win the show.  

With three of four Top Drift rounds behind us, Dominic Martinez is still topping the points list and looks most likely to emerge as Formula D Pro 2’s newest competitor. Right behind him are Rome Charpentier and Shaun Doom, where we thought Alex Grimm would be, and Amir Falahi is catching up fast. All are within striking distance for the overall win, and a total 12 drivers could hypothetically earn those Pro 2 licenses, depending on the outcome of the fourth round.

Alas, only three drivers will make it, and only one will win. Stay with us as we find out who it’ll be, in just a few short weeks.

Want to see more awesome Top Drift cars? We narrowed it down to our top 10!

Perfect weather, swingin’ rock and roll tunes, a delightfully laid back atmosphere and some of the coolest vintage cars in Japan. If this sounds like the recipe for a fine Sunday then you’d be correct, and that’s exactly what we found when we headed to a car gathering in the parking lot of the Seibu Amusement Park in Saitama Prefecture just west of Tokyo.

With a name that basically translates to “Cherish Showa Automobile Meeting," the event was dedicated to both domestic and imported cars built up until the year 1989, when Japan’s Showa era came to an end. While it’s not the biggest classic car event in Japan, it included about 230 cars in the show itself along with plenty of other equally cool cars in the nearby spectator parking lot.

All of the familiar Japanese classics were on hand, with popular models like the Skyline, Sunny and Celica all represented along with plenty of more obscure vintage vehicles from the smaller brands like Subaru and Mitsubishi.

Whether the cars were factory original or modified, this was something that any fan of classic JDM machinery would love—and we had a fantastic time soaking it all in.

Throw in a decent helping of imported machinery from both Europe and the United States, and it’s easy to why this event has become so popular.

We’ve got selection of cars to look at in greater detail, but for the time being take a look through the gallery above for a nostalgic trip through '60s, '70s and '80s automotive history.

We also went on an all-night ride through the streets of Yokohama!

Was it brotherly love or a sibling rivalry? During their main event, Team Nitto's very own trio of top performance drivers, the Gomez Brothers Racing Team, delivered an unforgettable and frenetic fight for victory in the 4400 class. In reverse order of birth dates for these boys, baby brother JP Gomez took the win, while Raul Gomez grabbed second and big bro Marcos Gomez drove into third!

The Prairie City SVRA in Rancho Cordova, California offers a short course of endless views across the ever-changing course that promoter of the Nitto Nor Cal Rock Racing event (NCRR), John Goodby, and his team work hard to bring to life. It included hellish rock piles separating the fearless from the timid, rigid turns causing some unexpected miscalculations, several jumps and woops sections that made for squirrely landings, banked corners causing drivers to over correct and an up-hill gunite rock wall which guaranteed to pop your front end up in the air as you crested the top. Much like last year's Round 3, the forecast called for a hair-singeing 105 degrees, and not a single cloud in the sky.

Fortunately, there was a light breeze to help keep us sane throughout the day. Water trucks were on spin-cycle and shifting gears as soon as the last car cleared, beating down the dust and debris…half of what came from the rolling hills of dry lanky weeds. A warning of rattlesnakes was made pretty clear.

4400 Class

Due to extreme heat conditions, the 4400-class opted out of running a second heat for the day, leaving room to challenge each other for only one five-lap heat, and one 10-lap main. 

Three’s a crowd when there’s only room for one winner. Who better to prove that point than the Gomez Brothers: JP, Raul and Marcos? It was like an honest game of tag amongst the tripled troop. Spectators who made it to the show despite the blistering heat were later rewarded with the most memorable NCRR race ever!

Marcos took the lead in the first heat, blocking his younger brother JP the entire time and not allowing him any chance of passing, as if to say, "Kiss it!" Together, JP and Raul played follow the leader. “We didn’t really want to push him out of the way, he was feeling good about himself so we just let him run. We told him main race we were really going to step it up and get around him and really get the throttle going,” said Raul, who finished third, Marcos in first and JP in second.

In the main, it was Marcos and JP in the front. JP made the pass on Marcos in the first corner and took a 20-second lead for two or three laps. JP thought to himself, “At that point, it was drive as fast as I can but not too fast to roll or pop a tire in the rocks.” 

Guess who was right on his tail?

“Then Raul came out of nowhere from the left, so he and JP started battling it and I thought to myself, Marcos…these two are going to tangle! They’re going to wad it up around any corner now. So I kept waiting…and waiting…and waiting,” Marcos said. The chase between JP and Raul consisted of an ongoing battle that went back and forth several times. 

On lap seven, JP caught up with a lapped driver. The two drivers bashed together in the rocks before one pushed left and the other pushed right, giving JP an exit out and the chance to get back around Raul.

With one lap to go, the crowd was on their feet, just staring. Their heads were pressed forward, not even thinking about blinking! The suspense was thick as it lingered in the air. JP was still out in front with Raul just a few inches off his bumper. As they approach the first rock pile before the finish line, it was JP screaming down it, tires nearly floating above the rocks, but at that same moment, his brother Raul came up, pointing his nose ahead of JP as he spured that blue grasshopper and jumped the rocks! The crowd screamed! But wait. Despite the Goliath effort by Raul, JP pulled ahead through the last rock pile and across the finish line.

“It takes a lot to get the cars out here. To get them ready. Get the trailer here, the mechanics, our friends and family. It’s just an awesome experience and I love it!” said JP. He was not only stoked about the day, but also won the 2018 4400 Nitto Nor Cal Rock Racing series championship!

Stealing the show in their UFO-built buggies, fabricator/owner of UFO Fabrication Joe Thompson was an eyewitness to the win. “It was a great feeling to see all of the Gomez boys finish on the box! The fact that they were in our cars was even better, it makes all of the long and sleepless nights worthwhile,” he said.

4400 Race Results:

• 1st Place: JP Gomez—SERIES CHAMPION
• 2nd Place: Raul Gomez
• 3rd Place: Marcos Gomez

 4500 Class

Traveling all the way from British Columbia, Dustyn Friesen made sure he wasn’t wasting any bit of mileage making the drive for another win in the 4500 class. “Everyone showed up to out-gun me and failed,” Dustyn said. After breezing to a win in his first heat, Dustyn admitted to getting caught off guard during his second heat and falling back to third pretty quickly. “At this point it was game on!” he said. Game face on, he passed fellow competitor Mad Mike Bedwell on the down side rock section with a jumping leap of faith. With only one lap left to go, Dustyn was determined to catch up to and pass Justin Hall. “I was able to catch him and go for the pass at the downhill jump. I hit third gear and passed him in the air. Not sure what I was thinking, but we pulled it off and finished first,” said Dustyn. He bested the pressure Justin and Mike kept on him during the main. Despite the heat, the car ran perfect, and so did Dustyn, which earned him first place. In his main, Dustyn knew better than to fool around. With Mad Mike and Justin keeping the pressure well exposed, Dustyn got the jump he wanted, laid the skinny pedal down, and scored the win. 

4500 Race Results:

• 1st Place: Dustyn Freisen—SERIES CHAMPION
• 2nd Place: Justin Hall
• 3rd Place: Mad Mike Bedwell

4600 Class

The Nor Cal Rock Racing series wasn’t even on the calendar for Bill Schultz and his team this year. Coming from Seattle, Washington, 14 hours away one way, it takes a lot of planning just to make one race. Despite that, they made it happen for round three! Registering literally three days before the race, Bill and his crew chief, Ryon Davis, felt the urge to come out and compete on one of their favorite tracks. During the first heat, which was shared with the 4500 class, Bill found himself three cars wide coming out of a turn and ended up casing his landing on the first jump, sending the car off-track into the grass. “Somehow I manage to save it and keep it from going into the boulder field ditch!” he said. Pushing forward through the next four laps, they continued to go faster and eventually caught up with the second-place car and made the pass.

The 4600 class decided to skip the second heat and save their cars for the main, which Bill started in second position. All too soon, they found themselves in the same situation as before, exiting the hairpin turn three cars wide approaching the jump. “No! Not again!” Bill said, only to stay on the gas this time and take the jump side-by-side with a 4500 car. “That was badass,” Bill laughed. Now in second place, Bill caught up with the leader at the gunite rock wall and followed him into the hard left, where the leader caught a rut and slowly rolled over. “We pulled up next to him and made sure they were okay before we got back on the gas.” Needless to say, the rest was history for Bill and Ryon during their remaining six laps, as they made their way to the finish line.

4600 Race Results:

• 1st Place: Bill Schultz
• 2nd Place: Anthony Thomas—SERIES CHAMPION
• 3rd Place: Nathan Creer  

4800 Class

Over the past few years, the 4800 class has literally tripled in size. Seth Van Dyke entered the racing scene this year with Ultra4’s King Of the Hammers, his first race ever! “Without the friends and family helping me get everything to the track, I wouldn’t have been able to make it to this race. I’m so lucky to have them!”  Placed towards the back in his first heat, Seth was able to skirt his way closer towards the front of the pack before the field stretched out. After running several smooth laps, Seth caught up with fellow competitor Justin Day to make the pass, and pass him he did. “Smooth and steady, I put that one in the bag!” Seth said.

After winning his first heat, Seth shared front row starting position with fierce competitor James Hubbard. James took the lead, with Seth charging hard and on his bumper anxiously waiting for a pass. With both soldiers approaching the corner, Seth drove into it deeper than anticipated, almost losing control and sliding off course, giving Justin enough time to pass him. Making up for lost time through the rhythm section, Seth caught up to Justin. While making his move for an outside pass, the two rigs made contact, causing Seth’s passenger rear tire to jump Justin’s front tire and knock Seth into a roll that caused some damage and nearly ended his day.

Heading into the main with low expectations, Seth had but one plan: Let it all hang and have a fun race! Starting towards the rear again, Seth knew he had to make some risky passes to get the job done. Keeping the car floored, he bicycled it around a banked turn for 50 feet and continued on. Passing more and more cars, a lap and a half later, he drove himself up to second position, now approaching leader Jeremy Jones. He made the pass and eased up on the car just enough to keep a steady distance between himself and Mr. Jones down the home stretch. “I couldn’t believe I was making my last lap for the entire series. That felt good but it was probably the most nerve-racking race!”

4800 Race Results:

• 1st Place: Seth Van Dyke—SERIES CHAMPION
• 2nd Place: Jeremy Jones
• 3rd Place: Wade Coleman

Pre-Runner

Justin Radford started from the back in his first heat. By the third turn he pushed his way to the front. Unfortunately, issues with a battery terminal melting ended his heat soon after that. “We had a battery terminal melt from a loose connection that took us out of heat one and everybody just jumped right on it to get me back out there. I couldn't do it without everyone behind me!” The game plan for the next heat with the day’s temps in mind was to push hard for the first half to get a good lead, and then back it off a tad to keep the temps down. Starting in the back for his next heat, Justin was able to make a few aggressive passes and pull away for the win. It was nothing but clear air during his entire main. Once ahead, Justin focused on driving conservatively, saving the car and keeping the temps down to avoid breaking the truck and not only losing the main, but the championship as well. Congratulations Justin!

Pre-Runner Race Results:

• 1st Place: Justin Radford—SERIES CHAMPION
• 2nd Place: Travis McCalla
• 3rd Place: Matt Taylor

Class 10

Class 10 Race Results:

• 1st Place: Bill Wayne-Minteer
• 2nd Place: Ryan Sargent—SERIES CHAMPION
• 3rd Place: Max Baggett

UTV 170

Speaking of family, 4400 competitor Brendon Thompson was also fighting for the win. Right behind the brothers, Brendon took fourth place for the day and a third place for the series. His son Austin Thompson held his own trophy, winning the 12 and under division of the 170 class. Dad said, “He did awesome! I was more stoked for him as it was a great battle between the two kids (referring to fellow competitor Brayden Judge).” At the age of 12, Austin is quickly learning what it takes to be a competitive and well-prepared racer.

Starting in the back of the pack, Austin advanced to second within the first five laps of his first heat. Starting in the front row for heat two, Austin got sandwiched between his two biggest competitors, Shelby Waterbury and Brayden Judge. “I knew it was going to be a good race,” he said. Battling it out for the first five laps, Austin got out in front to take the lead in the last turn, and made it by a tire! During the main, competitor Brayden Judge pulled in front for the first few laps until Austin made the pass and held him off long enough to take the win.

UTV 170 Race Results:

• 1st Place: Austin Thompson
• 2nd Place: Braden Judge
• 3rd Place: Wyatt Blevins

UTV 1000

Beau Judge needs no introduction. Juggling his time and two different cars from one UTV class to another, he still manages to keep his head above water. “I’m sure from the grandstands my race weekend looked easy. Winning four of the six races was anything but easy,” Beau explained. Starting in sixth position for his first heat, Beau quickly took the lead on his first lap, but not without a few bruises along the way. Even though he was making passes, he damaged his front steering rack, making it very difficult to steer the car. On lap three he hit a rock with the right rear and broke the wheel. After that, he got passed on the straightaway and finished second.

Up against the schedule of the race itself, racing multiple classes and helping his son race, time in the pits was nothing to take lightly. “It was a good thing I had the help from other competitors and crew members from No-Limit to give me a hand.” It was a mad dash to change both the wheel and front steering rack before his next heat. Luckily for Beau, all that hard work paid off. He started in the front row for both his second heat and main. Once he pulled away, the rest was history. 

UTV 1000 Race Results:

• 1st Place: Beau Judge
• 2nd Place: Russ Tweed
• 3rd Place: Ben Booker

UTV 800

Overall it was a pretty smooth race day for Hailey McCalla, despite having some mechanical issues. As Hailey was about to line up for her main, she started to have what seemed to be some issues with her clutch. An immediate call for help over the radio to dad, and he came to the rescue, bringing with him his co-driver Rico and fellow Pre-Runner class driver Justin Radford. Making some minor tweaks here and there, the three gentlemen were able to get Hailey on course for the race. Having to compete in two-wheel drive, Hailey managed to stay safely behind the UTV 1000 class and finish her race. “My favorite part was the track. It was a more of a technical track and it really kept me on my toes. I really liked that it was a drivers track and not all just a high speed track. The whole track was a blast,” she said.

UTV 800 Race Results:

• 1st Place: Hailey McCalla 

UTV Turbo

It's double the laps for Beau Judge as he makes it look easy, transitioning from one UTV class to another! Don’t blink because you’ll miss him making his way to the front from eigth position, by lap two. Halfway through lap two, the radiator got clogged with mud, causing his car to go into limp mode. He ended up finishing sixth in his first heat. From the sixth position in heat two, Beau repeated his game and took the lead on lap one. From that point on, it was smooth sailing reaching the checkered flag before the rest of the class. Bumped up to the outside third row for the main, Beau laid it down to take the lead…and a long lead at that. This ended up being necessary because his car started to lose power, and the further he went the more power he lost! “I had to limp it along to the finish line!” he said.

So how did he manage to save the win? That lead he got in the beginning was so large that he had a big enough of a gap between himself and second place to stutter across the finish line. Beau then shared some astonishing news, “After driving through the checkered flag, a hundred yards beyond, the car died and never started up again.”  Holding the series points for both the UTV 1000 and UTV Turbo, the NCRR fans are curious to see what Mr. Judge does next as the NCRR SXS Series continues. “All in all, it was a good weekend to sweep both classes as I look forward to the next race and going for both championships!”

UTV Turbo Race Results:

• 1st Place: Beau Judge
• 2nd Place: Jeff Barbarick
• 3rd Place: Breckin Miramon

The family that races together, wins together…on course and off course.

The 2018 NCRR SXS championship series continues with two more rounds! Next round heads out to the Wild West Motorsports Park in Reno, Nevada on July 14, 2018.

Want to see how JP Gomez got to this point? You can read our coverage of Round 1 and Round 2!

We are proud to release Driving Line's first photo annual. This issue covers everything in the automotive world, from the punishing off-road racing of King of the Hammers to the late-night parties of #GRIDLIFE. What makes automotive enthusiast culture special is how people from such disparate backgrounds are united by a love of speed and style. In this issue, you can find a bit of your niche, and discover something new to love about another one. We hope you enjoy this photo annual as much as we do!

If you're at Auto Enthusiast Day, head over to the Driving Line booth to pick up your free copy and see some awesome cars. If not, don't worry. You can see all the amazing photos in the digital edition. 

If you aren't already, subscribe to our magazine for free to read this and all past issues of Driving Line!

Amazingly, it's been nearly 10 years since Dodge first introduced the retro-styled Challenger, and heading into the 2019 model year, the car doesn't look terribly different than it did back then. Dodge, however, has been continually upgrading the Challenger and adding power along the way. There was the 707hp Hellcat that hit the market back in 2015. Then there was the dragstrip-honed Demon that was introduced last year in limited numbers—and Dodge is continuing the fun in 2019.

The biggest news is the addition of a new model called the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. Inspired by the radical Challenger Demon, the Redeye takes much of what makes that car special and puts it into a more accessible package. It features the wider fenders of the Demon and Hellcat Widebody along with a new dual-scooped hood. And under that hood? A 797hp supercharged Hemi good for 10.8 seconds in the quarter mile.

The rest of the Challenger lineup gets upgrades for 2019 as well, including the bang-for-the-buck Scat Pack model with its 6.4L naturally aspirated Hemi. 2019 Scat Packs receive a Hellcat-style vented hood and front fascia, along with an optional widebody package complete with wider tires, larger brakes and a new suspension tune.

We've yet to hear any solid info on the car that may eventually replace the Challenger in Dodge's lineup, but it seems that 10 years on, the Challenger still has plenty of tricks left up its sleeve.

The 2019 Challengers will begin production this summer and be available in dealerships in the fall. Here's a tip of the hat to the folks at Dodge for keeping the muscle car thrills coming.

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Earlier we looked at the "Cherish Showa Car Meeting" held last month at the Seibu Theme Park in Saitama, Japan. While the show was naturally heavy on vintage Japanese cars, there were plenty of cool European and American cars as well, and we've put together a selection of five favorites that include everything from a micro-sized Mazda to a wide body Benz and a very tough Mercury Cougar.

1. Old School S13 Silvia

While some might not consider the S13 Silvia to be a "vintage" car, the truth is both age and a dwindling supply of clean examples have quickly made the S13 a genuine classic. While this particular example isn't showroom original, it's been modified in very tasteful, period-correct style.

Under the hood sits, not surprisingly, a mildly upgraded SR20DET setup. With ample power and a huge aftermarket, the good old SR has remained a favorite among builders decades after its introduction.

Like the rest of the car, there are some simple upgrades in the cabin as well. Namely a pair of aftermarket bucket seats and a Nardi Classic steering wheel to compliment the factory brown interior.

Last but definitley not least are the 15-inch Enkei Barrel wheels which give the car a very cool early retro look and perfectly compliment the factory white over gold two-tone color scheme.

2. Koenig Special Mercedes W126

The mid to late 1980s were a crazy time in Japan, as a booming economy led the country into its so-called "Bubble Era." At the time it was commonplace to see crazy high end luxury cars on the streets of Tokyo, and this Koenig Special W126 Mercedes is a true icon of the period.

If you were to take something like a Ferrari Testarossa or Lamborghini Countach and mix it with a long wheelbase luxury sedan, a wide body Koenig Special W126 would be the result. Today it's one of the German tuning brand's most recognizable vehicles.

While the exterior styling might suggest an exotic supercar, the interior is all about luxury, with this particular example sporting Louis Vuitton upholstery and a heavy helping of woodgrain.

Our favorite part of the car though has to be the wheel and tire combo: wide BBS mesh wheels with big fat period-correct tires. No modern low profile stuff here. You just gotta love it.

3. Mazda Carol Baby Racer

From the excess of the ‘80s, we travel back to the 1960s and this wonderful little Mazda Carol 360 kei car.

Before Mazda became known for its rotary engines, the brand got its start building small passenger cars like the Carol that featured a rear-mounted 360cc four cylinder engine.

This one’s been dropped down low with its four-wheel independent suspension, allowing for some pretty aggressive negative camber.

Speaking of that, how about those awesome 10-inch wheels that’d look like they could just as easily be fitted on a golf cart. Small, quirky and damned cool. What's not to like about this one?

4. Trans Am-Inspired Mercury Cougar

Japan has plenty of American muscle car fans, and their cars are commonly just as good as anything found in the U.S. Check out this first generation Mercury Cougar for example.

Inspired by the cars that competed in the SCCA Trans Am series during the late 1960s, this car is a fully functional track machine that has seen action at circuits all around Japan.

It’s got a healthy small block Ford under the hood mated to a four-speed stick, of course, and the whole car sports a period-correct vibe.

It was especially cool to see the authentic five-spoke mags and era-specific hand-lettered graphics and numbers that completed the look. All in all it’s a fine piece of American auto history living the good life in Japan.

5. Track Spec B110 Sunny

Last but not least we have this sweet little B110 chassis Nissan Sunny coupe that’s been built with the track in mind. That fact is quite apparent from its TS (Touring Sedan) spec fender flares and spoilers.

Sitting beneath said fenders are a set of Volk Racing TE37Vs that add just the right amount of contemporary attitude to the vintage Nissan.

You won’t find a modern engine swap under the hood of this one. Like most of the modified Sunnys in Japan, this one's rocking a souped up A-series motor with double side drafts and a highly desirable Tomei valve cover.

All of that is rounded out by a functional interior, highlighted by a roll car, custom race-spec dash and a pair of vintage style racing buckets that are perfectly suited to the ‘70s race style.

Well, there you have it. Five very different but very cool cars that further show just how impressive Japan’s vintage car scene is.

Want to see more of the show? We have a full gallery of all the best cars there!

Organized diesel drag racing may have less than 20 years of history under its belt, but in that time many talented racers and vehicles have contributed to its already storied past. The five trucks we’ve profiled below might not have pioneered diesel drag racing, but they certainly came to symbolize where things were heading. During their tenures in the sport, the gutted 4x4 vs. back-halved two-wheel drive battle heated up, single, compound and triple-turbo arrangements were all being successfully campaigned and common-rail injection began to infiltrate the top ranks of the sport, going head-to-head against the mechanical 12-valve Cummins.

By taking things to the next level, the following vehicles not only impressed at the track, but they had a profound impact on the diesel industry as a whole. If there was a hall of fame for diesel drag racing, these trucks and their drivers would be in it.

Chris Calkins & Scott Starling: Orange Crush

Long before the Allison transmission was thought of as race-friendly and in the infancy of EFI Live tuning, the Orange Crush Chevy was tearing up the ‘strip. Co-owned by Chris Calkins and Scott Starling, the all-steel 1970 C10 was back-halved, equipped with a 9-inch fitted with a Strange Engineering spool and 40-spline axle shafts and weighed in at a fairly trim 4,200 pounds. With Calkins at the helm, the truck’s breakneck launches yielded 1.4-second 60-foots and push it into the high 9s. The Orange Crush’s fastest quarter-mile pass to date came in the fall of 2007: a 9.87 at 139 mph.

Untouched LB7

Surprisingly, a stock long-block LB7 Duramax (graced with ARP head studs and Cometic gaskets) served as the foundation for the truck’s near-800rwhp when it made its 9.87-second pass. Fueling was provided by a set of injectors from Industrial Injection and a pair of Industrial CP3s in conjunction with a PPE Dual Fueler system, a single turbo (also from Industrial) and a water-to-air intercooler took care of airflow and tuning was handled via EFI Live, with a helping hand from Steve Cole at TTS Power Systems. Although shifting issues with the Allison sometimes hampered the team’s drag racing efforts, the vibrant orange C10 still managed the title of being the quickest Duramax-powered truck in the country for a period of time.

Gene Feldhans: Stroked Lightning

Also referred to as “the Little Red Truck” by its owner, Gene Feldhans, Stroked Lightning not only pushed the envelope for 6.0L Ford owners, but it also sparked a short-bed craze among enthusiasts, with Feldhans himself performing several conversions for friends throughout the diesel industry. Originally purchased as an ’04 F-250 long-bed by Brian Cunningham to be used to promote the Southern California Power Strokes club (SOCAPS), the frame was cut, the driveshaft and brake lines were shortened and a 6.5-foot bed was bolted in place. To help the two-wheel drive Super Duty bite at the track, Feldhans also added a four-link rear suspension. With what many would consider to be fairly minor engine modifications by today’s standards, the 5,500-pound regular cab ran a best quarter-mile of 11.51 at 119 mph all the way back in 2005.

Nitrous-Fed 6.0L

Back when most folks were worried about their stock 6.0L Power Stroke blowing a head gasket, Feldhans was knee-deep in modifying his. The heads were ported and O-ringed and head studs were added. The factory VGT was scrapped in favor of a Turbonetics T-72 and a two-stage ZEX nitrous system, good for an additional 200hp, was also added to the mix. Although Stroked Lightning is semi-retired and living in a quiet town in Iowa now, Feldhans still takes the trend-setting little red truck to local car shows on occasion.

Buck Spruill: 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD

Once a truck many thought would be the first Pro Street rig in the 8s, Buck Spruill’s ’03 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD is all but legendary in diesel drag racing’s history book. Although it was purchased for use on the family farm in 2002, the truck eventually found its way to the track, then into the 11s, followed by 10s… For the better part of a decade, it epitomized what a Duramax was capable of. An east coast-based truck, Spruill’s Silverado spent the majority of its heyday running low 6s in the eighth-mile. However, not long after debuting a triple-turbo arrangement in 2012, the truck ran a best-ever 9.24 at 151 mph through the quarter in the fall of 2013. Whiplash-inducing, 1.3-second 60-foot times were par for the course in getting the 5,900-pound, four-wheel drive Silverado off the line.

GM Engine, Dodge Transmission

While Spruill was hell bent on giving the Cummins-powered Dodge crowd a run for their money, he decided he’d had enough of the Allison transmission after shelling some 40 different versions (yes, 40). The solution came in the form of Sun Coast Diesel’s full-billet, 47RE-based Duraflite, which he controlled via a Powertrain Control Solutions’ stand-alone transmission controller. A built LB7, comprised of a partially filled block, ARP main studs, TTS rods, low-compression pistons, a custom-ground cam, ported and polished heads and ARP 625 head studs was relied upon to handle triple-digit boost, while the Duraflite had no problem planting 1,400hp to the pavement.

Phil Taylor: 1996 Dodge Ram 2500

It would be hard to argue that Phil “The Thrill” Taylor isn’t the most consistent drag racer the Pro Street category has seen. Though his ’96 Dodge may not have been the fastest ride in the field, his uncanny ability to nab the better reaction time, along with the truck’s repeatability and reliability, almost always had him competing in the final round of the class. After taking second place at the 2009 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, Taylor went on to win the Extravaganza the next three years in a row—along with various other victories at different events. Taylor and his second-gen Cummins’ quickest trip through the quarter-mile took 9.47 seconds and was achieved with a trap speed of 141 mph.

12-Valve Power

At the peak of Taylor’s run in Pro Street, his ¾-ton Ram was powered by a 5.9L 12-valve sporting a ’94 block, Carrillo rods, custom marine pistons from Pro Street Diesel, a ported and polished head with a Keating Machine intake and a Pro Street Diesel cam. A nasty, 13mm P7100 injection pump provided torrents of fuel to a set of International-based injectors while a compound turbo configuration, consisting of an Engineered Diesel S475 over a massive 106mm atmosphere unit, produced 150 psi of boost for the engine to ingest. A Diesel Performance Converters-built 48RE transmission with a 3,000 rpm stall, four-disc converter was tasked with getting as much of the engine’s 1,600 flywheel hp to the track as possible.

Darren Morrison: Pro Mod S10

After piloting a ‘97 Dodge Ram 2500 named the “Black Mamba” to a Pro Street title, Darren Morrison built this S10 for the growing Pro Mod class in an effort to go ever faster. With a goal of seeing a 4-second eighth-mile and a mid-7 quarter, Morrison eventually piloted the truck to a 4.96 at 141 mph in the ‘660 and 7.79 at 166 mph in the quarter. Using a Todd Bevis-built tube chassis as its foundation, the S10 benefitted from a four-link suspension out back and a strut suspension up front. Bearing the brunt of the high-rpm Cummins’ abuse was a 47RH—built by Morrison with Sun Coast parts—and a Mark Williams rear end.

Cummins Engine, Sigma Pump, Big Compounds

Sticking with an engine he knows inside and out, Morrison opted for a P-pumped, 5.9L-based Cummins and assembled the engine himself. A big set of compound turbos, spec’d by Keating Machine, fed more than 100 psi into the worked-over 12-valve head, while a 13mm P7100 (later replaced with a Sigma pump) supplied more than enough fuel to overpower most tracks. Once Morrison was able to get the S10 to hook, it was known to pull the driver-side wheel off the ground in the midst of its lightning-quick, 1.1-second 60-foots. For years, Morrison’s S10 dominated the Pro Mod class (also referred to as Pro Stock), and his 7.79-second pass still stands as one of the quickest ever made in this category.

Want to know how today's diesel drag racers are doing? We have full coverage of the TS Performance Shootout!

If you take your 4x4 to an off-road shop for service and build advice, you’re trusting that the guy (or gal) standing across from you is an expert on the topic at hand. This is something that Michael Nadel understands and takes seriously. As the owner of Globex Performance in Toms River, New Jersey, Nadel is not only a shop owner, but an experienced ‘wheeler. Having participated in multiple JK Experience trips and built countless customers' Jeeps, the modern Wrangler platform is something he knows very well.

As many enthusiasts Jeep builds often do, his personal 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has gone through a few phases. In fact, this JK has already spanned the spectrum from basic bolt-on to full-buggy build. While it’s rare for any build to revert back to a tamer machine once it hits buggy status, Nadel missed the thing that made the JK Unlimited platform so desirable in the first place—its on- and off-road versatility. So, he decided to double back and tore the Jeep apart for a three-month do-over.

Finally happy with the new more-street-friendly setup, Nadel took to Moab to shakedown the JK. We were lucky enough to catch up with him on the trail, and see the fresh LS-swapped build in action. While you can see it going to work in the video above, we’re breaking into the hard bits in the feature below.

Modern Power

When you hear crate engine and JK, a Hemi is usually the first thing to come to mind. While LS swaps are not uncommon in the off-road world, they are still pretty unique in the JK platform. This LS3 is pumping out 495hp and 473 lb-ft of torque. Helping to achieve those power levels are headers and a camshaft from GM, which work with a harness and ECU from Speartech. To keep the fuel-injected V8 running cool, a Griffin aluminum radiator was added in the mix.

Backing the V8 is a GM 6L90e transmission. It takes its marching orders from a Winters shifter that was modified by RADesigns. This seemingly simple, but important, shifter modification gives Nadel the ability to tap-shift the transmission.

A gear-driven Atlas II transfer case sends power to the 1-ton axles thanks to 1350 series CV drivelines from Adam’s Driveshafts. Nadel opted for the 4.3:1 low range for increased gear reduction. To add additional T-case bracing, he picked up a support kit from TMR Customs.

Out back, you’ll find more parts from the General, this time in the form of a 14-bolt axle. To gain some much-needed ground clearance from the 1-ton diff, a Ballistic shave kit was used. Inside of the full-float rearend you’ll find 30-spline chromoly axleshafts from Revolution Gear & Axle, along with an ARB Air Locker and 5.38 gears. The custom axle-truss is used to secure the triangulated aluminum upper control arms.

Frame Chop

Since the custom rear suspension required Nadel to remove his OE fuel tank, he crafted a new crossmember that supports a 15-gallon Motobilt fuel cell. For simplicity and ease of replacement, the tank uses the stock JK fuel pump.

As you may have noticed in the previous photo, the rear portion of the JK’s chassis has been modified extensively. A portion of this was done to accommodate the 14-inch travel, 2.5 Internal Bypass series King coilovers. This setup provides the Jeep with 5 inches of upward and 9 inches of downward travel.

The front of the Jeep also got its share of chassis work as the front of the frame was trimmed back to increase the approach angle. To accommodate the Warn 9.5ti winch, the grille was chopped a good bit. Despite the tight fit, there was still room for a B&M transmission cooler and factory A/C condenser. Creating a practical lighting upgrade are the LED lights from JW Speaker, while the green Flatlink shackle comes from Factor55. 

Taking the place of the original Dana 30 is Dynatrac ProRock 60 front axle. It’s been outfitted with RCV Performance axleshafts, an ARB Air Locker, DynaLoc hubs and 5.38 gears. To increase the steering performance, he installed one of PSC Motorsports' Big Bore XD steering gears with ram assist.

Like the rear, the front suspension uses aluminum links fit with Rock Krawler joints. The front setup is a three link with track bar, which nets 14 inches of travel thanks to King 2.5 Internal Bypass shocks.

Dream Dash

While the LS swap is nicely executed, the hand-built dash is our favorite part of this build. It integrates nicely with the ‘cage built by New Development Fabrication. To get cold air to blow from the vents, he had an HVAC system from Restomod Air installed.

Nadel has a few communication options thanks to a Cobra CB and Yaesu VHF/UHF radio. Keeping everything juiced is an Odyssey dry-cell battery, which has been relocated to the passenger-side kick panel.

Resting behind the Grant steering wheel is a Racepak IQ3 Street Dash. This works with a Racepak SmartWire system. Since the engine and transmission are controlled by a stand-alone system, it networks to the body control module via a CAN network. This allows the SmartWire to read engine data and control vitals such as the cooling fans and fuel pump based on the engine’s needs.

MasterCraft Safety suspension seats were used up front, while a PRP suspension bench seat keeps the rear occupants riding in comfort. To reduce interior heat and noise, the carpet was replaced by a Lizard Skin thermal and sound coating layer.  

Locked to Grapple

Nadel knew he wanted a 40-inch-tall tire to help the now 118-inch wheelbase work well on the trail. With his extreme trail needs and refined road manner wants, he landed on a best-of-both-worlds tire with the 40x13.50 Nitto Trail Grappler. These heavy-duty mud-terrain radials were paired with a set of 17x9 KMC Machete beadlocks, which allow him to get the most out of the treads at single digit air pressures off-road.

Gone are the full doors and in their place are a much lighter aluminum set from JCR. Giving the OE sheetmetal a bit of protection are rocker guards and rear corners from MetalCloak.

With only a few feet of stock wiring left on the Jeep, it’s safe to say that there’s not a single inch of the JK that hasn’t been modified in some way. While Nadel is still fine-tuning the latest rendition, he’s been extremely pleased with how well it works right out of the gate.

Want to see more detail shots of the build? Be sure to check out the gallery below. 

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2018's Auto Enthusiast Day was bigger than ever, with over 26,000 fans coming out to enjoy the cars, motorsports demos and fun! So Cal graced us with pleasant weather at Angel Stadium, as a breeze kept the heat down and smell of burning rubber wafting across the tarmac. 

Speaking of those cars, they spanned every kind of niche, from import to classics to off-road. While a classic Porsche may have won Best in Show, there were many other amazing rides and we'll be bringing you our favorites soon.

However, the best part of every Nitto's Auto Enthusiast Day is seeing all of you! It seemed like there were more of you who came to our booth this year than any other year, and it was so fun to meet and talk to each of you as we handed out some sweet Driver Battle exclusive t-shirts!

Oh hey! Our next print issue came out too. Check it out here if you didn't get your hands on it.

The 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours was going to remembered by everyone for the amazing contest shaping up in the GTE Pro class. Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche, the crème de la crème of current day GT  racing. In total 17 cars, four each from Ford and Porsche, three from Ferrari and a pair each from the other three. 51 drivers of the highest caliber, all going for it in an automotive World Series. Well did it pan out like that? In a word (or three)... No, not quite.

We live in a time of paradox, for some of us there are previously unimaginable personal freedoms, and yet we also are bound tightly by regulations and diktats that would have seemed strange to our ancestors. So with life, sport and motorsport follows. Throw in the laws of unintended consequence and you can end up far from the originally desired destination.

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) try to reconcile the various performance capabilities of the GTE Pro class through a complicated mechanism known as Balance of Performance (BoP). The teams have tried all manner of games to obtain an advantage over their rivals using means to circumvent the BoP as allocated. Pit strategy, deciding on how much fuel, whether to change the drivers or the tires has been traditionally an important weapon in the hands of the teams, less time in the pits means less time to make up on faster rivals on track.

The ACO and WEC decided, for good or ill, that the racing would be better understood by the spectators if track action alone was the deciding factor. One by one they have cut out the levers that a good race engineer or pit crew could apply to assist the drivers. Re-fuelling and other pit work is now carried out simultaneously rather than the fuel being put in separately for safety reasons. Of course the re-fuelling takes far longer than driver and tire changes, so any fumbles or advantages gained by choosing to change or not are neutralised. The final straw for many of us was dictating maximum stint lengths for each class, save for LM P2—another avenue closed.

Having worked closely alongside one team for many seasons, I can attest to just how much it lifts the team's spirit to gain time in the pits by virtue of either clever strategy or superior pitwork. Endurance racing has always been about the team ethic rather than focusing on just an individual, as in single-seater competition.

Before the race, it was predicted by sage observers that if any one of the leading pack got away from the others by virtue of a Safety Car Intervention, it would be almost impossible to claw back the deficit. So, this prophesy came to pass.

The #92 Porsche made its first stop a lap earlier than the rest of the GTE Pro gang. A few hours later, the Safety Car was deployed due to debris on the track. The pink 911 had just made its stop, its rivals had to pit one lap later and were then held at Pit Exit till one of the Safety Car trains came past. In excess of two minutes gained or lost, game over. #92 was over the hills and far away and if no mistakes were made then the advantage would carry through to victory. #91 was just as quick but the Safety Car Intervention tilted the balance.

To be fair, the Porsches had an edge on everyone, even the Fords—and while small gaps could be caught up through the vagaries of traffic, this interval was too great. So some 19 hours later, Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen stood on the top step of the podium, and no one really complained, it was probably the right result even if the circumstances of how they got there were questionable. The winning trio were acutely aware that matters might easily have gone against them.

The battle for the remaining places on the podium actually ran to the plan devised by the ACO/WEC. The #91 Porsche had about half a minute's advantage over the two leading Fords—but on Sunday morning a drain cover became damaged at Terte Rouge, bringing out the Safety Car while repairs were made. Suddenly there was a fight on.

We were all entertained by a mighty scrap between Sébastien Bourdais in the #68 Ford and Fred Makowiecki's 911. It all got quite muscular on track with both Frenchmen pushing things to the limit and both over-stepping the mark in the view of this observer. However the folks who count, the Race Stewards, investigated and took no further action.

Unaccountably for such a professional outfit as Ford, Tony Kanaan in #67 car failed to make the minimum drive time of six hours, missing out by 44 minutes. As a result, that Ford was given an 11 lap penalty, pitching them down to 12th.

The #63 Corvette was thereby promoted to fourth place—some reward for the efforts of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller. They had a trouble-free race but lacked the ultimate pace of the Porsches and Fords. A rare engine failure accounted for the other Corvette—it was that kind of race for the Americans, but they will be back.

Ferrari's trio of 488 GTEs never really featured and the best of them, #52, slotted in fifth place at the finish. The other two AF Corse cars finished but were held by a rash of punctures, penalties and pit stops—it was not Ferrari's finest hour at La Sarthe. Like Corvette they will be back at the sharp end soon.

BMW's return to Le Mans was something of a mixed bag. Both cars were competitive during the first part of the race, in the mix for potential podium finishes. #81 ran well with the Porsches and Ford untill first a damper, then a radiator had be replaced—and no one can spend that amount of time in the pit box in GTE Pro and expect a good finish. At least they did finish. Alexander Sims in #82 car had an uncharacteristic accident at the Porsche Curves on Sunday morning, retirement was the result.

Aston Martin did not look like repeating their triumph of a year ago. The new Vantage was slow in a straight line, fatal at the Circuit de la Sarthe where full throttle is the order of the day for most of the lap. At least both cars got the finish.

So Porsche took a handsome victory in their anniversary year and deserved their win. The GTE Pro class is in rude health and provides the best battle in the Le Mans 24 Hours, artificial rules or not. Roll on 2019!

Get the story on the LM P1 class at 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours here.

Continuing on with Part 2 of our “factory fixes” series, we’re spotlighting five more weak links bred into late-model Ford, GM and Ram trucks. Once again we’ll be offering a permanent solution for each shortcoming. From plugged oil coolers on ’03-’10 Fords to bent tie rods on IFS-equipped GMs and the dreaded Dodge death wobble, to the need for better fuel supply and filtration on each of the Big Three’s engines, we’ve got you covered. We’ll even end things with an extreme example of how the aftermarket has gone about solving the issue of exploding crankcases in the upper echelon of diesel motorsports. Hang on, this one’s chock full of information you need to know to keep your truck in one piece.

1. Tie Rod Sleeves (’01-’18 GM HDs)

The Problem:

Since it's so easy to add horsepower to a Duramax-powered Chevy or GMC heavy-duty, most owners can’t resist the urge to tap into the hidden performance potential of the 6.6L diesel. Unfortunately, drag racing, sled pulling and off-roading in four-wheel drive can spell disaster for the factory tie rods, with larger wheels, aggressive tires and cranked up torsion bars only amplifying the problem. Under heavy stress, the tie rods are notorious for flexing, bending and can even break if the front wheels toe in enough. Although the weak factory tie rod problem surfaces much more quickly in modified trucks, leaving your GM at the stock power level won’t make it immune to the problem.

The Solution:

Aftermarket tie rod sleeves reinforce the factory tie rods by threading onto the inner tie rods, effectively doubling their outer diameter. As a result, the sleeves make the tie rods as much as 500-percent stronger. Companies that cater to Duramax performance such as Merchant Automotive, Pacific Performance Engineering, Dirty Hooker Diesel and Fleece Performance Engineering all offer sleeves in either 304 stainless steel or steel with a durable powder coat finish. Perhaps the best part is that they’re easy to install and cost less than $100. If you plan to add power to your ’01-’18 Duramax, do yourself a favor and add this cheap insurance item for ultimate peace of mind.

2. Steering Box Stabilizer (’94-’07 Dodge Rams)

The Problem:

Although it can rear its ugly head in any solid front axle application, death wobble has long been a problem on Dodge Rams. Death wobble is an uncontrollable shaking of the front wheels that typically occurs at speeds between 40 and 70 mph after hitting a bump. It’s dangerous to say the least and makes for a white-knuckle ride anytime it happens. While bad ball joints, shot tie rod ends and other worn steering and suspension components can contribute to death wobble, the problem usually originates at the steering box. In stock form, a considerable amount of flexing and deflection occurs at the steering box’s mounting location on the frame.

The Solution:

For trucks that have upper and lower ball joints, tie rod ends and all other steering and suspension-related components in tip-top shape but that are still experiencing death wobble, a steering box stabilizer is the permanent fix. A steering box stabilizer that mounts between the front frame rails not only strengthens the area where the steering box mounts, but also supports the sector shaft in the steering box, preventing it from side-loading. A steering box stabilizer will also allow the steering box itself to live much longer. BD Diesel, Source Automotive and Custom Diesel Inc. are a few companies that sell death wobble-curing steering box stabilizers.

3. Coolant Filtration Kit (’03-’10 Fords)

The Problem:

The stacked-plate heat exchanger that’s part of the internal oil cooler located in the lifter valley of 6.0L and 6.4L Power Stroke engines is equipped with ultra-tight passageways for coolant to pass through. When these passageways become clogged with casting sand, sediment, suspended solids or other debris present in the engine coolant, the coolant that’s required to keep engine oil temperature in check is no longer able to travel through the heat exchanger. As a result, the engine oil becomes super-heated. In addition to excessive engine oil temps being harder on the engine, it often contributes to failure of the EGR cooler. Once plugged (sometimes within as little as 50,000 miles), the oil cooler has to be overhauled or replaced.

The Solution:

While remote mount, external oil cooler systems are available in the aftermarket and ultimately solve the problem, keeping the cooling system free of debris is the most affordable way to prolong the life of the factory oil cooler. Available for less than $170, coolant filtration systems are a must-have item for all 6.0L and 6.4L Power Stroke owners. These bypass-style systems filter a small amount of coolant at a time, feature a spin-on, low-micron filter and most can be optioned with ball valves for simplified filter changes. Removing the larger chunks of debris from the coolant circuit keeps the oil cooler from plugging up—and you from experiencing one of the 6.0L and/or 6.4L’s most common failures.

4. Electric Fuel Supply Systems (All Makes)

The Problem:

Some engines were void of a lift pump from the factory (’01-’16 Duramax), some came with inferior lift pumps (’98.5-’02 Cummins) and others suffer from poor filtration (’03-’12 Cummins). In other cases (’99-’16 Power Stroke, ’13-’16 Cummins), a durable lift pump coupled with adequate filtration can still have supply problems once bigger injectors or a second injection pump is brought into the equation. In either instance, contaminated fuel or a lack of adequate fuel pressure making it to the injection pump (and ultimately the injectors) can shorten the life of expensive injection system components.

The Solution:

Be it for added filtration, improved air removal or increased supply pressure for higher horsepower applications, aftermarket electric fuel supply systems have become big business in the diesel segment. Companies such as FASS, AirDog, Fuelab and Aeromotive all offer complete, bolt-in systems that outflow factory lift pumps and either match or exceed OEM filtration. The primary purpose of these systems is to ensure a steady supply of clean fuel is being delivered to your engine’s injection system at all times. Although an aftermarket fuel supply system can add as much as 30hp to your parts combination, its primary purpose is to keep the injection system healthy.

5. Billet Blocks

The Problem:

Any time you’re asking a factory-based crankcase to handle three, four, sometimes even five times the power it left the manufacturer with, things might not end well. You can upgrade connecting rods, add a girdle or bed plate, run large diameter main studs and even fill the block’s water jackets full of concrete, but at a certain point the original cast-iron block will succumb to the immense stresses that come with running extreme cylinder pressure. Even after the big name/big power engine builders began to add steel deck plates to the tops of 6.7L-based Cummins blocks (a popular combination in Pro Stock and Super Stock pulling classes), reliability was becoming an issue. At 2,500-plus horsepower, the factory block material had nothing left to give and competitors were running the risk of literally ripping the block in half.

The Solution:

In order to curb the pending carnage of running a factory-based block, a few engine builders began making custom crankcases from a billet blank of steel. While time-consuming to machine and extremely heavy when finished, these first billet-steel blocks were a great alternative to the OEM 5.9L blocks that were beginning to split in half at the power level required to compete at the top of diesel truck pulling. A few years later (2013), the first billet-aluminum block from Scheid Diesel infiltrated the Super Stock pulling class and it’s been the foundation of choice for many competitors and a few select drag racers ever since. The all-aluminum block is stronger and (just as important) more than 100 pounds lighter than a cast-iron OEM block.

Looking for a different fix? We have five other aftermarket fixes for factory diesel problems!

Those of us who are fans of the Supra, and have been waiting on baited breath to see the new version, can hardly wait to see it out on the track. We’re all hungry to see what it looks like and what it can do. Well, the wait is over! Kind of. Toyota recently announced that the Supra will be racing next year in…the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Designed by Toyota Racing Development in Costa Mesa, California and Calty Design Research, Inc. in Newport Beach, California, the NASCAR Supra fits the specifications set out by the sport, while offering a few hints into what the production version it’s supposed to mirror will look like.

While it may not be the production car we've been waiting for, it’s still a Supra, and it will still have some serious race car drivers behind the wheel of it. We can’t wait to see it in victory lane next year. It will experience its first taste of competition on Saturday, February 16, 2019, at the NXS race at Daytona to kick off the season.

This news is enough to tide us over until the Goodwood Festival of Speed next week, where word is Toyota will be unveiling the production version in all its glory.

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We celebrate mother's day, father's day, your uncle's birthday and even a day for your boss. What about a day to celebrate all those who have a deep passion for anything with a motor and four wheels? Auto Enthusiast Day is more than just a car show. It's a yearly gathering of like-minded folks from all walks of life who share a common interest in automobiles. Simply liking cars is one thing. Modifying them into a unique extension of who we are is the mark of a true enthusiast. Now in it's sixth year, Nitto Tire and Driving Line hosted the largest AED yet, with over 26,000 people in attendance! Everything from show cars to race trucks showed up, displaying their beauty and performance. Take a look at the video above to see all the happenings in and around AED 2018. We hope to see you at the next one!

Want to see more from AED 2018? We have a full gallery of all the action from the skidpad and the show!

The modern iteration of the GT-R has been available for over 10 years now. While it still looks good and has had its fair share of power upgrades and special editions, most notably the NISMO Edition, the car has remained pretty similar over that time. Well, Italdesign and Nissan are trying to change things up with their GT-R50 prototype.

Created in honor of the 50th anniversary of both Italdesign and the GT-R, it was developed, engineered and built by Italdesign and designed by both Nissan Design Europe and Nissan Design North America.

Outside, the car has a distinct gold accent running down the center, which becomes more prominent in the rear. The roof has been lowered by 54 millimeters, and the fin on top has a fun, red light to let everyone know where you are.

Out back is probably the most radical part of the prototype: the “floating” taillights. Two light rings per side are mounted to the trunk, with the body showing through where the light would normally be. It certainly looks futuristic. It also goes well with the adjustable wing.

The inside screams performance, with two different carbon fiber finishes covering much of center console, instrument panel and door linings. It also contains a touch of luxury, too, with black leather and gold accents, matching the exterior look.

The power numbers may be even more shocking than the styling upgrades. It’s still NISMO, after all. Under the hood is a 3.8L VR38DETT that puts out around 710hp and 575 lb-ft of torque, about both 100 more horsepower and pound-feet than the current NISMO edition.

While we will probably never experience this out on the road, it’s always nice to see brands continue to push the envelope of both looks and performance, and when it comes to prototypes, you never know. Sometimes, if the response is strong enough, they turn them into production cars. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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When I was kid in the early and mid 1990s, I distinctly remember going to car shows and cruise nights with my dad and staring at rows of cool and colorful cars from the ‘50s and ‘60s. As I looked at those Bel Airs, GTOs and Barracudas, I wondered if “modern” cars would be enjoyed and appreciated the same way someday.

Would there ever be a time when shows would feature the cars of the ‘80s and ‘90s? Maybe far in the future when I was an old man?

As it turns out, the time is now, and the epicenter of the ‘80s and ‘90s car revival is Radwood, a niche event that began just last year in Northern California and quickly spread to Southern California and beyond.

We recently headed to the 2018 edition of Radwood NorCal at Oyster Point Marina just south of San Francisco and found the biggest and best Radwood event yet, with hundreds of ‘80s and ‘90s machines, people dressed in period attire and era-appropriate tunes as the BGM.

Perhaps the greatest thing about a Radwood is that it celebrates all the cars of the era and not just ones that come from a certain country or price range. From humble 1990s domestics to Italian exotics, everyone is welcome in the Rad Family.

Hop in the time machine and head back 20 or 30 years to enjoy our extensive 2018 Radwood NorCal gallery before we return with a more detailed look at some of our favorite vehicles from this year’s event. It was rad. What else can we say?

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While our first wave of influential diesel drag racers is required reading for anyone wanting to become acquainted with diesel’s pavement pounding past, there’s a lot more where that came from. In fact, we would be remiss if we failed to mention the iconic Pro Street trucks campaigned by TS Performance, “Idaho” Rob Coddens, Meacham Evins and Brian Carter, along with diesel motorsports’ lone Funny Car, driven by John Robinson. So, we’re doing it here! The following vehicles represent a time in diesel drag racing’s adolescence when things got downright serious. Super Stock sled pulling engines making north of 1,200hp were being tried, the Duramax was coming into its own against all the Cummins competition and many of the sport’s top-running trucks could (and often were) still be driven on the street.

1. TS Performance: Caged Fury

If you’re looking for a diesel history lesson, the ’01 Dodge Ram 2500 owned by Dennis Perry of TS Performance is a great place to start. Named “Caged Fury,” Perry and his team (which consisted of Kevin Meredith driving and Craig Colburn managing) initially campaigned the truck with a VP44 injection pump (a pump that’s not exactly the favorite in diesel motorsports) and did some pretty amazing things. In 2002, their ¾-ton Ram became the first diesel truck in the 12s. In 2003, it was the first into the 11s and then, in 2004, it ran an incredible 10.96-second quarter-mile to become (you guessed it) the first diesel truck in the 10s.

Mid-9 Quarters, Low-6 Eighths

A few short years later, the engine had been P-pumped, fed a healthy dose of nitrous and managed a 10.02 at 139 mph. Then, a thumping P-pumped 24-valve 5.9L Cummins from Scheid Diesel was placed under the hood and—after compound turbos were added to the equation—the truck eventually put together a 9.48-second pass at 141 mph. In order to quell the inevitable spooling problems that arise when you’re trying to light a big set of compounds on the starting line, Caged Fury made use of a 48RE equipped with a hand-operated hydraulic clutch in its later years. After debuting the transmission in 2009, the result was consistent low-6-second eighth-miles at 5,850 pounds. The truck even clicked off a best of 5.78.

2. Rob Coddens: Maxed Out

While many enthusiasts know Rob Coddens as “Idaho” Rob Coddens, a mastermind of EFI Live tuning, many others associate him with this bar-raising Duramax-powered ’02 GMC Sierra. Fittingly coined “Maxed Out,” the truck was built in 2008 as a joint venture between Coddens and Ken Flory and went on to set records and win titles in the NHRDA, namely in the organization’s Super Street category. By 2011, the 6,000-pound regular cab rocketed to a 9.36-second quarter-mile pass at 149 mph and later trapped as much as 154 mph through the 1320. Translation: 1,400hp+ was being applied to the track.

Built LBZ, Compounds & a Duraflite

With much of the SoCal Diesel catalogue thrown at it, Coddens’ 6.6L Duramax benefited from Crower connecting rods, 15:1 compression forged-aluminum pistons, a Hamilton camshaft and SoCal Stage 2 cylinder heads. For fuel, Wicked Diesel supplied the twin CP3 injection pumps, while F1 Diesel supplied the largest Duramax injectors it could make at the time. Maximized Performance Inc. spec’d and built a compound turbo arrangement around the use of a Garrett GT4202 in the valley and a massive, 115mm atmospheric unit from Turbonetics out front. For the quickest shifts possible, the Allison 1000 was ditched in favor of a 47RE/Duraflite from Sun Coast. Both the engine (ECM) and transmission (via PCS stand alone controller) were fine-tuned by Coddens.

3. Brian Carter: 2003 Dodge Ram 3500

A street-legal dualie that runs 10s? Heck yeah! The world first began to learn of Brian Carter and his ’03 Dodge Ram dualie in 2006 when he competed in the first-ever Diesel Power Challenge. After that, Carter became a regular on the diesel racing circuit, taking his four-door work-and-tow rig from the 12s, to the 11s and eventually into the 10s. In 2008, Carter also took part in Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week, where he scored the quickest quarter-mile ever ran by a diesel up to that time: a coasting, 11.17-second pass. When things got real serious, he pulled the duals in an effort to grace each end of the rear axle with its own massive drag radial.

Combating Curb Weight With Nitrous

As you can imagine, being a dual rear wheel truck meant Carter’s Dodge was no featherweight. To make up for his extreme weight disadvantage, Carter fed an obscene amount of nitrous into his common-rail 5.9L Cummins. As a result of combining 1,200hp with 7,500-pounds worth of truck, he ate his way through a lot of transmissions. However, there was nothing quite like watching his dualie run neck-and-neck with two-wheel drive, back-halved trucks. While we believe Carter’s quickest quarter-mile pass was a 10.52, his fastest eighth-mile pass of 6.42 seconds at a blazing 117 mph indicates his truck was capable of running a 10-flat.

4. Meacham Evins: Franken-Cummins

When Meacham Evins unveiled his Pro Street-prepped ’02 Dodge Ram 2500 at the 2008 TS Performance Outlaw Drag Race—complete with John Deere tractor injectors (fitted with Komotsu 8x25 nozzles), a Sigma injection pump and the biggest Turbonetics turbos anyone had ever seen—it was a true freak of nature. The wild parts combination was put into action by the likes of Van Haisley, Keating Shelly and Evins, and everyone was anxious to see it go down the track. From day one, traction was hard to come by with so much torque on tap. In fact, the truck’s first pass called for Evins to pedal it four times—and it still ran a mid-11. The pass after that, he achieved a much cleaner 10.31 at 128 mph. Evins’ best eighth-mile pass in the truck was a 6.26 at 116 mph.

Mechanical Monstrosity

The Haisley Machine-built 24-valve under the hood of Evins' ’02 Dodge sported factory rods fitted with heavy-duty rod bolts, 11:1 compression pistons, fire-rings in both the head and block and a Haisley camshaft, rockers and pushrods. In addition to machining the head to accept the John Deere injectors, the factory intake was milled off and a ZZ Custom Fabrication side-draft intake was added (and later reinforced to handle the 110 psi of boost it saw). Shifts were made at 4,500 rpm and courtesy of a Chrysler 46/47 fitted with select Sun Coast, DTT and ATS parts (and later a Lenco), while a Dana 80, equipped with an SCS mini-spool, was bolted in place of the truck’s original Dana 70 out back.

5. John Robinson: The Funny Car

This Funny Car wasn’t John Robinson’s first rodeo in diesel motorsports (he had already piloted a rail), but it was the first diesel-powered Funny Car. Starting with a used Top Fuel Funny Car from the John Force stable, Robinson saved himself a lot of chassis work and instead got started on the engine: a P-pumped common-rail 5.9L Cummins. Using a 5.9L common-rail block for its improved oiling abilities, Robinson threw in a set of 12-valve rods and 15.5:1 Mahle pistons, ported the head and fed it air via a ZZ Custom Fabrications intake manifold. Following a lot of custom work and the addition of a 12-valve front cover, a 13mm Industrial Injection P7100 handled fueling, while an 80mm turbo from Industrial Injection forced air through a Hellmann Performance intercooler.

Nothing Funny About It

The 2008 TS Performance Outlaw Drag Race in Bowling Green, Kentucky marked the first public appearance for the Funny Car, and it began to run high 8s at nearly 150 mph at subsequent races. Along the way, Robinson garnered the attention of Power Service fuel additives and secure an enduring sponsorship that still exists today. With Power Service onboard, Robinson’s car was soon packing a compound turbo’d Scheid Diesel 12-valve under the hood. As a result, the Funny Car quickly waved goodbye to the 8s and ran mid-7s on a consistent basis. Then, after a wreck in 2013, the car was rebuilt with a McKinney chassis and ’48 Fiat body, fitted with one of Scheid’s billet-aluminum block engines and went as quick as 6.72 at 212 mph.

Want to see how diesel drag racing got here? We have a list of 5 pioneers in the early days of diesel drag racing.

Auto Enthusiast Day is a celebration of all motor vehicles and our relationship with them. This year's event was the biggest yet, with over 26,000 enthusiasts in attendance. Throughout the show, many of the industry's top companies displayed everything from new builds to classics we continue to love. Cars and trucks of all kinds lined the vendor and car shows, but there are always a few that catch our eyes more than the others. Our Director of Audience Growth, Mike Sabounchi, has been a long-time import enthusiast, and our resident expert on tuner cars. Our Truck Editor, Matt Moghaddam, has worked with off-road vehicles for years, and definitely knows his way around a truck or Jeep. Together, they scouted this year's Auto Enthusiast Day to bring you their top five notable vehicles from the show, in no particular order. 

Mike's Top 5:

1. The Auto Factory Realize R32 Skyline

There are so many things that make this build better than the rest. Not only is it one of the raddest R32 sedans I’ve ever seen, but it’s completely covered in all the best parts. BN Sports kit, White TEs, great stance, Ganador mirror, giant turbo and a clean bay, plus it’s just oozing style. How can you not love this beautiful build? It’s almost like this is the newer version of the A-B0-Moon R32.

2. Jennabelle RWB Porsche

Not only are RWB Porsche still cool, but 993s might just be the coolest of all RWBs. It takes some guts to chop up the one Porsche chassis code that keeps skyrocketing in value. I also love that all it takes is an RWB kit, suspension and wheels to immediately make your car a neck breaker.

3. Off-White x E36 M3

I only picked this build because I can’t stand it. I dig that car culture and street wear culture have always run parallel, but I don’t dig when the two worlds collide. The M3 is already such a great chassis to begin with. A Rocket Bunny/Pandem E36 is even more crazy, and an Off-White tribute Pandem E36 M3 might just be too much. Then again, I drive a RAV4, so maybe I have no clue what I’m talking about.

4. Red FC3s RX-7

I don’t know much about rotary builds, but I love this red FC. It has good wheels, a good kit and looks like it has a boosted rotary from an RX-8 in it. Every part of this thing has been addressed or refreshed, and it might be one of the best-sounding cars from the '90s you can actually buy. 10/10 would totally daily.

5. Track-Prepped Fiat 500

I can’t tell you how much I love the idea of a tiny and light FWD track beast. It’s almost like every Forza/Gran Turismo dream came true. It’s so rare to see a Fiat 500 on the track, and it’s even more rare to see a completely gutted one with tons of upgrades, fender flares and good wheels looking like it's ready to hunt down license plates. I bet this is one of the most fun cars you could ever drive at the track. I really, really hope it has a limited slip differential, because then this car would be perfect.

Matt's Top 5:

1. KMC F-350 Chase Truck

Chase trucks embody all that is in excess. After all, in order to be ready for anything your off-road racing team might need in the middle of nowhere, it's best to be over-prepared. I really love the simple but effective style of the KMC Wheels' Super Duty. This is a true testament to the durability of these trucks, still getting the job done almost 20 years after rolling off the lot. Rolling on 35-inch Nitto Ridge Grapplers, this chase truck will go anywhere the call of duty takes it. 

2. King Shocks Jeep JL

I know you might be tired of seeing all the new JL builds floating around the interwebs, but I have to include this awesome build by King Shocks. Known for their hardcore racing suspension technology, King took the best parts of the 2018 Wrangler Rubicon and ran with them. The high-line fenders allow for 37-inch Nitto Ridge Grapplers to wrap around KMC Wheels and sit tucked under the fenders with a modest lift. The "King Blue" camo wrap draws you in, which leads you to start noticing the finer details on this effective JL.

3. Street-Style F-150

When it comes to building a street truck, I only have two rules: It's gotta be a single cab, and it's gotta have a bright paint job. This F-150 featured on @ie_streettrucks hits both nails on the head. The bright red paint with black stripe give it a retro look, while keeping with the modern styling of the new F-150 body. This truck was rolling on a set of Nitto NT420S tires, with white-letters out. Can't forget the spike lug nuts either. I'd daily it! 

4. Kevin Stearns' 4502 Ultra4 Car

If you follow our Ultra4 coverage on Driving Line, you may have seen some mentions of Kevin Stearns tearing up the 4500 class in his GMC-inspired race car. With a 650hp LS2 mated to a Maximum Offroad Transmissions 4L80E and NP205 transfer case, this 4500 will throw you for a loop. Add a set of size-mandated 37-inch Trail Grapplers, and there are few places this Ultra4 can't go. I just wish it could go to and stay in my garage.

5. P-40 Warhawk Gen 2 Raptor

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm kind of a Ford guy. This Second-gen Raptor caught my attention while walking through the show, not because it has tons of cool parts or huge tires, but mainly because I have a thing for trucks with military-inspired themes. My first build had a similar P-40 Warhawk "Shark Mouth" front end on it, and it was cool to see a clean new Raptor with the same look. This truck was rolling on a set of Nitto Terra Grappler G2s with KMC XD-series wheels. It looks like a comfortable all-around truck for the office or the desert.

Want to see more of the action from AED 2018? We have a full gallery and video recap of everything that went down this year!

If you've seen our coverage of Street Car Takeover from Indianapolis, Denver, Tucson and Dallas, you know that there is no better event to take your street-driven car to race against others on the quarter mile for cold, hard cash. The Street Car Takeover tour took their road show down to Charlotte, North Carolina this last weekend, and hosted the biggest event in SCT history. With over 400 vehicles registered to race, and an estimated 15,000 spectators in attendance, no ordinary drag strip could accommodate an event of this magnitude.

Of course, ZMax Dragway, located adjacent to the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway, is a no ordinary drag strip. Instead of only two lanes, ZMax has four, all with concerted Christmas trees to get four cars staged and off the line in unison. It's a marvel to watch if you've never seen it before, and adds a dynamic that's unlike any other drag racing around.

Charlotte's car culture is a sleeping giant. While you wouldn't typically expect to hear much about it from the performance world, Charlotte is a hub for street car performance, with everything from Demons to Supras to Cummins Rams running side by side at the track. Flip through the gallery above to see some of the highlights from SCT Charlotte, and make it a bucket list item to attend the next event near you!

Want to see how they do it in Dallas? We have full coverage of this year's event!

It’s summertime, and that means it’s time for some road tripping. From distant beaches to far away cities, there are so many places our cars can take us, and getting there can be as fun as what we do when we get there. However, nothing kills a road trip faster than running low on gas and having to fill up in some scorching hot station in the middle of nowhere. 

That's when it's import to find a car that sips gas and is fun to drive. Below, we have listed some of the best fuel-efficient cars you can buy, and the amazing road trips you could take with them. Yes, some of them are what you'd expect (spoiler alert: we have a Prius), but there are quite a few that surprised us with their exceptional range—and no, they’re not all hybrids. Hopefully you can get a few summer (or even winter) vacation ideas out of this as well. We're definitely planning on taking a few of these trips.

1. Bentley Continental GT V8 

600 Miles—Napa, California to Tecate, Mexico

In case you didn’t know, GT stands for Grand Touring. With an estimated 25 mpg and 24 gallon tank, Bentley estimates you’ll be able to go 600 miles. Anyone can go wine tasting in Napa Valley, but only the most economical can go from famous wineries to famous breweries in the same trip. You’ll be able to go from wine tasting in Napa to having Tecates in Tecate, Mexico without having to stop for gas like a peasant, and still have 40 miles to spare. 

2. Honda Accord Hybrid 

601 Miles—Ottawa, Canada to Washington, D.C.

Slightly edging out the Bentley, the 2018 Accord Hybrid will go one mile farther if you squeeze out the reported 47 mpg from its 12.8 gallon tank. If you ever want to visit multiple capitals in one trip, this car can do it. It has enough to go from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s house in Ottawa, Ontario to the White House in Washington, D.C.

3. Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In

630 Miles—Big Bear, California to Salt Lake City, Utah

Summer isn't the only good time for a road trip. There are a bevy of fun places to see and things to do when the snow starts falling. The Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid has an electric range of 29 miles and squeezes out 52 mpg from its 11.4 gallon tank. That’s enough to go from snowboarding in Big Bear, California to skiing in Salt Lake City, Utah on one tank of gas. 

4. Toyota Prius Prime

640 Miles—Detroit, Michigan to Bristol, Conneticut

If you're the kind of person to follow a sports team religiously, you're probably used to long drives to away games. Love it or hate it, the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid is made for long drives. With a range of 640 miles, 25 of those purely electric and 615 from its 11.3 gallon gas tank, it can take you almost the whole way from a Tigers game at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan to ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

5. Toyota Camry Hybrid

676 Miles—Manhattan, New York to Tail of the Dragon, North Carolina

Imagine something exciting. Now imagine the opposite of that. You probably pictured a Toyota Camry. Luckily, Toyota is aware of that and has tried to spice up the current generation of Camry. It still might not be the most fun car you can drive, but you will be able to escape the concrete jungle of Manhattan and make it to the Tail of the Dragon, one of America's greatest driving roads, on one tank. When you get there, you can really run the Camry Hybrid through its paces on the twisties, though we’d still recommend you borrow something more exciting to drive, once you get there.

6. Chevrolet Suburban/Cadillac Escalade ESV/GMC Yukon XL 

713 Miles—Atlanta, Georgia to Miami, Florida

Imagine this: After a day of driving at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta, you and your crew of eight hop into an SUV and take the I-95 South to Miami Beach, Florida. You can make that trip in a Suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade ESV without stopping for gas once! Maybe the money and time you saved on gas could go towards a swanky hotel on Ocean Drive, or at least a few cups of Cuban coffee and a sandwich at La Sandwicherie.

7. Kia Optima Hybrid/Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 

726 miles—San Francisco, California to Las Vegas, Nevada to Zion National Park, Utah

Sometimes it can be too hard to choose between the city and nature. When that happens, you need a car that can take you to both. The Optima and Sonata share the same drivetrain both have a cruising range of 726 miles. Whether you choose the Optima or Sonata, it can take you from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco to the Las Vegas nightlife and continue on to escape into nature at Zion National Park, all in one full tank!

Looking for an SUV? We have a guide to the best SUVs for 2018!