Humorous Automobile fan-favorite Jeff “the Surfer” Diehl will probably be again to using the large waves of Humorous Automobile competitors on the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals, his first outing because the NHRA 4-Broad Nationals in April, the place he reached the semifinals.
It’s been a little bit of a star-crossed season for the Californian and spouse Leeza, starting with a short-lived stint with Jim Campbell as their driver in Phoenix at an occasion the place every thing went unsuitable, and so they by no means bought a great run on their new elements.
Diehl reclaimed the seat on the NHRA Winternationals, however new-parts blues relegated him to the DNQ checklist. Then, in Las Vegas, he ran a career-best 4.003 and completed second in his first-round quad and nearly duplicated the feat within the semifinals however dropped cylinder and slid to 3rd.
“Clearly, Phoenix was an actual bummer, after which in Pomona we had some points with all this expertise we placed on over the winter, and we’re attempting to determine it out, you recognize,” he stated. “We simply needed to tickle some stuff, and also you noticed what occurred in Vegas. We’ve made quite a lot of 4.0 runs over the previous few years however nonetheless haven’t bought that first three, however we have been shut. For some purpose, that is a monkey on my again, however as quickly as we get it off our again, we’ll be working threes on a regular basis.”
Diehl and crew chief Tony Shortall are debuting a brand new look this weekend at Pacific Raceways, with hot-rodding icon So-Cal Velocity Outlets massive on the flank as they attempt to broaden their relationship.
“A good friend of mine made the connection for us with So-Cal, and it was the proper connection. These guys are into browsing and automobiles. They’re the identical sort of boys that I’ve all the time frolicked with, so it simply it was simple for us to get collectively. We’re simply attempting to determine the right way to make it work for each of us and convey again the So-Cal identify in a giant [way].
“We’re engaged on methods to generate cash by way of promoting, and we’ve got a bunch of irons within the fireplace, and hopefully, we’ll get the right cash to run this factor the suitable manner as a result of that is the place I am at. I am at my final steppingstone. I’ve completed each private factor that you are able to do on what we have had.
“Earlier than, we used to exit, we’re simply glad to qualify, principally. Truthfully, I used to be simply glad to make it to the races, simply with the logistics and the cash and all that. Now, it is to the purpose the place, ‘OK, we have been doing this lengthy sufficient.’ We all know what we have to do, and it’s about cash to have the elements and items in place.
“I wish to run this factor. You place the hassle out and issues begin to go the best way you need them to go, and also you notice, ‘Wow, I can do that.’ It is simply discovering the funds, so we’re simply engaged on a bunch of various stuff attempting to do this, simply attempting to up the sport. We wish to play.”
Diehl has by no means been to an NHRA closing spherical, however he did attain the semifinals in Seattle in 2016, the place he recorded his then-best of 4.02. He’s hoping to have one other nice weekend like that and at last get into the threes.
Along with So-Cal, the Diehls additionally benefit from the help of a laundry checklist of backers, together with Borrmann’s Metal Co., Crimson Line Oil, So-Cal Velocity Store of Upland, Calif., Nitro*A*gogo!, CP Carrillo, Excel Drywall, Central Valley Auto Haus, Shirt Lizard, ARP, BR Motorsports, Spell Paving, Nitro Barry, Woody’s Customized Headers, JS Options, The Actual Deal Pepper Sauce, Thalia Surf Store, and Shorty’s Oil Pans, in addition to new sponsors Prime Gas Information and Wildwood Specific.
Diehl hopes {that a} profitable weekend in Seattle will propel him by way of the opposite races on his schedule, which incorporates Sonoma, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Pomona for the season finale.
As a part of his Dallas outing, he’ll face off once more with Scott Palmer’s Prime Fueler as a part of the week-long Stampede of Velocity that precedes the occasion and, in fact, hope to get in some extra browsing when he’s not racing or engaged on the enterprise of being an unbiased Humorous Automobile workforce proprietor.
“In between all this, I did log on in Hawaii a few occasions,” he stated. “I’ve a big-wave surfer good friend that lives over there, and we’re constructing a tiny home on his property.
“There’s a whole lot of locations to surf over there, however I don’t go to locations like [the Banzai] Pipeline. There’s all the time, like, 75 skilled surfers on the market, so I might be browsing towards 75 John Forces, and that is not any extra enjoyable than it’s to race towards him on the drags.”