Drag-and-Drive Competitors Make Some Noise on the No Prep Kings tour at Michigan Stop
As we’ve reported before, it’s becoming more commonplace to see drag-and-drive competitor names in the heads-up and index racing world, even the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) as well.
But 2023 is also finding some making themselves known in the no-prep scene, including Mikael Borggren and his Volvo station wagon, Chris Hein and his stick-shift ’33 Factory Five coupe, Sheldon Root’s 235 tire Pontiac Acadian, David and Nick Diehl’s Mustangs, and Tyler Garlock’s stick-shift Mustang.
Three of those names were among the combatants during the recent Street Outlaws No Prep Kings event held at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. The Diehl brothers would bring out both Mustangs to race, just a couple weeks after both finished Hot Rod Drag Week. They’d be joined by Mikael, who has been on a tear lately in the Volvo wagon, in both small tire competition as well as the 8-car “Locals Only” segment filmed for the show.
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“We may not of took a trophy home last weekend, but we still won (at least in our mind),” said Nick. “I was a bit overwhelmed, not by the cameras in our faces, microphones etc., but when I looked around, I was constantly surrounded by great people.”
The brothers pulled double duty Friday night, with Nick wheeling the blue Mustang down to the semifinal round before Mikael put him out in the Volvo wagon.
On the other car, the LS-swapped orange Mustang had David wheeling and dealing through good runs, as well as engine issues. “On Friday after a grudge race, we realized we had already pushed a head gasket, and would need to baby the car a bit to be able to go rounds,” said Nick.
After a round two win, Nick and David along with a large contingent of friends dove into fixes to make the orange car ready for the “Locals Only” segment final round.
“At first we thought we hurt it, but after looking over data, we realized that the dome sensor went on vacation,” Nick said of the issues. After trying a couple different sensors, they got a fellow racer’s version to read and thought they were ready for the title match-up with, who else, Mikael and the wagon!
“I cleaned up the tune and put a bit more up front and took a little out of the middle,” said Nick in preparation for Mikael. “Dave and the Swede left together, but at about 150 foot mark our car popped and turned off. In the rush to get to the lanes, we installed the wrong sensor.
It wasn't a 100 psi, it was a 1600 psi, so we pretty much pinned the wastegates, and the ECU tried to keep it in check until we hit boost cut.” That gave Mikael the win, his third no-prep win in the last two months.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of David & Nick Diehl, Brian Hosner and Radical Speed.
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