Team Spotlight
M/C Forsten Racing is a diesel drag truck racing team that competes on the National Hot Rod Diesel Association (NHRDA) circuit. Racing out of Warrenton, Virginia, the low-budget father-and-son operation has quickly hit the big time, with three NHRDA series race wins and a a runner-up finish in a season points championship.
M/C Forsten Racing runs a street-legal ’99 Dodge Ram single cab with an 8-foot bed. A 24-valve Cummins engine equipped with a VP44 fuel pump powers the truck. Mike (the father and chief mechanic) and Cole Forsten (who, at age 21 is one of the youngest drivers on the circuit) converted the truck from street use to race configuration and continue to make improvements in their quest for an NHRDA Division 5 championship.
Mike and Cole began entering select events when Cole was still in high school. In 2007, the team increased its schedule, adding several NHRDA events and recording a Third Place finish in the Super Diesel Class at Maryland International Raceway’s Big Rig Truck Nationals.
In 2008, M/C Forsten Racing captured its first NHRDA victory at Maryland International Raceway. That season, the team logged a Second Place finish in the NHRDA season championship points standings. In 2009, the team had a pair of top-three finishes in NHRDA events, but the season’s highlights were the two VP44-record-setting runs at Maryland International Raceway in November: 10.64 seconds at 126.00 mph and a fuel-only 10.77 seconds at 124.55 mph.
The team also set a single-pass Super Diesel Class record at Maryland International Raceway’s Big Rig Nationals event. The 2010 racing season was great with a strong win at MIR’s Big Rig Nationals and two more NHRDA wins—both at Maple Grove, and both on the same day. The team also set a new NHRDA Super Street record (10.56 seconds) during its double-victory day at Maple Grove. The 2011 season is now underway, and the team has shown some real potential. At Maryland International Raceway’s Big Rig Truck National event, the team went out and crushed its previous VP44 record and MIR’s track record with an incredible 10.44 seconds at 128 mph. Mike and Cole have their eyes set on a 9-second pass and will not stop until they get it!
Dyno Dave
David Dunbar (on the right) is one heck of a guy to know. Have you met him? He has been running a portable dyno at track events all over the country for a few years, and he’s amazing to watch. We were pleased to sit down for a meal with Dave at Wah Bah’s while attending the TS Performance Outlaw event in Kentucky. Has your truck been dyno’d by Dave? Post your numbers on www.8-Lug.com and we’ll pick one lucky reader to win a fabulous prize (something from our junk drawer, probably a hat or something equally thrilling).
Xtreme Kustoms Inaugural Truck Show
Steve Caspary is a Northern California guy who has built some pretty awesome trucks. We’ve featured several of them right here on the pages of 8-Lug. A while back, he put together a truck show in Morgan Hill at La Costa restaurant, which brought together a bunch of his friends who have some pretty special trucks.