2017 NHRDA G & J Diesel Pro Stock National Champion – Jarid Vollmer
The G & J Diesel Pro Stock class is the one class in the Hot Shot’s Secret Diesel Drag Racing Series that fans can see a 
variety of vehicles competing They range from pickups to altereds to pro mod style cars. This type of diversity makes the Pro Stock class one of the more exciting to watch.
Jarid Vollmer, of Idaho Falls Idaho, won his second consecutive Pro Stock National Championship in 2017. It was Vollmer’s second full season as the driver of G & J Diesel/MBRP 1941 Willys Pro Stock car. The championship marked the team’s fourth Pro Stock National Championship in the past six seasons. It also gave Vollmer his sixth NHRDA National Championship as a driver (2 Pro Stock, 4 Pro Street) in the past six years.
Vollmer’s season didn’t start until the Nor Cal Diesel Nationals at Sacramento Raceway. The event didn’t quite go the way the team was hoping for either. The weekend started with team owner, Brad Makinen, getting to Reno right after they closed the pass to California. It meant that Jarid and some fellow racers had to get a rental truck, go and pick up the race car trailer and then drive it back to Sacramento to be ready for race day. Race day saw its own problems as well, with the team struggling in qualifying and eliminations. The team was able to get the win and the National Points lead despite the difficulties of the weekend.
Jarid and the team would next head to the Texas Diesel Nationals in Ennis, Texas. On the team’s qualifying run they blew the boot off the intercooler. Jarid then realized the car had also lost two lug nuts on the run and they were sitting in the beadlocks. The team thrashed the rest of the day trying to get everything fixed and ready to go for eliminations. In the finals Vollmer made one of his quickest runs ever, 7.561 seconds and 177.58 mph when he defeated Matt Kubik. The run put the G & J Diesel team only a tenth off of the Pro Stock World ET World Record. And it also gave them the team their second victory in two races.
The Oklahoma Diesel Nationals was the next scheduled event for the team but a snow storm in Wyoming kept the team from making the trip south. Jarid and the team would make the Diesels on the Mountain at Bandimere Speedway. They had some issues in the qualifying session and they had to change the jet size due to the adjusted altitude of the race track. In the final round the car didn’t have the performance they were looking for but they still pulled off the win. Jarid and the team left Colorado with the National Points lead and they were looking forward to their next event, the Industrial Injection Rocky Mountain Diesel Nationals in Salt Lake City.
At the event in Salt Lake City, Jarid and the team earned the #1 Qualifier with a run of 8.980 seconds at 171.13 mph. After the run the team got the car back to the pits to find out that they had possibly burnt a valve. When they came up for the finals they did a monster burnout hoping that it might pick up but unfortunately it didn’t so they were only able to just idle down the track. But it was their fourth win of the season and gave the team a commanding lead in the National Points.
The next event for the team was the Canadian Diesel Shootout at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. Jarid and the team made a great run in qualifying to secure the #1 spot with a pass of 7.748 seconds at 182.56 mph, only 3 mph short of the Pro Stock World MPH Record. But after the stellar run the team got the car back to the pits and found internal carnage. Their weekend of racing in Canada was over.
With the G & J Diesel Big Sky Truck Fest being the team’s hometown event it was very important to Jarid and team owners Brad and Tracy Makinen to put on a good show for their friends and family that were coming to the event. In the first session of qualifying the G & J Diesel/MBRP team went 9.440 seconds after making just a shake down pass on the motor and was sitting in the #1 spot. But the team missed the second round of qualifying and Kevin Douglas went on to take the #1 Qualifier. In the final round Vollmer got off the starting line quicker and was able to cross the finish line first to get the victory.
In the Winner’s Circle Jarid told the Diesel TV cameras about the thrashing before the event, “…We put the motor back in it Thursday night and then finally fired it up Friday. We started with a little pass to 330 feet this morning just to get some info on the setup and then in the finals Brad told me ‘let’s not beat up the motor’ so I went out and ran quick enough to get the win today.” The team now turned their full attention to getting to the World Finals and trying to win the World Championship.
At the NHRDA World Finals Jarid and the team struggled in qualifying and ended up breaking the external cooler on the transmission. Once the team got the car back to the pits there was some major thrashing that happened before the finals as the team tried to get everything fixed and put back together. His fellow competitor Matt Kubik was one of the guys over there helping the G & J Diesel Team. In the final round Vollmer would face off with Kubik. Kubik had problems of his own and his car kept losing power on the starting line. Volllmer went on to take the win and secured his second Pro Stock World Championship.
In the Winner’s Circle Jarid made sure he wanted to say thanks to everyone, “I want to thank all of the sponsors that helped us this season; MBRP, G & J Diesel, Dynomite Diesel Products, PPE, Industrial Injection and Breakout Tuning Solutions. I also want to thank Brad and Tracy from G & J Diesel for giving me the opportunity to drive the car. But most of all I want to thank my wife Kollinda for being there to support me and of course my kids Drake and Danika as they let daddy go and play.”
Jarid and the team will now regroup over the winter and come out strong again as they will make a run for the Hot Shot’s Secret Diesel Drag Racing Series Pro Stock National Championship.
