10-4 Magazine - April 2026

12 10-4 Magazine / April 2026 went on to win the NHRDA World Championship in Ennis, TX later that same year. This would be their greatest accomplishment to date. Sadly, 2024 was not kind to them, with V-Bros only getting a few 2nd place finishes that year – but they kept racing. Surprisingly, 2025 went on to be their greatest year ever, winning the TFK race again, and going on to become NHRDA World Champion for the second time. Oscar would also place V-Bros Racing in the record books when he set a new record of 128.53 MPH on the quarter mile in Ennis, TX at the Texas Motorplex. The 2026 NHRDA season has started off good, too! At the very first event this year in February, at “Diesels in the Desert” in Chandler, AZ, not only did V-Bros win the event, but Oscar also set another record for the fastest elapsed time of 11.06 seconds. The funny thing is, that would have been a 10-second pass, but Oscar began hearing a strange noise at about the 1,000-foot mark, so he took his foot off the gas and coasted to the finish. As it turned out, they had cracked the block. The truck is currently being fitted with a new engine (they have a few spares) before their next event at, you guessed it, TFK 2026 at Famoso Dragstrip in Bakersfield, CA – and we can’t wait to see it run! The truck, still based on the original cab and chassis of that 1957 Kenworth 921, has a custom 1,800-hp Cummins Big Cam engine, with the valve covers and intake/exhaust manifolds from an early Cummins N14, along with a 98mm Garrett GTX55 single turbo. The hood is a rare fiberglass wide hood, made for narrow cab KWs in the 1960s, which they got as salvage, and then had it stretched 14 inches. There is a notch cut out of the hood to accommodate the exhaust, which goes straight out the top. On the back, there is polished diamond plate decking, custom slicks that come from Pennsylvania, a polished fuel tank, and the nitrous tank (there are also parachutes on the back, but they are just for show). The pinstriping and lettering on the truck was done by Justin Klos of Klos Custom Trucks in Australia, and includes “Lokin” on the door, which is Spanish for “Crazy” (Oscar’s nickname). Without giving away too many secrets, the engine has a stock block, crank and rods, and features modified and ceramic-coated pistons, double springs on the high performance heads, a custom cam, high flow injectors, and a turned-up fuel pump. Power is pushed through a modified manual 10-speed transmission and a custom four-disk clutch to that previously mentioned Positraction rear-end. There is also a box marked as “Some Apple Juice” mounted behind the cab, which they fill with 60 pounds of ice before each quarter-mile pass. This ice-cold water is pumped into the intercooler to cool down the air going into the engine. Nitrous is used as a secondary cooling system for the air, and it also adds some horsepower. They burn five gallons of Hot Shot’s Secret Diesel Race Fuel on every quarter-mile pass! Inside the truck, you won’t find a lot of fancy gadgets or creature comforts – just the bare minimum of what is needed to go fast! There is only one seat, which is surrounded by a full NHRA-approved roll cage, just a handful of gauges, old style glitter toggle switches, and a removable steering wheel. The truck is equipped with a Computech DataMaxx data logging system that records everything about the truck – and I mean everything – during a pass. It records what is happening in every cylinder, along with all the other important data points, inside and outside air temperatures, everything. All this information goes onto an SD card that can be removed and then put into a computer to be viewed and analyzed. This data is invaluable when honing your craft and dialing in your machine! One other interior “feature” is the co-pilot, “Bob” the eagle (most racers have a mascot inside that goes along for the ride). Building a truck like this is no small feat, and it takes a lot of help, from a lot of great companies and friends. Steven Zammit of SRZ Racing in Sydney, Australia is their custom cam specialist and tuner, Warren Wulstein of Premco Diesel Performance in Lampasas, TX provides the custom injectors and pump (and helps financially), and Robert Calixtro of American Premier Casting in Vancouver, WA provides their high performance heads. Vic Caliva of Caliva’s Polishing in Montebello, CA keeps the race truck looking good, and Jonathan Rosa Reyes takes care of all their gearing. Financial supporters include Mike Hedges of Pacific Trux Sales in Signal Hill, CA, Mario Monette of Mario High Performance in Canada, and Brandon Cromwell of Cromwell Diesel Engineering in Lawrenceburg, TN. Special thanks to Wayne Talkington, Oscar’s “godfather” in racing, and Carlos Hernandez of Alliance Specialized, Inc. in Lynwood, CA for hauling the truck to faraway races in places like Montana, Texas and Canada. Each one of the brothers has a unique skill-set and job, both at Jemsal, Inc. and with V-Bros Racing. Henry (44) is the oldest and he has been married to his wife Abigail for ten years. At Jemsal, Henry runs things in the office, makes the sales listings online, deals with customers, does some shipping, and handles the finances. At the track, he handles all the vendors and logistics, oversees the finances, and runs a camera. He enjoys attending church (where his dad is the minister) and spending time with his wife. He owns an old 1976 Chevy dually crew cab, and likes taking it out. Oscar J. (40) has been married to his wife Vanessa for 12 years, and the couple has three kids – Jacob (12), Esteban (10), and Alexandra (4). At Jemsal, Oscar is a general mechanic, builder, welder and painter – he’s basically the “handyman” at the company. At the track, he has one job and one job only – to drive the race truck. When not working or playing with trucks, he enjoys spending time with his kids and doing things like going to the beach, camping, and visiting the local amusement parks. Alfred (36) has been married for eight years to his wife Lorena, and they have a young daughter named Lauren (3). At the shop, Alfred is the motivator and project scheduler – he keeps things moving. At the track, he is the crew chief for V-Bros Racing, and he manages the engine. Alfred loves rebuilding engines, especially Chevy

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