MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Truck fanatics from the East Coast are getting excited for the next Diesels of New York automotive event. The seasonal truck meets are held every couple of months at the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York.
Trucks of all different sizes and models, line the muddy parking lot in rows. A train of them, one behind another, drives in to enter the burnout competition and reserve their spot. Attendees scatter around looking at the modified trucks and grab some food. The burnout competition begins and trucks enter one by one, spinning the tires and huffing smoke as the crowd cheers them on.
According to their Instagram, @dieselsofny, the truck meets began in 2019 as small hangouts in numerous locations such as malls, Walmarts or commuter lots throughout New York.
(Jillian Brown)
The Instagram account began in April 2019 and consisted of posts of other people’s trucks, videos and occasionally some truck memes. The first truck meet posted on their page, on July 22, 2020, was for a meet in Newburgh, NY on August 29th.
Their following over time grew to more than 81,000 followers, with more than 5,000 posts published on their page. Along with posted photos of trucks on their Instagram page, the group has become more professional than when it began.
With around only 100 or more attendees at first, the population of people that attend these meets grew into the thousands and they settled on Orange County Speedway as the place to host their meets.
People from all over the country attend these meets. Some even come from Florida, Rhode Island and New Hampshire to have a blast. Students from Nonnewaug High School and surrounding towns attend these events as well.
“[My favorite part was when] my friend and I got stuck in the mud and had to push the truck out,” said senior Brendon Tymon, when reflecting on his experience at one of the events.
Brendon’s favorite part of the event was the burnout pit, mentioning that he has not been able to compete yet; however, he is thinking about trying next year.
“My most memorable moment had to have been the drive up to the event,” said senior Brady Cordova. “[I also liked] the mud pit in the parking lot.”
When asked, Cordova spoke about how the burnout pit was his favorite part of attending the event. He mentioned that he hasn’t been able to compete in the competition either, yet he wishes he did.
“I saw a truck with the frame about to snap in half,” said Aidan Moffat, a junior at Nonnewaug, responding to his most memorable moment at the event.
Despite all of this fun action, some Nonnewaug attendees have some reservations about entering their own vehicle in the competition.
“I wouldn’t enter because I don’t want to pay to fix anything that breaks,” said Moffat.
The thought of entering the burnout pit does leave people with some skepticism because trucks do tend to break sometimes.
Even though some people don’t enter the competition, the $25 that they pay to enter still ends with them having fun, hanging out with friends and watching the trucks do some donuts and burnouts.
With the Diesels of NY season closer being on Oct. 28, so close to Halloween, many people dress up and enter themselves in the costume contest, as well as decorating their trucks. There’s also a decent amount of vendors there, like Diesel Hotties, Diesels of NJ, Skynet, Automotive Ingenuity HD, Custom Metal Shapes, and more.
