Since Cannon's departure, the IHRA rules makers and those who have influence on the rules makers appear to have had an agenda that would keep the blown racers from going faster and improve the performance of the nitrous cars without making their existing engine combinations and cars obsolete. For years IHRA Pro Modified has been a good old boys club based in the Carolinas. I believe that is about to change in a very big way.

The addition of Tony Christian's team, a possible Jeg Coughlin-backed team, and especially Californian Bob Rieger's team will cause the price and pace of Pro Mod racing to escalate exponentially. Rieger has already bought several cars and started a nitrous engine program. He had no problem spending upwards of $100,000 on Sonny Leonard engines to race Pro Street or developing a turbocharged engine program with Earl Dutweiller. He will have no problem spending that kind of money to develop a superior nitrous engine program. If the Coughlin family gets into the Pro Mod class they won't be happy running in the middle of the pack. Tony Christian will have both a Brad Anderson hemi-powered car and a nitrous program with assistance from Reher-Morrison. These are really serious racers and, even though IHRA has made rules to handicap blown cars, whether blown cars are competitive next year may be the least of the nitrous racers problems when these teams get up to speed. These guys will be fast and the rest of the class will have to step up to keep up...and it won't be cheap or easy.

Finally the honeymoon between NHRA and IHRA concerning their Pro Modifed programs may soon be over if it isn't already. In the coming season several of the scheduled NHRA Pro Mod events conflict with IHRA events, so racers are going to have to make a choice between the two at some point. NHRA has stated that they are looking at possibly adding contingency to their program and giving out trophies, and even have hinted to several racers that they still may have a sponsor that would allow the class a full professional status in NHRA competition for 2002.

I've also heard that several racers are lobbying NHRA to have their own rules for supercharged entries. These racers want NHRA to keep the rules for supercharged cars the same as they were in 2001 and allow the nitrous cars to run the new 2002 IHRA rules. I think there is a good chance NHRA will at least listen to and consider such a rules program.

Pro Modified is going to change again. There is no doubt of that. The price of competing is going to go up. There is no doubt of that. And in the near future there will be two separate major sanctioning bodies for Pro Mod racers. There is no doubt of that. The only issues that are in doubt is where the racers will decide to go and whether the IHRA Pro Modified class will ever again enjoy the status it once did when it was the "only game in town."

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