PM: We actually became partners by accident about three years ago. I had never wanted a partner in a racecar because it almost never works out. We never started out to be partners, but he had bought my Firebird and afterwards he said, "You know, this is a little too much for me; would you drive it for me for a year and we'll see how it's going then?" So that's how it started and now we're in a full-blown partnership and this is our third year together.

What's also happened is that Don took over where Steve left off and he became really talented in setting up the chassis. He's just really taken over in that respect and you can't ask for a better partner. He works just as hard as I work, he cares just as much as I care, and I'll tell you, in the Pro Street deal we're going to be real tough to beat. When a team gets involved after a couple of years doing the same thing, it gets real hard to beat. It's like Shannon Jenkins right now; he's been running the same thing for a couple of years, he's dedicated to it, and he's real tough to beat, too.

DRO: What's your focus in engine building right now?

PM: Our big thing right now that differs from what Shannon Jenkins' and Gene
Fulton's combination is, is that they're running carburetors and nitrous and we're fuel injected and nitrous. I feel that when it's all said and done, that it'll be better than carburetors, but we're going to have to have some time at the lighter weight. We've made some good runs - I recently ran some 6.40s at over 220 in my Camaro, which is pretty much a shoebox -- and we were at 2,600 pounds, which is 225 pounds heavier than a Pro Mod. So, we've seen some real respectable numbers. Now, with Cody Mac's car, we're at legal Pro Mod weight and I think we'll be pretty fast. But I'm not saying it'll happen overnight. I'm not that stupid; I know it's going to take some runs to get competitive.

DRO: How long do you expect to continue driving?

PM: As long as I'm having fun! It's funny you should ask that, because I was taking to Don tonight about how we've been doing, and the partnership, and he said, "I want to keep going." If he quits, I'll quit; and if I quit, he'll quit, so we'll just have to see.

But we're having a lot of fun right now. We've just been really good lately and I'd tell anyone who wants to get in the lane against us, "You're welcome to come, but you'd better come ready!"

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