10/11/04

HISTORY IN THE MAKING? MAYBE.

I have nowhere near the historical pedigree of a few of my DRO compatriots like the journalistically well-traveled Burkster, resident historian Dave Wallace, or ubiquitous man-on-the-scene Chris Martin, but I've still been fortunate enough to witness a few significant drag racing events. Mitch Stott making the first five-second pass in a doorslammer comes to mind, as does Big Daddy's first four-second and 300-mph passes at Indy.

I mention these moments because I think I recently was present for another. I say, "I think," only because history will ultimately determine whether the inaugural "Dragstock" at Carolina Dragway heralded "the future of organized Pro Modified competition," as one fellow journalist put it, or was merely an entertaining sidebar to the bigger story in Pro Mod racing.

Without question, Pro Mod is at a decisive point in its development. The nitrous versus supercharger parity issue is about to become a moot point if turbos are indeed allowed into the class. Competitors at Dragstock, including Ed Hoover, Tommy Mauney, and Von Smith, all agreed the nitrous combination will be doomed once the turbos arrive. Smith, in fact, predicted turbocharged entries will eventually dominate the class.

Just what Pro Mod needs--a third power adder combination that will dictate the need for the blower cars to regain some of the boost they lost in order to preserve whatever competitiveness the nitrous entries had. Nitrous racers must wonder what they've done to the powers that be. And just wait 'til the first turboed entry qualifies on top or goes to the winner's circle. That whine you'll hear from the blower folks won't all be coming from under the hood.

On top of the parity quagmire, rules makers are pitching ideas about adding or removing weight for certain body styles, with the '63 Corvette and late-model cars deemed the villains in this particular scenario. Hoover theorized the late-model grumblings can be traced back to Harold Martin's nitrous-assisted, fuel-injected Grand Am, that from the shiny side looks essentially the same as, say, Warren Johnson's NHRA Pro Stocker, but goes a few tenths and about 20 mph faster. Maybe GM doesn't like spending millions, Hoover figured, only to not have the baddest doorslammer on the grounds. An interesting theory, I'll admit, but flattering to the Pro Mod side. To be honest, I suspect Pro Mod isn't even on General Motors' radar.

And while I agree that so many 'Vettes can be a little repetitive to watch, if a car works aerodynamically, why shouldn't it be the favored style? Regardless, throwing weight around to achieve parity among varied body styles reminds me too much of NASCAR's obsession a few years ago with tinkering with roof heights, deck widths, and spoiler sizes. In the long run, the stock car kings finally settled on mandating what are essentially spec cars to "level the playing field," with not much more than headlight decals and nameplates discerning one brand from the other.

But Pro Mod would not be so lucky. Similar micro-managing of what the racecars can look like would actually be the death knell for the class, as I think it would actually diminish the variety we currently enjoy. Unlike engine combinations, where, for example, a builder may be a specialist in nitrous systems, I feel few car owners will have the same loyalty or need to run a certain body style. They'll go with whatever body they think gets the best "deal" from the rules. If it's a late-model Mustang with a hundred pounds strapped on, so be it. If it's a '41 Willys with a hundred-pound weight break, I'd look for a lot of new cars being poured from old molds in the future.

To clarify, though, the current proposed rules changes will affect only the Pro Mod product we see at NHRA and/or IHRA national events. As our esteemed editor noted elsewhere in DRO, there will always be a place for Pro Mod-type racing at countless tracks and smaller circuits throughout the country. Which brings me back to my original point that Dragstock may have been a watershed event--or maybe not.