Dirt
Where Does Pro Mod
Go from Here?
NHRA’s Real Pro Mod group
faces familiar challenges
By Ainsley Jacobs
P
32 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
MOVING FAST
John Waldie (right) has been
at the forefront of Real Pro
Mod’s growth, working with
his fellow board members to
bring new teams and sponsors to the class, as well as
maintaining the relationship
between the group and
NHRA, which is unique in all
of drag racing. With three different power adders allowed
in competition, Waldie is also
often tasked with keeping
the peace amongst highlycompetitive teams constantly
working toward obtaining
any measurable performance
advantage.
there’s enough interest and enough people who
want to get involved, that it’s just a matter of time
before the right deal gets inked.
Rowe’s teammate, Steve Matusek, founder and
president of fuel system manufacturer Aeromotive Inc., also points out a recent shake-up in
NHRA top management has been a challenge,
but he believes the California-based sanctioning body is now better focused than ever before,
offering open discussion and no false promises.
“Plain and simple, NHRA is a business. We
want a chance to not kill the class. The others
have major sponsors, and that’s the challenge
that Pro Mod has—no major sponsor,” Matusek
says. “We’re figuring out how to get multiple involvements so we can diversify how many people
are contributing. That will give us strength as
opposed to just one guy mandating policies, programs, etc.”
Out on the track, the NHRA Pro Mod series
has come a long way in a relatively short time. It
wasn’t all that long ago that crashes were common
and cars rarely made it down the track as intended. Now, Pro Mod features some of the closest competition in drag racing and the cars are
relentlessly pushing the limits of what’s possible.
“I believe Pro Mod is some of the most exciting
racing out there,” says Rowe, who’s a huge fan of
the varying power adders, body styles and outrageous performance associated with modern-day
Pro Mod—attractions that most other eliminators
just can’t match.
For fans, Pro Mod also features readily accessible and approachable cars and drivers. There
are no roped off areas; it’s common to see drivers
signing autographs and taking photos of kids
sitting in their cars. John Waldie, who has been
instrumental in managing the ins and outs of the
RPM organization, believes fan involvement is
crucial to the class’ success.
Issue 111
PHOTOS: NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER, DRAG ILLUSTRATED ARCHIVES
ro Mod racing has enjoyed
a strong cult following since its
inception more than 25-years
ago. First it was the IHRA that
embraced the wild doorslammers,
debuting Pro Modified as an official class early in 1990 at Darlington, South
Carolina. It flourished on the IHRA quarter mile,
but also was contested over the eighth at countless outlaw strips throughout the Southeast. Then
the ADRL stepped up in 2005 to split the power
adders—supercharged and nitrous-boosted entries—for the first time in a national eighth-mile
series and that effort morphed over the years to
the current PDRA program.
The IHRA abandoned quarter-mile Pro Mod
competition after the 2009 season (since reestablished); however it was quickly picked up by
NHRA and added to its 2010 schedule. For the
first few years the NHRA Pro Mod series struggled somewhat to establish an identity within the
“big show,” but late in 2013 at the SEMA trade
show in Las Vegas the groundwork was laid for
what would become the current Real Pro Mod
(RPM) organization. In addition to several passionate advocates of Pro Mod racing, in attendance at the initial meeting were officials from
NHRA, including then-president Tom Compton,
Senior Vice President-Sales & Marketing Gary
Darcy, and Senior Vice President-Racing Operations Graham Light. The group discussed the
future of the Pro Mod class within NHRA, and
developed RPM to spearhead the movement to
ensure its continued success and longevity.
It’s no secret the Pro Mod class has struggled to
gain acceptance from NHRA, says Danny Rowe,
owner and driver of the Agave Underground Tequila Pro Mod entry, but the reasons for that are
complex and multi-faceted, he insists. Rowe has
spearheaded much of the progress made by RPM
and feels the class has gotten a bad rap despite
best intentions.
“A lot of people have come in to try and help,
but many had their own agendas and it wasn’t
necessarily with respect to what was good for
the class and NHRA,” Rowe explains. “Our goal
is to grow and build Pro Mod drag racing and
make decisions that are the best for the class
and its longevity.”
Fortunately, sponsors have been taking note
of what RPM has achieved with the class. The
growth and popularity of Pro Mod in recent years,
especially with fans, has been huge. Rowe believes