By Van Abernethy

The inception of this eventual mainstay club can be traced back in time to a New York diner on a snowy day in the winter of 1991 ; that ’ s when Mazzorana met with a handful of racers and their crew members and presented the concept of what would eventually be known as the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association . Although Mazzorana is a man who solidly possesses all the right ingredients for steady leadership , the 25-year milestone surprises even him most days . Simply put , a lot has changed since this club was first formed , and perhaps no one has gotten a more intimate view than Mazzorana . The club has weathered multiple economic recessions , skyrocketing costs of racing , never-ending tasks of achieving performance parity , internal strife , not to mention dealing with “ hardheaded racers ” Mazzorana laughs . “ Honestly , who would have thought our club would have lasted 25 years !” he ponders .

The early years were tumultuous , exciting and met with the understandable growing pains as the new series attempted to gain traction . As a reflection of the geographical location of the NEOPMA , the signature format of the series is that its events are contested exclusively on the quarter-mile , which is in stark contrast of the core eighth-mile market found in the southern states . Among the first facilities to welcome the newly formed series was the legendary Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown , New Jersey . “ Other than E-town , most of our tracks were small , somewhat unsafe , not very well prepared and somewhat scary ,” reflects Mazzorana of the early days of getting the club off the ground . Eventually , Cecil County Dragway in northern Maryland began hosting events as the NEOPMA began attracting more

attention from larger , more respected venues . Shortly after Royce Miller bought Maryland International Raceway located in the southern part of the state , the NEOPMA was quickly invited , and the facility eventually forged a longstanding partnership with NEOPMA , which continues to be the club ’ s home track .

The 1990s saw an unprecedented evolution of performance , and the club saw massive gains in horsepower as racers began to explore the science of nitrous oxide , which was the power adder of choice in the series ’ early days . Blower cars weren ’ t allowed in the beginning , and nitrous

entries were first limited to a single system . Pro Stock cars routinely entered NEOPMA events and enjoyed successful outings for quite a few years , although purpose-built Pro Mod cars eventually made it difficult for Pro Stocks to compete on this particular stage . During the intermediate years , larger nitrous engines with multiple stages were allowed in NEOPMA competition , and the rules were adjusted to include blowers and turbos , which only increased car counts . By then , the club had achieved a reputation of providing a plentiful amount of quality cars that attracted large crowds of spectators . Additionally , many club members both past and present achieved success on a national stage , including Jim Halsey , Mike Castellana , Dave Hance , Mike Ashley , John

Nobile , Pat Musi , Tommy Gray , Pete Farber , Ed Burnley , and John Pluchino , to name a few .

More than just a series of competitors , though , Mazzorana is quick to point out that the NEOP- MA is more like a band of brothers ( and sisters ). “ We can ’ t forget about Angela Ray Kinson , who currently fields a very competitive , blowerequipped Mustang within the series , and even captured her first NEOPMA win in 2016 ,” he said . Mazzorana loves sharing stories of camaraderie and good will , especially when the chips are down and there ’ s a racer in need . Consider the time Steve King crashed at Maple Grove and badly damaged his race car . At the conclusion of this event , Tim O ’ Hare and Fred Scriba handed over their winner and runner-up checks to King so he could quickly rebuild and rejoin the group . More recently in 2016 , Mac McAdams ’ s car needed major repairs in order to make it to the line for the finals . Meanwhile , his competition , Kevin McCurdy , refused to report to the staging lanes until McAdams was ready to race . Mazzorana always has a good word to share of his club members and with good reason . “ They ’ re some of the nicest people I know ,” he maintains .

The 2016 season speaks volumes about the overall health of the club . “ More demand than supply is how I could summarize last season . We had 17 invitations to race at 7 different tracks ,” Mazzorana explains . A normal schedule for this group usually reflects 10-12 outings per season at premier facilities like MDIR , Maple Grove , Atco , Capitol Raceway , and New England Dragway , with plans to return to Englishtown in 2017 . The biggest news related to the upcoming season is the celebration race at MDIR for the club ’ s amazing 25-year anniversary , which will feature a $ 25,000 payday to the winner ! The anniversary race will be held during MDIR ’ s Supercharger Showdown in September .

“ The total Pro Mod payout will be $ 50k and will be a 32-car field that ’ s paid all the way down to the 32nd car ,” says Mazzorana , who ’ s expecting an epic turnout to mark the club ’ s milestone achievement . “ Where do we go from here ? As long as we continue to deliver value and entertainment for our racers , partner tracks , fans and sponsors , I see no reason why we can ’ t continue to grow and succeed !” says Mazzorana proudly . DI

PHOTO : VAN ABERNETHY

26 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 117