NMCA PRO STOCK

not what we intended when we started this a year-and-a-half ago . When we started this , we already saw the cars out there , and guys that were interested in it . We saw something where we could grab a pretty good amount of racers that want to build these type engines , but in the process

of doing that , NHRA started making their announcements after we started our discussions .

“ We ’ re not going after NHRA or their drivers or cars , but I think that ’ s an end result that we ’ ll get some of them , especially on the older car side .”

On the other side of the world and a little to the south , drag racing has a massive fan base in Australia , which is where Book picked up the idea

for the new class with some moderations . NMCA Pro Stock would also be more lenient with body styles than NHRA .

“ I modeled it to some degree off of Australian Pro Stock because the 401-cubic-inch maximum and 2,300-pound minimum are the Australian rules ,” he said . “ Then I put a bunch of other things in that they don ’ t have in Australia , and the first

thing is that you can run EFI or carburetors , which isn ’ t the case over there . I ’ m allowing any year and any make of body style in , so you could have a ’ 55 Chevy or a Studebaker , as long as the chassis is legal underneath the body , if anything is legal .”

While Miller says there ’ s no interest from

NMCA in regards to cherry-picking drivers from other series ( i . e . NHRA ), both he and Book said there has been some interest from some pretty big names , including a certain newly-crowned Pro Stock racer .

In addition to Line , Book said Richard Freeman , owner of the Elite Motorsports team that fields Pro Stock entries for champions Jeg Coughlin Jr ., and Erica Enders , has expressed interest in getting a car built specifically for the new NMCA class . Plus , some of those Aussies plan to leave the Land Down Under and give American drag racing a try .

“ I ’ ve got several Australian teams that are already gonna ’ come over ,” Book said . “ They ’ re gonna leave Australia and they ’ re gonna ’ race over here . Nino Cavallo , who raced with us last year , is gonna ’ stay over here and race here fulltime . Jason Grima , who was the 2013 world champion in Australia , he ’ s gonna ’ have two cars over here in the class next year . Rick Skelton ’ s gonna ’ have a car in the class ; he ’ s from Australia .

“ That ’ s another thing that we ’ re hoping : we ’ re hoping there ’ ll be enough Australians , that that will start off immediately , you know , a rivalry between countries .”

NMCA made three exhibition runs with the new class in 2016 and were happy with what they saw . Thanks to some sponsorship , racers have an incentive to be a part of the class ’ s kickoff this year .

“ Dick Maskin stepped up huge this year with the sponsorship for the three exhibition races that we ran in 2016 ,” Miller said . “ And he has all the intention of stepping up again in ’ 17 . Bob ’ s also looking into helping us with a couple of other sponsors within the industry . “ It ’ s a lotta ’ money to field that class as a sponsor for six races .

I mean , you ’ re talking a lot of money .”

The 2017 NMCA season kicks off March 9-12 with Muscle Car Mayhem at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton , Fla . DI

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