STATE OF DRAG
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W
it h the o nce -i ncre dible class coming
to a sudden end due to a lack of driver participation,
Drag Illustrated talked to a number of key figures
who were there from its inception to the peak and then
eventual decline. It happened at a seemingly break-neck pace, too,
perhaps fitting for a class that became known for the quickest eighth-
mile runs in doorslammer history.
KENNY NOWLING
Terry Leggett Tommy D’Aprile
(veteran standout who raced
Pro Extreme from 2009-2018): (veteran standout who raced
Pro Extreme from 2008-2017):
“It was a class of pioneers,
to some degree. It was really
just wide-open. It was
entertaining, it was a challenge.
It was just a fun thing to do . ” “It was exciting. You never saw
more fires and blow-ups. Using a
clutch, swapping feet, it was the
most exciting thing ever.
Guys were driving.”
Jason Scruggs
(two-time Pro Extreme world champion):
“In the heyday, it was the
hottest class around,
in my opinion.”
August 2018
J.R. Todd
(current Funny Car standout and former Top
Fuel driver who raced Pro Extreme in 2011):
“Outside of Funny Car and
Top Fuel, I thought those were
the most badass cars out there.
They looked cool and driving
them was a lot of fun.”
THE BIRTH
Pro Extreme was born in February 2005 at the
American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Winter
Drags in Hattiesburg, Mississippi., with Michael
Neal beating Troy Critchley in the first event.
The class was the brainchild of then-ADRL
President and CEO Kenny Nowling. He held
the inaugural Dragstock event in 2004, giv-
ing Nowling his first look at Outlaw Pro Mods,
which got his wheels spinning.
The success of that initial Dragstock event –
more than 100 Pro Mod cars showed up – led
to the birth of the ADRL and the creation of an
unlimited class in Pro Extreme, where the screw-
blown cars could call home. John Lynam won the
first Pro Extreme championship in 2005, with
the class starting with eight-car fields that year.
NOWLING: At the first event, heck, I think
we only had 17 Pro Extreme cars and 9 Pro Ni-
trous cars show up, if memory serves correct. It
actually worked out great. The fans had a great
time. In the winner’s circle I remember telling
(ADRL Executive Vice President) Jeff Fortune I
might have stumbled onto something. These guys
are badass and this is the coolest thing. They’re
just balls to the wall, they’re all-out and they just
want to go as fast as they possibly can, and it’s
entertaining as heck.
SCRUGGS: At the time, when Pro Extreme first
started, Kenny had come out with the ADRL and
I had been racing Pro Mod-type outlaw cars for
close to 10 years at that time, and basically we
were already running no-rule type races. When
Pro Extreme came out, it basically took the same
thing we were doing and put it on a little bit better
tracks and more publicity.
DragIllustrated.com
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