Dirt
we could make this work,” Dillard says. “Most
people were like, ‘Are you sure?’ but I just had
this feeling we could make it work. I’m just glad
that we made that leap and it’s just surreal to see
it all come together.”
It’s surely a testament to the Proline group for
having the wherewithal to think outside the box.
They have been longtime turbo guys at heart, with
an impressive track record to boot, but Dillard,
the co-owner at Proline, was fascinated with see-
ing the what-ifs come to life with the ProCharger.
He couldn’t have imagined it would work this
well, but it has only furthered Dillard’s point that
his ProCharger/Proline dream was capable of
big things.
As it has played out in just a few short months,
it has turned the sport on its head. Dillard went
a then-ProCharger record 3.67 at the Mid-West
Pro Mod Series race in November at Texas Mo-
torplex, with Rivenbark taking the reigns on the
Camaro this year.
With Dillard’s help and Steve Petty calling
the shots, Rivenbark obliterated that mark with
a 3.613 burst at 207.37 mph in Bradenton. Less
than a month later, Rivenbark’s blast of 3.613
on 205.01 on radial tires at Lights Out 10 be-
came the quickest run in Radial vs. the World
history, adding another impressive number to
the ProCharger experiment. Another month
passed and Rivenbark broke the 3.50 barrier
at Sweet 16 2.0 at South Georgia with a 3.587
at 206.67 in qualifying before claiming the
$101,000 event title.
“I told Kevin when he came to us, I said, ‘I didn’t
know what was going to come of this. It could be
great or it could be something that we have some
trials and tribulations.’ I had a feeling these things
would really stay together really well over what
we’ve experienced in the turbo world,” Dillard
says. “I don’t even know how to explain it. It all
happened so fast. To see it all come together, it’s
a testament to our group. We’ve got an awesome
group. There’s a group that no matter what always
comes through.”
The next step is getting the ProCharger com-
bination approved for NHRA Pro Mod racing.
Dillard and his team have been in regular com-
munication with the NHRA, but adding another
potential combination to the mix seems enticing.
The class is already thriving, but Dillard be-
lieves adding the ProCharger supercharger could
create even more depth and parity.
“I think, honestly, for NHRA they need to let
this combination in. It will bring some life back
to the class,” Dillard said. “At the end of the day,
we’ll get some new life into the class because it’s
a new combo. I think we’re going to get a group
of 10 people that don’t race Pro Mod already. The
car count is strong, but we need to maintain it
and keep it up.”
Dillard believes the Pro-
Charger is a good way to do
it, in part because of the ben-
efits he’s seen with it. It’s been
more reliable with far less
maintenance than a turbo
combination, and the consis-
tent performances have been
eye-opening as well.
The Camaro has been on
one full pass after another
since November, making in-
credible power early in the run.
The FuelTech electronic fuel
injection has worked flawlessly
with the combination, present-
ing new possibilities when it
comes to running consistently
fast without tremendous wear
and tear. It seems almost too
good to be true, but thus far it’s been a combo
with seemingly unlimited potential.
“The turbo car is hard to tune. It takes that
much more work to make (the turbo car) work
than it takes to make (the ProCharger car) work,”
Dillard points out. “The maintenance is much
better. For a drag racer in this sport at this level
(drag radial) or even in Pro Mod, that’s what we
need so that more people can come out here and
do this. I think it’s great for our sport.”
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
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28 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 144
ERIC DILLARD & PROCHARGER