Dirt
Pushing It to the Extreme
Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown
sets records in fan attendance
and on-track performance
By Craig Cook
While every racing promotion
features a headlining show at their
event, few, if any, have blended two
top-tier classes together the way
Chris Graves has. His annual Pro Mod vs. Fuel
Altered Showdown has been a staple in Texas
for eight years, mixing old- and new-school into
arguably the wildest spectacle in drag racing.
Graves recalls seeing similar events in the early
2000s, but for reasons unknown to him, they disappeared.
Sensing an opportunity, he attempted
to bring the two classes together again in 2008.
But it took five years before he found a suitor to
share his vision.
“Year after year, they said, ‘This sounds like a
great idea, but we’re just not ready to pull the
trigger,’” says Graves. “I’ve come to realize over the
years, a lot of track owners, you throw ‘em something
crazy and they start getting uncomfortable.”
The 2020 event was historic for multiple reasons.
After seven years at the now-closed Northstar
Dragway, the race made its debut at Xtreme
Raceway Park. It was also one of the first major
events since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Despite uncertainty spreading across the country,
the Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown was
unquestionably a resounding success.
“This was the highest attended race in the eight
years that I’ve been doing it,” says Graves. “There’s a
lot of other things you can’t do. We live in America,
people love their freedom, and if you’re allowed
to go to the drag races, then by golly, we’re gonna
go. We certainly want everyone to be safe in what
they’re doing, and I feel that choice is made by
the spectator before they come. Getting to go see
a badass drag race is something people still have
interest in, and I’m very glad to see that.”
The record-setting fans in attendance were
treated to a record of a different sort on Saturday
night. Kebin Kinsley, driver of the War Wagon
nitro fuel altered, ran a string of 3.50s in eliminations
before putting an explanation point on the
event with an earth-shattering 3.44 at 230 mph
in a final round win over Frankie Taylor. The run
was not only a track record, but a national record
for a fuel altered.
“We eased into the first qualifying lap, got a
good baseline,” says War Wagon owner Shane
Farris. “We just decided to sneak up on it the
rest of the weekend.”
That’s putting it mildly, although Farris says
the team has much bigger goals in mind than
their already ridiculous numbers.
“We won’t be happy with it until it runs in the
.30s. Once we get it to run in the .30s at 240-plus
in the eighth, we’re gonna go for 300 mph in the
quarter. That’s the whole reason we built this car.
We want to run 300, just to say we’ve done it.”
This is now the fourth time the War Wagon
has won the event, and following their dominant
performance, begs the question of parity between
the two classes.
“If you’re gonna run
heads-up, you’ve gotta
find a way to make it appealing
to everybody,” admits
Graves. “You can’t
have two guys out there
kicking everybody’s ass. Is
‘War Wagon’ on the fence
there? Obviously a little
bit this year. But I’m gonna
keep dangling that carrot
that the Pro Mods need to
kick the fuel altereds off
their throne.”
Despite the difference
in numbers at first glance,
Graves says there are other
factors that must be taken
into account before he sees
any reason to make changes
to the format.
“The fuel altereds might
be a little faster, but they’re
dropping clutch pedals,
and their best light on average
is an .080 or .090,” he
says. “Pro Mods are letting
go of a button, and .020-
.030 on the tree. So right
there creates a bit of fairness. The cars basically
perform the same. There’s plenty of Pro Mods
and fuel altereds that run between 3.60 and 4.00.
And we’ve had Pro Mods kick ass in eliminations,
just not in the final round.”
It’s a view seemingly shared by the drivers, as
the event has hosted between 20-30 participants
every year. And with fans continuing to show up in
record numbers despite the coronavirus, it’s clear
Graves has plenty of momentum moving forward.
“It’s fun, it’s unique, and you can’t do it anywhere
else,” says Graves. “If you pay ‘em good
and treat ‘em right, a lot of them are going to put
that race on their calendar every year. We’ve built
eight years’ worth of following, not just with the
fans, but the racers too. And they know we’re not
gonna weigh them, or check their fuel, or any of
that goofy crap. Giving them the opportunity to
push it to the extreme and try new things, I think
makes this event stand out.” DI
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE MCHUGH AND JASON DUNN
30 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated.com Issue 158