30 UNDER 30 • 2021 shifts and crush the tree and make an absolutely perfect run . That ’ s very rewarding . That ’ s the gist of it , chasing that perfection . It ’ s almost like bracket racing but you don ’ t have to worry about the finish line . You have to be really good . You have to be sharp . It ’ s really about consistency . To me , I think consistency really is the biggest factor in driving a Pro Stock car . KORETSKY : The challenges are what appeal to me . It ’ s important to let that clutch foot go on time , hit the shift points on time , keep it in the groove at all times , and have the crew behind you to give you the proper equipment . Without a good team , you really can ’ t be competitive , in my opinion . GLENN : As a driver , I look at a lot of the other classes , bracket racing especially , where you have to have good equipment , but even a really good driver can take marginal equipment and take it to a final round . In Pro Stock , it is one of the most driver-demanding classes there is . You can take a good car and one little thing can ruin a run and that just ruins your chances of moving on to the next round . You have to be perfect in every aspect , as well as the setup has to be good as well .
As far as driving , I think it ’ s the most fun to drive . You ’ re doing so much in the car : shifting four times and driving one-handed and hitting ‘ chutes and getting all the switches turned off and letting go of the clutch . You ’ re doing so much . I ’ ve said it before , it ’ s the most fun car I ’ ve ever driven . STANFIELD : As a driver , if you look at the allaround package , it ’ s the pinnacle of performance . You ’ re trying to get every inch of horsepower out of a 500-cubic-inch engine and trying to use that power the best you can . From a driving aspect , it ’ s just the challenge of chasing that perfection that it takes to be competitive . programs to try to generate more income . At the end of the day , this is a business . Everyone wants to make money . We all want to have fun , but it ’ s a funding-generated sport , and without the funding you can ’ t really do it . I think when times got a little tougher and sponsors were pulling back , there had to be other avenues of revenue . As a business person myself , that ’ s kind of how I see it , more of a business decision .
They ’ ve been saying Pro Stock in NHRA is dying for years , but NHRA Pro Stock is the strongest class right now in all four professional categories . And I think it ’ s the most competitive . The fields are tight . The younger generation is coming up . GLENN : I think that was kind of a group effort between all the owners . For one , just trying to make it somewhat more affordable with the rental programs , whether a guy has a car and just needs engines or he shows up with a helmet and drives . Being able to have rental programs where all you have to do is show up with your driving stuff , that I think is one of the biggest changes .
I know there were some teams that really liked the 18 races because it definitely cuts down on the financial burden . It wasn ’ t necessarily the greatest thing for us because of the way our sponsorship was laid out . It was per race , so if there ’ s less races , it ’ s less money . But it does give
DALLAS GLENN , WHO STARTED HIS PRO STOCK JOURNEY AS A KB RACING CREW MEMBER , NOW FINDS HIMSELF LINING UP AGAINST PRO STOCK GREATS LIKE KB ’ S OWN GREG ANDERSON .
us more down time between certain races so we get to work on our stuff a little more .
But I think one of the best things was all the owners getting together and trying to make it more affordable . STANFIELD : Well , whenever I was a kid watching it , there were a lot of different programs , a lot of different engine builders . For the most part , I remember guys like my dad , Greg Anderson , and Bob Glidden , they built their programs with their own two hands . Just being able to have the opportunity to start out at a high level has probably made it very appealing . I would say the cost of it is the best it ’ s been in a long time . It ’ s not an easy opportunity , but a more obtainable one .
For years , Pro Stock was seen as like the good old boys ’ club . It was a lot of older drivers and crew chiefs . Do you feel like drivers such as yourselves have changed that image of the class ? COUGHLIN : It ’ s definitely added a new branch , at least . I don ’ t know if it ’ s the same good old boys class , but I think it adds a lot of entertainment value to it . It creates a story . We ’ re all different . I think that ’ s brought it to an exciting forefront . KORETSKY : Oh yeah . And I ’ m not that young . I ’ m 32 and I feel old compared to guys like Ma-
What ’ s changed over the last five or so years that ’ s made it more attainable for younger drivers to step in and race competitively right out of the gate ? What ’ s made it more appealing ? COUGHLIN : I think NHRA does a nice job of making the class fun . The coverage on the TV show , it might not be as long as we ’ d like it to be , but I think that ’ s made it appealing . Just look at the youth in the class . That ’ s the coolest thing . And the youth that has come to the class is extremely talented . Look at Dallas . He ’ s unreal . He ’ s driving really well and winning races . Same thing with Aaron . He can obviously drive and makes good runs . Again , same thing with Kyle . He ’ s got a win already . Gosh , the young talent in the class , how could you not want to watch ? It makes it fun and makes it entertaining . KORETSKY : I think a lot of these teams , the main teams being Elite and KB Racing , they found the power , they ’ re able to keep the power together and run the motors longer than you could before .
They broadened their horizons on the rental
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