November / December 2023

AT ONE point , former Jr . Dragster racer Sal Di- Domenico thought he would continue pursuing a driving career as a teammate to his father , Mike , who was racing in Outlaw Dragster at the time . But the twists and turns that inevitably happen in racing sent DiDomenico in another direction , and he ’ s now thriving as the crew chief on his father ’ s screw-blown Pro Mod ’ 68 Camaro .

When Sal was growing up , the elder DiDomenico competed in IHRA Top Dragster for quite some time before focusing on the Outlaw Dragster programs that were popular at the tracks around the father-son ’ s home base outside Cleveland , Ohio . When those programs were slowing down , the duo realized there were limited opportunities to continue racing in a heads-up format . Mike sold off his dragsters and bought a Pro Mod in 2017 , spending the better part of a year to get ready for the 2018 season .

Sal was always involved with his father ’ s racing program , doing anything from setting tire pressure and checking the wheelie bars to recording passes and helping with between-round maintenance . After a couple seasons with the Pro Mod , and under the tutelage of Rage Fuel Systems ’ Mike Kopchick , Sal started getting into the tuning side .

“ I had interest in [ tuning ] prior to that , even with the Outlaw Dragster stuff ,” starts DiDomenico . “ But our electrical guy , Gary Lucas , always did the tuning with that car and he was the crew chief for that . The beginning stages of the Pro Mod stuff was so hard . We struggled with everything . We had every new car bug you could imagine .

“ That took its toll on Gary and eventually he stepped down from crew chiefing ,” he continues . “ That ’ s when I inserted myself into that role . I wanted to take over crew chief duties and tuning duties . I was lucky to have Kopchick there on our program at that time . He had taken me in and set me on this road that led me into the path that I eventually ended up taking to where I am now .”

That path has recently also included a side quest into designing and producing connecting rods . Sal runs the family ’ s CNC shop , CNC Performance Products , where Mike used to produce rods that he ran in the dragsters . Parts shortages in the post-pandemic world , as well as a desire to develop high-performance parts for the motorsports world , led Sal to start producing rods yet again .

“ I ’ ve learned so much over the years as far as machining aspects ,” says DiDomenico , who turned 30 in September . “ We bought a brandnew machine , top of the line . I had some design features that I wanted to incorporate into the whole thing . We just finished the first set , and I ’ m hoping to get them in the motor and test it over the winter .”

The DiDomenicos started out in Pro Mod with a roots-blown combination , which powered Mike to a Pro Boost win at the PDRA World Finals in 2019 . The team switched to a screw-blown setup for a run at the 2023 NMCA Xtreme Pro Mod championship . While it fought them at first , the combination quickly proved to be a winner . DiDomenico reached the final round at two of the last three races of the six-race season to finish second in points behind 2016 30 Under 30 honoree Ty Tutterow .

“ We had a strong run at the end of the season ,” says DiDomenico , who offered up thanks to his father and Kopchick , as well as wife Brittany and the crew . “ It just mitigates all the bad races you have when you start to see progress and you start making a run towards your goal . The end of the season was quite a driving factor to continue to run for that championship next year .”

The father-son team is doubling down as they get ready for 2024 . They recently acquired a 2018 Corvette previously campaigned by 2019 30 Under 30 honoree Justin Jones , and the newto-them car will be outfitted with DiDomenico ’ s powerplant and parts . Though they missed the car ’ s targeted debut at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals , the team plans to hit the track over the winter to test for their next championship bid . “ Look out for us in ‘ 24 ,” DiDomenico says . “ I ’ m coming for that trophy .” – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

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