the big-name crew chiefs and the hired gun crews .
You ’ ve got a guy out there , a real deal do-ityourselfer , who works on his car behind his house . This is not at all a big-budget operation . You need someone to remind everybody that we go up there with one race car , with one set of tires , one engine , one transmission , one man or woman behind the wheel . All that stuff in the pits – the stackers , the toterhomes and motorhomes and coaches – doesn ’ t go to the starting line with you . That to me just sent the message that I wanted to be sent by the World Series of Pro Mod : we ’ ve got them all here , every big name , but we ’ ve also got some guys here that you may not have heard of . We ’ ve also got some guys and gals here that are on the come-up and early in their journey , and we believe in them . The [ WSOPM ] is all about seeing one of those people we believed in rise up in the fashion that he did , and then the way the final unfolded , with that level of sportsmanship .
We delayed the schedule to make sure that Jim was gonna be able to make the repairs and make the call for the final . Then we go up for the final and Derek Ward ’ s car won ’ t crank , won ’ t start . And it was just like , oh my God , what a moment here . For me , the answer was as clear as day . I never thought about it – for me , we ’ re gonna take whatever time is needed here within the realm of reason , and we ’ re going to have a drag race . We ’ ve all come too far , we ’ ve all worked too hard , and too much money has been spent ; by God , we ’ re going to see this through to completion . But in fairness to Jim , we operate under NHRA rules and Derek Ward had two minutes to start his car , and he was not able to do it . Technically , Jim could have very understandably staged his car and taken the win and idled down the track .
I went over , and I ’ ll never forget it – Jim ’ s strapped into his car , helmet on , head sock on , and I leaned down to his car , and I say , “ Derek ’ s car won ’ t start ; what do you wanna do ?” And he goes , “ What do you wanna do ?” And I said , “ I wanna drag race .” And he goes , “ Me too , let ’ s
BUCK , WITH THE UNWAVERING SUPPORT OF HIS WIFE ALISHA , SHOWS HIS PASSION FOR PRO MOD RACING BY FIRING UP HIS DRIVERS AS THEY APPROACH THE STARTING LINE , ATTEMPTING TO QUALIFY TO WIN THE $ 100,000 PRIZE .
wait ,” and I said , “ All right .”
That was all it was , and the next thing you know , people are pushing Derek ’ s car back to Melanie Salemi ’ s pit area because it was the closest that they could get into . They ’ re slamming a starter on this thing and getting it fired up and getting it back to the starting line . It was inside of 15 minutes , I believe , that we got him back to the starting line and ran this race . It was moments like that ; that ’ s why you do it . Yeah , it would have been cool if everything went perfectly , but I don ’ t know that it would have been the story that it has become now because you ’ ve got two guys staring down the barrel of the biggest prize in the history of their drag racing career . Neither one of them has ever lined up with $ 100,000 on the line , and they both technically had an opportunity to take the easy way out . Both of them – Derek Ward ’ s finals were set for whatever time . Derek Ward could have very easily been in the water , and Jim Halsey could have no-showed , and Derek Ward would have taken it home .
Then , the same opportunities were presented to Jim , and I think it speaks to our community more so than anything else . These people are the salt of the earth and fierce competitors and fiercely loyal , and I just thought it was a special moment that we ’ ll all look back on in years to come because that ’ s not always gonna happen .
✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕
Success also comes with a myriad of challenges . What were some of the hurdles you faced leading up to and during the event ?
There were a lot of challenges this year . I ’ d say it goes without saying that the biggest of which was doing two events . Historically , we have been very much committed to a singular happening on the calendar . I like to tell people that in any opportunity that I ’ m given , we here at
Drag IllustrateD , myself and my entire team , weigh every decision we make against whether or not it serves our mission to grow and build the sport of drag racing .
We had an opportunity in 2024 to put on two events – to do the SCAG Power Equipment Pro Superstar Shootout presented by JHG , as well as the Drag IllustrateD World Series of Pro Mod . The reason I felt those made sense was because they catered to two dramatically different audiences .
I ’ ve got to take a moment here and just acknowledge that if it weren ’ t for a group of 21 people that wear Drag IllustrateD on their shirts , these things would not have happened . We ’ ve got a special group of people here who are committed to seeing projects through to completion come hell or high water . I have a team of people who are willing to write stories , take photos , shoot videos , go to the store and get champagne , clean toilets , prep the track , fix the computer in the tower , and build a set of scales . We ’ ll do anything . And it ’ s because of that group of people that we were able to host these two events so close together and enjoy such success .
✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕✕
A lot of emphasis is put on the rules for the power adders that are allowed to run at the World Series of Pro Mod . Take us through the planning to ensure there is a level playing field .
We went into this event with paramount importance to have every engine combination that exists in Pro Modified within reason well represented at this event . You need opportunities to bring all these guys together , but you can ’ t allow a singular combination to become the only
154 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 188